If you’re like me, you’re wondering what kind of travel insurance to get for a great price. I’m looking to buy a flight to Sri Lanka or Bangladesh for my upcoming visa run from India, so I did some research about travel insurance.
Should I buy trip cancellation insurance? Yes, if you have significant pre-paid travel expenses. You can skip it if the cost is low or you can handle the loss, for instance, with domestic travel. Most travel insurance packages come with cancellation coverage along with medical, evacuation, and more.
The real question is: Do you buy basic travel insurance that doesn’t cover trip cancellations or do you invest in more extensive coverage?
ValuePenguin found that a comprehensive travel policy was 56% more expensive than a basic travel insurance policy.
- Basic coverage: $105 per month
- Middle-tier coverage: $130 per month
- Comprehensive coverage: $164 per month
How Likely Are You To Need Trip Cancellation Insurance?
Difficult to say. But to estimate, the Journal of Travel Medicine examined a random sample of 1 out of 5 claims (855 total) from 1996 to 1998 at a popular travel insurance company in Australia.
While medical and dental conditions were 66.6% of the claims, 33.4% were associated with loss, theft, cancellation and damage.
Of course, we’re not sure how much was for cancellation versus loss, theft or damage but this gives us a general idea that the number of claims for trip cancellation insurance is significant but not very likely.
Buying travel insurance is a smart plan for most trips. Yet there are times you just need basic coverage not including trip cancellation insurance.
My Recommendations For Travel Insurance With or Without Trip Cancellation Coverage:
- A comprehensive plan including trip cancellation coverage: World Nomads
- A basic plan NOT including trip cancellation coverage: SafetyWing
Here’s My Video on Youtube With All the Details:
What Does Trip Cancellation Insurance Cover?
Trip cancellation insurance will get you a refund if you have to cancel your trip before departure. Usually, this will cover your costs if you can’t travel because you are sick.
There are other reasons too, here are the most common:
- Traffic accidents
- Injury or illness
- Weather
- Schedule conflicts
- Property damage
- Terrorism or mandatory evacuations
- Bankruptcy or financial reasons
- Victim of a violent crime
- Work conflicts
- Illness or death of your host in your destination
- Strikes at the airport or travel provider
- Loss of passport/visa
- Theft
Trip Cancellation Insurance would reimburse you for pre-paid expenses such as:
- Flight costs
- Hotel costs
- Transportation to the airport and destination
- Tickets to events or destinations (such as ski lift tickets)
What Exceptions Does Trip Cancellation Insurance Have?
You can’t cancel your trip for any reason though. Most insurance companies have an extensive list of exclusions. If you file for this, you should be prepared that the insurance company will do what they can to not pay your claim.
World Nomad’s one of the best travel insurance companies lists these reasons for cancellation on their website:
- A death in your or your travel companion’s family.
- You or your travel companion have developed a medical condition and your doctor advises that travel is not an option.
- You or your travel companion are a victim of felonious assault.
- Your accommodations at your trip destination are no longer liveable as the result of an unforeseen natural disaster.
- You or your travel companion are required to serve on a jury or subpoenaed within 10 days of departure.
- You or your travel companion are active military personnel and are being called to emergency duty to provide relief in the event of a natural disaster.
- A strike causes your common carrier to stop services for at least 24 hours.
- A terrorist attack happens within 30 days of your departure date, either at your departure point or destination.
In order to make your claim with World Nomads, you would need to:
Notify your travel suppliers and World Nomads within 72 hours and send the following documentation with your claim (as it applies to your case) within 90 days:
- Proof of payment for your travel arrangements.
- Proof of any refunds received or denials of compensation, such as from your common carrier.
- All unused air, rail, cruise, or other tickets.
- For claims involving medical emergencies or death, signed patient (or next of kin) authorization to release medical information and an attending physician’s statement.
- Claims involving other reasons also require documentation such as police reports, a copy of the jury notice, etc.
Other common exceptions to getting a refund for canceling your trip are:
- You don’t feel like going on the trip anymore
- You think it’s unsafe at your destination but there is no travel advisory
- You can’t afford the trip anymore
- You don’t think the weather is nice
- Suicide attempt or self-inflicted injury to you or a family member
- Mental illness or psychological disorders
- Pregnancy, childbirth or abortion
- A student trip was canceled by the administration
- The aim of your trip is a medical treatment
- Civil unrest at the destination
- Substance abuse
- Crimes committed by you or a travel companion
However, if you want to have the option to cancel your trip for “any reason” some providers will give you that option… usually for a 40-60% increase in your policy price. 🤔
When Is Cancel For Any Reason Coverage Worth It?
If you’re paying $100 for travel insurance, would you pay $40 to $60 more to cancel for any reason?
This option usually insures 75 to 100% of your travel expenses. You often need to cancel at least 48 hours before departure and have to purchase your insurance a certain number of days in advance (usually at least 10 days).
Here are some examples where it could be worth the extra price:
- Going on a trip with a partner that you just started dating. Maybe this means I’m not a romantic, but going to a tropical island with the girl I recently broke up with sounds like a misery I’d prefer to prepare to avoid.
- Your work situation is unstable. Most policies won’t cover you if you lose your job, so if you are thinking of making an exit from your company, this could save you a lot of money.
- You paid a LOT of pre-trip expenses. If you’re planning long flights, nice hotels, tours and retreats, then it could be worth paying more for travel insurance to have a better chance to get all that money back.
You also might want to consider trip interruption insurance, which is similar but very different.
What’s the Difference Between Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Insurance?
