February 24, 2025
All About Travel Insurance
Pam
When you’re in the beginning stages of planning that dream trip, it’s worth considering whether travel insurance might be a smart addition to your plans. Are you traveling abroad? Do you have concerns about getting sick? Or would you feel more at ease knowing that you and your family are covered if something goes wrong? If any of these are you, it’s worth exploring travel insurance options that could provide that extra peace of mind—many of which may already be available through your credit card benefits. Let’s talk all about travel insurance!
Types of Travel Insurance
Several different types of travel insurance are available on the market today, and if you hold specific credit cards, you may already have some of these benefits available for free. Always contact your credit card issuer to confirm the specific details surrounding travel insurance benefits before traveling.
Trip Cancellation or Interruption
Suppose you have non-refundable bookings or reservations that you cannot easily cancel. In that case, this can be a great option as it may allow you to cancel or interrupt your trip due to events like injury, illness, severe weather, or even death.
Medical and Health
This type of coverage is especially valuable if you’re traveling internationally and your regular health insurance plan doesn’t provide coverage outside of the U.S. It can help offset the potentially high costs of medical care abroad, including doctor visits, hospital stays, and emergency treatments. Some policies even extend to cover dental emergencies. Medicare does NOT usually cover foreign health expenses, so you definitely want a supplemental policy if that is your primary coverage.
Make sure that you have travel insurance in case a medical emergency happens on your trip!
Travel Delay
This coverage is especially beneficial if you’re traveling during busy times like spring break or the December holiday season—or even if you just have a complex itinerary. Trip-delay insurance can reimburse you for unexpected expenses such as meals, transportation, and any accommodations needed due to travel delays.
During busy travel times, trip delay insurance can come in handy.
Baggage Loss or Delay
This type of coverage is ideal if you’ll carry anything of value or have a tight connection, where the risk of lost or delayed luggage can be higher. Delayed or lost baggage coverage, which most banks provide as a perk when you hold one of their annual-fee credit cards, can provide some peace of mind by offering reimbursement for any lost or stolen luggage and covering any damage to personal items during transit. This coverage can even help to cover the cost of any essentials needed, such as clothing or toiletries, while waiting until your bags are returned to you.
Rental-car Insurance
Rental-car insurance is recommended for anyone planning to rent a vehicle, particularly when traveling abroad, where your personal car-insurance coverage may not extend outside of the U.S. This type of protection could possibly cover damage or theft to the rental car itself. It may also include liability insurance, which could protect you financially if the rental car causes injury to others or damages someone else’s property. From personal experience, I’ll say the additional coverage for rental cars that is usually offered through credit card benefits isn’t always enough. If you ever find yourself in Iceland, pay for every type of additional coverage they offer—trust us!
Rental car insurance is a must-have.
Adventure
Suppose you plan to engage in high-adrenaline activities, like scuba diving or skydiving, during your travels. In that case, it’s worth looking into adventure and sports travel insurance outside of the travel insurance credit cards offer. Most standard medical coverage through credit card benefits typically excludes injuries related to these risky activities, so having specialized coverage can make sure you and your loved ones are protected if something goes wrong.
When thinking about the travel insurance benefits provided by your credit card, it’s essential to consider your specific travel plans, the level of coverage offered, and your unique needs. In some cases, the protections provided by credit card travel insurance may not be comprehensive enough, and it may be wise to supplement them with additional coverage to ensure you’re fully protected.
Making the most of your Travel Insurance Credit Card Benefits
Card Benefits
Two of our favorite Chase cards offer comprehensive travel insurance, including trip cancellation or interruption, baggage delay, and travel-accident insurance. There’s even trip-delay reimbursement, lost-luggage reimbursement, and emergency-evacuation coverage.
Several cards within the Capital One family and American Express offer similar benefits, so it’s essential to review the specific benefit guides for each card to understand full coverage details and what options you may already have as a cardholder. The level of coverage and specific benefits vary from card to card and from bank to bank, so if you’re ever unsure, we recommend calling your bank’s benefit center to confirm.
