10 Best Travel Insurance Companies in February 2023
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Whether you’re looking for an international travel insurance plan, emergency medical care, COVID coverage or a policy that includes extreme sports, these are the best travel insurance providers to get you covered.
If you already have an insurer in mind or just want to learn more about some of the best travel insurance companies, take a look at our top 10 list of companies below.
This is the shortlist of the best travel insurance options in February of 2023:
IMG.
Factors we considered when picking travel insurance companies
We used the following factors to choose insurance providers to highlight:
Breadth of coverage: We looked at how many plans each company offered, plus the range of their standard plans.
Depth of coverage: We considered two data points to get a sense of how much each company pays out for common travel snafus: the maximum caps for trip cancellation and trip interruption claims.
Cost: By looking at the costs for basic coverage across multiple companies, we were able to determine an average cost for shoppers to benchmark plan prices against.
Usability: A company could offer the most comprehensive and most affordable coverage in the world, but if it’s hard to find or get a quote for, it’s moot. A user-friendly website is key to simplifying the travel insurance booking process.
Customizability: While standard plans can cover a lot of ground, sometimes you need something a little more personal.
An overview of the best travelers insurance
We looked at quotes from various companies for a six-day trip in August 2022 to Croatia. The traveler was 30 years old, from Texas and planned to spend $1,500 total on the trip, including airfare.
On average, the price of each company’s most basic coverage plan was $56. These policies did not include any optional add-ons, such as Cancel for Any Reason coverage or pre-existing medical condition coverage.
Company name | Basic coverage cost | Recommended for... |
|---|---|---|
Allianz Global Assistance | $60. | Economical travelers who want to add on cheap rental car protection. |
Travel Guard by AIG | $92. | Those traveling with pre-existing medical conditions and cruise goers. |
USI Affinity Travel Insurance Services | $71. | International students and cruise goers. |
Travel Insured International | $55. | Gadget heads, superfans. Plans cover traveling with expensive electronic equipment and high-cost ticketed events. |
World Nomads | $61. | Thrill seekers. Plans automatically cover 200+ adventurous activities. Plus, if you're currently traveling and want to extend your trip, World Nomads lets you buy and extend coverage. |
Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection | $36. | Customizers and cruise goers. |
Travelex Insurance Services | $44. | Nervous nellies. Add on the Medical Coverage upgrade, which includes an additional $50,000 in medical expense coverage and $500,000 in medical evacuation coverage on top of what is already included. |
Seven Corners | $44. | Traveling athletes. Seven Corners offers medical only protection, plus options to cover sports and golf equipment rental. |
IMG | $45. | Long-term budget travelers. The most basic package covers trips up to 180 days and offers 100% trip cancellation coverage and 125% trip interruption coverage. |
AXA Assistance USA | $53. | Risk-conscious but economical travelers who want basic protection. |
Top travelers insurance options
Let's take a closer look at our 10 recommendations for travel insurance this month.
Allianz Global Assistance
What makes Allianz Global Assistance great:
Annual and single-trip plans.
Plans are available for international and domestic trips.
Stand-alone rental-car damage product is available.
Here’s a snippet from our Allianz Global Assistance review:
“Allianz Global Assistance has five travel insurance plans for single trips, including a plan that’s mainly focused on emergency medical coverage. The OneTrip Cancellation Plus plan is geared toward domestic travelers who are looking for trip cancellation, interruption and delay coverage but don't need post-departure benefits like emergency medical or baggage loss. This plan is Allianz’s most affordable option.”
For our test trip, Allianz Global Assistance’s basic coverage cost $60, slightly above average.
Travel Guard by AIG
What makes Travel Guard by AIG great:
Four levels of comprehensive plans and a build-your-own customizable plan.
Flight accident insurance, medical evacuation plan and annual plans available.
Plan available for business travelers.
In our Travel Guard by AIG review, we write:
“While the Essential, Preferred and Deluxe plans all offer varying degrees of coverage for your trip, there are some things that won’t be covered by any of the plans. Examples include coverage for trips paid for with frequent flyer miles or loyalty rewards programs; baggage loss for eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids or false teeth; and known events.”
