Travel Insurance 101 : My pick for the best travel insurance to protect your vacation

Travel Insurance 101 : My pick for the best travel insurance to protect your vacation

March 4, 2020

This past year has taken the world by storm – people are cancelling honeymoons, postponing trips of a lifetime, and even debating whether or not they should go on vacation months from now. It’s awful, and it’s affected us all so much ( you can read about how I had to postpone my own wedding because of coronavirus here)

Here is my pick for the best travel insurance to protect your trip, or anything else you may need trip cancellation coverage for if you want to plan travel for when after this pandemic and quarantining is over!

What You Need to Know About Travel Insurance

Travel insurance comes in many different varieties, so consider the specifics of your trip to figure out which travel insurance is right for you. I’d personally recommend at least getting insurance on your flights, but making hotels on a site like Booking.com which has most hotel options that are refundable.

Travel insurance through your credit card

First thing, I’d recommend you check to see if insurance is covered by your credit card (that you purchased your trip on) I went to Italy for my honeymoon and when shopping for trip insurance found our Chase Sapphire Reserve and our Amex both covered more or the same as any insurance policy. They even have details in the policy if you get quarantined while traveling. But you must have purchased the trip on that credit card.

WorldNomads

My pick for Travel insurance if you are going external from your credit card is usually WorldNomads.com – available to people from over 140 countries and is designed for travelers with cover for overseas medical, evacuation, baggage and a range of adventure sports and activities. It’s simple, easy to use, and always gives me peace of mind traveling abroad. BUT keep in mind they do not offer ‘cancel for any reason coverage’.

Trip cancellation coverage – the normal travel insurance plan offered by World Nomads provides reimbursement if you cancel for a covered reason (which of course varies by policy, check this link for more details on the different policies).

Also- I’m not swearing by this, and please do your own research, but a loophole on World Nomad’s coverage might be that ‘You or your travel companion are being required to work (you must supply a notarized statement from your employer).’ is a viable coverage under their plan. So if your employer agrees you shouldn’t be going to a certain destination and might be quarantined/not able to work, this could be a great way to get your cancellation covered.

Missed connection coverage and trip interruption coverage give you reimbursement and help if you miss a flight or cruise or if you need to cut your trip short due to an emergency back home.

Medical coverage covers you in case you need medical treatment outside of the U.S.; some plans also cover emergency medical evacuation. Some policies now have options for cancellation for any reason at all!!

Medjet

Another insurance to consider for peace of mind while traveling is Medjet – a traveler protection program specializing in air medical transport and travel security memberships. They have a great reputation in the travel community, providing crisis response and medical evacuation coverage so that if you end up in a hospital on your trip, you are able to be evacuated immediately to your home country, and get to your home hospital. A lot of people think their travel insurance does that…it doesn’t. It gets you to the “nearest acceptable facility”, and that’s where you get stuck. Medjet offers annual memberships, and short-term memberships ideal for individuals and families planning a cruise, holiday or family vacation. Short-Term Memberships start at just $99 and members enjoy all the same MedjetAssist benefits as Annual Members, with travel protection provided 24 hours a day during the selected travel period. They also offer study abroad options for collegiates looking to stay safe while they’re abroad, and expat options as well. I know my mom would have loved to have had this for me when I was traveling abroad on Semester at Sea in college for peace of mind! Accidents, illness and safety concerns can happen anywhere. Medjet can get you home.

And, if you want your protection to go even further, MedjetHorizon members have all of those benefits and more – with access to Travel Security Services – a 24/7 travel network for in-country response to things like terrorism, kidnapping, political threat, hijacking and natural disasters. They also provide crisis response like emergency translation, cash advance, evacuation, and rescue. And unlike other global transport and travel security membership programs, Medjet does not depend on government-issued evacuation mandates, to act on behalf of members. It’s the most comprehensive travel protection membership for travelers, so you can have peace of mind on your vacation.