Travel insurance: check coverage before you buy

Quick answers

01Three kinds of cover are not one product#

Policies often bundle medical, trip cancel/interrupt and baggage. You may only need one or two. Use the table to decide whether a column is worth paying for, not to pick an insurer.

A credit card sometimes already includes cancel or baggage. Medical limits on cards are often low, or they require the trip to be paid on that card. Read the card booklet before buying a second policy.

02Start with the medical limit#

Overseas bills are why most people buy. Check the per-person medical cap and whether hospital, evacuation and pre-existing conditions are in. Some policies cover pre-existing conditions only if you buy within days of booking and declare them; others never do.

Evacuation wording decides who books the aircraft and who pays. A large medical number with no evacuation is thin cover in a remote area. Read that page before the headline sum insured.

03Cancellation and baggage#

Cancel cover refunds prepaid, non-refundable costs for listed reasons (illness, close bereavement). Interruption pays unused days and extra transport home. Fear of travel, a change of mind and a strike you already knew about are usually out.

Baggage pays per item or a total cap; expensive electronics often have a low per-item limit. Delay benefits need receipts. Loss or damage needs an airline report before you leave the baggage hall, or the claim stalls.

04When you can skip a separate policy#

A short trip, modest medical costs at the destination, mostly refundable bookings, a card that already covers cancel and bags, and a willingness to self-pay a clinic visit can mean you skip a second policy — still read the card’s exclusions.

Compare seriously for high-cost medical destinations (including the US), non-refundable long-haul fares, ongoing medication, or a traveller who must be able to get home. If you buy, buy the type you need, not the most expensive bundle.

05What to keep if you claim#

Medical: bills, a diagnosis note, proof of payment and the policy number. Cancel: non-refundable bookings and evidence of a listed reason, such as a hospital letter. Baggage: the airline’s report from the baggage hall, receipts for essentials during a delay, and photos of the bag. Without the report, a baggage claim rarely moves.

Before you fly, put the policy PDF and the 24-hour number in an offline note. Claim windows follow the wording; some want filing within days of return. This site does not handle claims. It only lists the paper you should know to keep.

06Deductibles, names and activity riders#

The premium is not the amount you receive. A per-claim deductible of a few hundred dollars can wipe a baggage payout and still leave you paying a clinic visit. Read whether the deductible applies per person, per claim or per trip, and whether emergency evacuation sits above it. The trip cost you declare is often the cancel cap: if you typed $1,000 and later added $2,000 of non-refundable hotels, the extra may not be covered unless you update the policy. Names must match passports; a partner who is not listed is not “family” just because they share a room. If two people travel, confirm whether one deductible covers both or you pay it twice.

Adventure sports, scooter hire and some winter activities are often excluded unless you buy a rider. A “hazardous activity” list can include scooter hire, which is ordinary transport in many cities. If you might ride, ski or dive, read that list before you pay — adding the rider later can be refused once you have left home. A group policy with one named insured and “accompanying travellers” still needs each person identified the way the insurer asks. This page cannot tell you which rider to buy; it is the reason to open that PDF instead of stopping at the comparison table. If the policy is priced in a different currency from the trip, a swing in FX can change both the deductible and the cancel cap in your home currency — read which rate the insurer uses.

08Before you pay#

Compare at least three policies on medical limit, cancellation reasons, baggage caps and exclusions; declare pre-existing conditions; check the card for overlap so you do not buy the same column twice; keep the PDF and emergency number.

This page does not replace a policy or a regulator. A travel-insurance topic page from a regulator such as the US NAIC is useful for terms. It is not a promise that your policy will pay.

Sources

• NAIC: Should I get travel insurance?
• NAIC: Travel insurance topic