Choosing the Best Travel Insurance Company for Your Next Trip

Choosing the Best Travel Insurance Company for Your Next Trip

When it's time to prepare for your next journey, whether it's a business trip or a vacation, there's one item you shouldn't leave home without: travel insurance.

Finding the best international travel insurance is essential for safe overseas travel. A good travel insurance policy can ensure that you are never left stranded in a foreign location in need of medical care, but it can also help protect you in case of other emergencies. 

 Whether you're concerned about losing luggage, or want to ensure you can get quality medical care while abroad, a travel insurance policy can help. 

 Let's take a deeper look at what travel insurance covers and what to look for when buying travel insurance.

Travel Insurance: A Brief Primer

There are different types of insurance that can be beneficial for foreign and domestic trips, and it's important to understand the difference between available policies.

Finding the best trip insurance: Trip insurance is a type of travel insurance that can help policyholders recoup certain financial losses related to trip expenses for covered reasons like natural disasters. If trip delays, trip cancellations, and missing, delayed or damaged luggage are caused by a covered reason, prepaid expenses that would have otherwise been nonrefundable, can be refunded. 

Trip insurance can save travelers money and give them peace of mind. 

Finding the best travel medical insurance: Travel medical insurance (also called just travel insurance, or travel health insurance) is a type of travel insurance that ensures that policyholders can get medical coverage when traveling abroad.

While plan offerings vary from plan to plan and policy to policy, international travelers can often use their policy in situations such as:

  • Emergency evacuations
  • Accidents and injuries
  • Natural disasters
  • Limited trip cancellation

How Travel Insurance Benefits You

Although many travelers have medical insurance through their employers, most domestic policies are not accepted outside of the country. This means that if you become injured or ill while abroad, your domestic insurance policy will likely not cover you. 

And if an emergency evacuation is necessary (for medical reasons or due to political unrest), the cost can exceed $250,000. A travel insurance policy can help prevent travelers from having to pay for these costs themselves.

The benefits of a travel insurance plan go beyond health insurance and medical treatment, though. The best travel insurance can cover lost, delayed or damage luggage, or stolen passports.

Should you become the victim of theft during a trip overseas your travel insurance company may be able to help with a nearly immediate cash or bill settlement.

What to look for in your travel insurance company

The best travel health insurance plans can give you peace of mind, as well as financial and medical assistance.

Travel insurance helps international travelers like you feel safe and cared for while also keeping your out-of-pocket expenses to a minimum.

But how do you know what the best travel insurance is?

There are a few factors to keep in mind to ensure you partner with the right provider on the right policy:

  • Comprehensive vs. limited policies: Travel insurance plan offerings differ among companies, but many provide choices in the areas of limited and comprehensive plans. Although a comprehensive plan typically comes with a slightly higher cost, these policies provide much better coverage compared to a limited policy. When traveling overseas, it's best not to leave things to chance and obtain the best insurance coverage possible. From our perspective, a comprehensive plan is almost always preferable.
  • Purchasing from a U.S.-based provider: Some travelers venturing overseas may assume that it's best to purchase a policy from a provider based in the destination country. This isn't always the case, though, and many experts recommend buying travel health insurance from an American insurance company, even if you are traveling outside the U.S. There are many advantages to buying from a U.S. insurance provider, including the fact that claims are usually processed much more quickly, and these plans typically have a higher customer satisfaction rate. Best of all, it's simpler to compare insurance companies by looking at reviews, like those from the Better Business Bureau.
  • Traveling for business: Travelers should also consider the purpose of their trip when looking at their options for travel insurance. A business travel insurance plan, for instance, is ideal for those who have to frequently go overseas for their jobs.
  • Single trip vs. multi-trip: When it comes to business travel insurance plans, professionals have the option of purchasing annual trip insurance, meaning multiple trips of up to 45 days within one year would be covered. Depending on travelers' needs and their frequency and reasons for international travel, finding a provider that offers this type of coverage can be beneficial.

One of the best ways to find the ideal travel insurance policy is to compare insurance plans among some of the top U.S. and international providers. You can compare, research and buy travel insurance on sites like VisitorsCoverage. Travel insurance comparison sites give travelers the ability to see all available plan offerings and select the policy that best meets their needs and their budget.

To learn more about finding the best travel insurance and the best travel insurance company for your needs, connect with our Customer Service Team