Trip interruption insurance will protect you if you have to cancel your trip once your trip starts. For instance, a family member passes away or if there’s an accident on the way to the airport making you miss your flight.
If you had this type of insurance during the coronavirus outbreak, then you would have a better shot to get your money back.
How To Prepare For Your Trip To Get Reimbursed For A Claim
If you do buy trip cancellation insurance and have to make a claim there are a few things you should prepare to do to have the best chance to get reimbursed for your claim.
Allianz Global Assistance lists these requirements when submitting your claim:
- Save receipts and itemized bills from all travel expenses (hotel, flight, taxi, tickets, tour companies)
- Save original documents and contracts from companies you work with
- Save documentation about why the trip needs to be canceled
- Doctor’s original paperwork if you get sick
Common Reasons Your Trip Cancellation Claim Might Be Denied
The most common reasons for claim denial is that your paperwork is not being completed properly.
You might be denied if you were warned about dangers before buying your insurance. For instance, if you bought flight tickets after the advisory warnings about coronavirus or after the news reports about a storm. You must buy your travel insurance before being warned about the dangers.
You might be denied if you cancel your trip too early. Let’s say you were sitting at home before your flight and you saw that your flight was delayed 8 hours. Now no one wants to hear that but if you were to cancel at that time you would probably be denied a claim. For many policies, you can only cancel if your travel provider can NOT get you to your destination 24 hours after your originally scheduled arrival time.
You might be denied if you had a pre-existing medical condition that caused the trip cancellation.
What are the Best Trip Cancellation Insurance Policies?
If you think a trip cancellation insurance policy is right for you, I recommend World Nomads.
I have used their service for all my trips to India. In addition to trip cancellation insurance I am covered for:
- Accidental Death and Dismemberment
- Emergency Accident or Sickness Medical Expense
- Emergency Dental
- Hospital Advancement
- Trip Interruption
- Trip Delay (Up to $250 per day)
- Emergency Evacuation
- Repatriation of Remains
- Non-Medical Emergency Evacuation
- Baggage/Personal Effects
- Baggage Delay
Trip Cancellation is “Up to Trip Cost.” Trip cost is a maximum of $2,500″ for the Standard Plan. The Explorer Plan will cover you up to $10,000.
It’s very difficult to give you an accurate pricing guide for travel isnurance because each quote will take into many variables, such as:
- Your Age
- Your current location
- Where your residency status is
- Your travel destination/s
- Your recent medical history or pre-existing conditions
But for fun these quotes are for a 39-year-old man from Michigan in the United States for a 6 month trip to India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Total trip would cost $2,500.
| Policy Name | Maximum Trip Cost | Price for 6 months |
| World Nomads – Standard | $2,500 | $493.91 |
| World Nomads – Explorer | $10,000 | $709.12 |
| Travelex – Travel Select | $7,500 | $551 |
| Dogtag – Extreme Plus | $10,000 | $495 |
| Dogtag – Sport | $2,500 | $356 |
| Dogtag – Extreme | $5,000 | $465 |
| Generali Global Assistance – Standard | $7,500 | $1,077 |
| Generali Global Assistance – Preferred | $7,500 | $1,449 |
| Generali Global Assistance – Premium | $7,500 | $1,813 |
| Allianz OneTrip Basic | $2,500 | $846 |
| Allianz OneTrip Prime | $2,500 | $873 |
| Allianz OneTrip Premier | $2,500 | $913 |
Each of these types of insurance has many other inclusions and exclusions, so you’d want to read your specific policy carefully.
Best Basic Travel Insurance Without Trip Cancellation Insurance
SafetyWing is my favorite. I have been considering switching to their coverage since I’m spending a lot of time in India and I may not need as much coverage as World Nomads offers.
What I love about SafetyWing:
- It offers good coverage for big emergencies. The travel insurance I most want is evacuation insurance. In case something terrible happens I’d get $100,000 to be transferred back to my home country.
- It covers visits to your home country. If I visit the USA for 30 days every 90 days I’m still covered.
- You pay each month. Most companies require you pay for your policy upfront.
- It’s a new company but backed by an insurance giant Tokyo Marine. So I know I will get my claim money in the unlikely event the company were to go bankrupt.
I do NOT need trip cancellation because:
- I’m only traveling around India or nearby countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Airfare for these trips is less than a few hundred dollars at most.
- My pre-trip costs are zero because I book hotels on Booking.com that let me cancel my booking for zero dollars.
You can get a personalized quote here [affiliate link]:
Summary:
It is smart to get trip cancellation insurance for most international trips. I am happy I paid the extra money because I could go to sleep knowing that if I were to get really sick or if a family member passed then I wouldn’t lose thousands of dollars. It also made my mom worry less to know I was properly covered.
Related Questions:
Is It Necessary To Buy Travel Insurance?
It’s not mandatory, but for most international trips it is recommended. Most health insurance policies won’t cover you overseas, so to get coverage if you get hurt or sick you need travel insurance. The average travel insurance policy is between $100 – $164 dollars, which is only a fraction of the price of most international trips and worth the investment.
Can You Buy Travel Insurance After Booking A Flight?
You can definitely buy travel insurance after you book a flight with companies like World Nomads and SafetyWing. Most companies do allow this, although it is recommended to purchase insurance as soon as possible.
Is Travel Health Insurance Worth It?
The average price of health insurance varies between $100 – $165 which is only a fraction of most international trips, so it is worth it to prevent a chance you could lose your savings. Companies like World Nomads and SafetyWing could insure you for much less ($85 and $37 for me respectively)