What Nobody Tells You About Travel Insurance

After nearly three full days of researching travel insurance, I quickly realized that most of what you find online is the same regurgitated information. Every article seems to be based on the same core details, just reworded slightly. This post is different. I’ve summarized the most crucial things I’ve learned—many of which came from hours of reading the full policy declarations of various plans.

Travel Insurance vs. Travel Health Insurance

While both types of policies provide coverage for your trip, they focus on different areas:

• Travel Health Insurance: Primarily covers medical expenses while abroad and often provides better medical coverage than standard travel insurance. However, it typically does not include trip cancellation or interruption coverage.
• Traditional Travel Insurance: Covers a combination of medical expenses, trip cancellations, interruptions, delays, lost baggage, and more.

Do You Need Travel Health Insurance?

Before purchasing a separate travel health policy, check whether your existing health insurance covers you internationally. This process can be frustrating, as I discovered, but it’s worth it. I have Florida Blue insurance, and it took me hours of reading my full policy documents (152 pages) and multiple calls to confirm that I was covered for emergency medical expenses abroad.

Key Takeaways:

• Routine or preventive care is never covered.
• Many travel health policies are secondary insurance, meaning they only pay after all other options are exhausted.
• Even if your standard health insurance covers emergencies abroad, it may not cover non-emergency illnesses, accidents, or injuries.

Understanding Traditional Travel Insurance

These policies typically cover medical expenses and trip-related concerns like cancellations, interruptions, and delays. However, no two policies are the same.

Trip Cancellation & Interruption: The Fine Print Matters

Even if a policy says it covers 100% of trip cancellation, read the details carefully to understand what qualifies as a covered reason.

For example:

• Severe weather: Some policies only cover cancellations if the airline or cruise cancels due to weather, while others require the entire airport to be shut down.
• Damage to your home while traveling: Some policies cover trip interruption if your home is severely damaged, but others require it to be completely destroyed or unlivable. Living in Florida, I found that one policy excluded hurricane-related home damage as a covered reason for trip interruption.
• Family emergencies: Many policies cover interruptions due to a family member’s illness, but cheaper plans often require a life-threatening prognosis confirmed by a physician.

Exclusions: Read Every Section

Insurance policies have layers of exclusions:

1. Top-level exclusions that apply to the entire policy.
2. Exclusions for specific coverages (e.g., trip cancellation, trip interruption).
3. Exclusions for each covered reason (e.g., weather-related claims may have extra conditions).

One surprising exclusion I discovered: Some policies will not cover anything unless you have proof of travel (e.g., a ticket) for the exact dates of your policy. If you can’t prove your departure and return dates, they may deny all claims.

Trip Costs & Insurance Quotes: What to Include

When requesting a quote, you’ll be asked to provide your trip cost. None of the six quotes I completed explained what to include—but here’s what I learned:

• Only include non-refundable expenses. Cancellation and interruption policies only cover what you can’t get refunded.
• Including refundable expenses unnecessarily increases your premium. If an expense is refundable, you don’t need insurance for it.

Credit Card Coverage: A Hidden Gem

If you’re more concerned about trip cancellation and interruption than medical coverage, check your credit card benefits before purchasing a policy.

• My Chase Sapphire Visa includes extensive trip cancellation and interruption coverage.
• It has fewer restrictions and covers more than the travel insurance policy I bought.
• Unfortunately, I used a different card for many bookings, so I missed out on potential savings.
• If I had used my Sapphire card for everything, I may not have needed to buy separate trip cancellation insurance at all.

Final Thoughts

Buying travel insurance is not as straightforward as it seems. Before purchasing a policy:

• Decide whether you need travel health insurance or traditional travel insurance (or both).
• Read the full policy documents to understand what’s actually covered.
• Check your existing health insurance and credit card benefits—you may already have sufficient coverage.
• Be mindful of exclusions and secondary coverage limitations.
• Only include non-refundable costs in your trip cost estimate to avoid overpaying.

Taking the time to research these details upfront can save you money, prevent surprises, and ensure you have the right coverage when you need it most.