And really important—don’t forget that you must pay for your travel-related expenses using the card offering the desired insurance you’re looking to take advantage of. You don’t want to be caught in a situation where you are under the impression that you’ll get reimbursed from a card you hold but haven’t used to pay for any portion of your trip related to any potential claims that may need to be submitted. The card issuer won’t provide coverage if you didn’t use their card to book the trip you’re making a claim about.
Need More Coverage?
You might consider supplementing your travel insurance by purchasing a policy beyond what your credit card benefits provide. While there are many reputable companies, it’s important to thoroughly research and select one that aligns with your specific needs. Here are a few of our recommendations:
Allianz has been in the industry for over 25 years and offers a variety of single-trip, annual policies and rental car coverage that you can tailor to your specific travel needs. My husband and I have a yearly plan that covers each of us for under $500/year.
My Allianz health plan paid for toiletries I needed in a lost luggage situation.
Like Allianz, Travelex has been around for more than 25 years. It offers plans that cover trip cancellations, medical emergencies, and baggage issues. It also provides 24/7 support, making it easy to get in touch with them no matter where you are in the world.
Travel Guard is renowned as a top travel insurance provider. It offers highly customizable plans with unique add-ons like the Pet Bundle, which covers additional pet boarding costs if you’re delayed returning home, and the Travel Inconvenience Bundle, which compensates for unexpected disruptions like closed attractions or hotel construction!
This option is perfect for those seeking a customizable plan that covers a wide range of activities and destinations—particularly popular among adventurous travelers! A friend of mine recently booked a hiking tour on the Inca Trail. Upon arriving in Peru, her partner became seriously ill, requiring both medical treatment and hospitalization. Fortunately, their travel insurance included trip-interruption coverage, which fully reimbursed their medical expenses and refunded the cost of the trek for both of them!
How to Submit a Claim
While traveling, it’s crucial to keep all receipts and relevant documentation that may be required to submit a claim. This includes medical receipts, flight-delay or cancellation confirmations (take screenshots on your phone), restaurant receipts, hotel bills, Uber receipts, and a list and valuation of what was in your luggage. The more thorough your documentation, the smoother the reimbursement process will be. Additionally, you’ll need to provide proof that the charges appear on your credit card statement to verify that the benefit coverage was active during the claim period.
Be sure to file your claim as soon as possible after your trip. Some banks, like Chase, require claims to be submitted within 20 days of the event.
Remember that you’ll need to pay for any expenses out of pocket initially and then submit all the relevant documentation to your bank’s benefits center. Once submitted, you’ll need to wait for a decision regarding any reimbursement.
It’s never fun dealing with insurance companies or waiting to be reimbursed, but it’s best to be prepared in those “just in case” moments.
Bottom Line
Before booking any trip, understand the benefits available through the cards you hold and evaluate which card makes the most sense for you to use when you book in order to take advantage of these great benefits. It’s so important to be proactive and prepared, and with the travel insurance coverage available through credit card benefits, you and your loved ones can travel with greater confidence knowing that any unexpected hiccups, or worse, won’t derail your trip, or your budget. It’s important to know all about travel insurance so that you are covered when the unplanned problem, delay, or health emergency happens.
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Reg:
“Additionally, you’ll need to provide proof that the charges appear on your credit card statement to verify that the benefit coverage was active during the claim period.”
This was also required of me when filing a claim with Allianz for a cancelled trip due to death of the traveler. So I now track on my vacation spreadsheet which credit card each vacation item (flight taxes, hotel deposit if not on points, and tours/excursions) was charged to….and when I remember, I’ll go back and put that credit card statement (or checking if it was an ACH draft) in my vacation folder in case I need to make a claim (I really do this in case a loved one has to make a claim so they don’t have to hunt for it).
Thanks for your input, Brooke! So sorry that you had to use insurance this way.
Which company would you recommend for medical insurance for travelers in their 60’s?
My husband and I both have an annual travel plan with Allianz.