Travel Guard by AIG offers basic insurance for $92, about 39% higher than average.
USI Affinity Travel Insurance Services
What makes USI Affinity Travel Insurance Services great:
Search comprehensive plan types by policy name, insurance needs and traveler type.
Medical and evacuation plans for international travel.
One annual plan with two levels of coverage to choose from.
The USI Affinity Travel Insurance Services basic plan costs about $15 more than average for our example trip itinerary.
Travel Insured International
What makes Travel Insured International great:
Comprehensive and medical-only plans.
Flight plans include coverage for missed and canceled flights and lost or stolen baggage.
In our Travel Insured International review, we note:
“AIG travel insurance’s Travel Guard plans cover you if you need to cancel (or interrupt) your trip due to illness, injury or death of a family member. Inclement weather that causes a trip delay or cancellation is covered by all Travel Guard policies as well. Travel Guard offers three main AIG travel insurance plans, plus a host of add-on options.”
What’s more, Travel Insured International coverage hits average almost on the dot, at $55.
World Nomads
What makes World Nomads great:
Comprehensive international travel insurance plans.
Coverage available for adventure activities, such as trekking, mountain biking and scuba diving.
Coverage for cameras, laptops and phones.
In our World Nomads review, Nerd Elina Geller reports that:
“The Standard Plan ($79) is a good choice for those who are satisfied with trip cancellation and interruption coverage of $2,500 or less, do not need rental car damage protection, find the limits to be sufficient and do not need coverage for certain adventure sports.”
You can get World Nomads’ basic plan for $61, about $5 higher than average.
Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection
What makes Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection great:
Three comprehensive plans offer cancellation, emergency medical coverage and emergency travel assistance.
Two of the plans offer compensation for missed connections and higher thresholds for lost baggage.
Coverage can be customized with add-ons like adventure sports coverage, car rental collision and more.
Basic Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection will only run you $36, well below average. Keep in mind that this plan is designed for customization, so as you add more to your plan, your cost will likely increase.
Travelex Insurance Services
What makes Travelex Insurance Services great:
Two comprehensive plans available.
Coverage can be customized.
Two flight insurance plans available.
Basic coverage from Travelex Insurance Services cost $44 for our sample trip; this is about 27% cheaper than average.
Seven Corners
What makes Seven Corners great:
Comprehensive plans for U.S. residents and foreigners, including visitors and immigrants traveling to the U.S.
Annual, medical-only and student plans are available.
“Dogtag” plan for extreme sports, which comes with a wearable metal insurance ID tag.
The NerdWallet Seven Corners review highlights the company’s annual travel insurance options.
“Seven Corners offers two annual policies: Wander Frequent Traveler and Wander Frequent Traveler Plus. The policies can be customized depending on how long you plan to be away from home for any one trip. You can travel as much as you like during the 364 days, so long as any one trip doesn’t exceed the option selected — 30, 45 or 60 days.”
Another plus: Seven Corners’ basic coverage plan for our trip to Croatia costs $12 below average, around $44.
IMG
What makes IMG great:
Special medical insurance for ship captains and crew members, international students and missionaries.
Coverage for adventure travel.
Trip cancellation plans.
Search results page indicates if plans offer COVID-19 coverage.
IMG is also a good option for the budget-minded: Its basic plans cost $11 less than average in our test.
AXA Assistance USA
What makes AXA Assistance USA great:
Three comprehensive plans available.
Optional insurance benefits can be added to any plan, such as “Cancel For Any Reason” and rental-car damage coverage.
AXA Assistance USA basic travel insurance coverage will run you $53, slightly below average. If you add on CFAR or rental car damage coverage, be prepared to pay a little more.
More resources for travel insurance shoppers
Bookmark these resources to help you make smart money moves as you shop for travel insurance.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2023, including those best for:
Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card
Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express
Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
