We can never predict the emergencies that can happen on any given day, but when an emergency strikes on a holiday overseas, it can be even more stressful.
You may not have access to the usual healthcare and services you’re familiar with at home — not to mention the costs involved. Plus, you may have to cancel hotels, tickets, or activities you’ve already paid for.
Travel insurance is one way to protect ourselves physically and financially from such risks, while trip protection can add extra coverage for canceled bookings.
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Comprehensive travel insurance for all trip types. - Booking.com
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Automatic trip protection for trips purchased with the card.

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Understanding Travel Insurance and Trip Protection
Two terms often used interchangeably are travel insurance and trip protection. But these are different types of coverage.
Travel insurance focuses on broader risks like medical emergencies and cancellations. Trip protection plans address cancellations and other issues specific to airlines, activity providers, and lodgings.
You can combine them to maximize your coverage and peace of mind.
What is travel insurance?
Travel insurance is protection against travel risks and is offered by insurance companies.
These policies typically cover a broader range of risks, like medical emergencies and evacuations, trip cancellations, and baggage issues.
All travelers should consider it, but it’s particularly ideal for trips that involve high-risk destinations or activities, as well as older travelers or those with health concerns.
What is trip protection?
Trip protection is more limited in coverage. It’s usually offered directly by travel operators such as cruise lines, tour companies, airlines, or hotels.
The risks they cover are specific to their services and can include refunds, credits, or cancellation fees waived.
Some credit cards may also offer trip protection. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, for example, reimburses you up to $10,000 ($20,000 per trip) for prepaid, nonrefundable expenses if your travel is canceled due to illness or weather.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Rewards Rate
- 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries
- 2x on all other travel purchases
- 1x on all other purchases
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
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Key differences between the two
One of the significant advantages of travel insurance is that it covers medical emergencies and evacuation, whereas trip protection doesn’t. This is essential, particularly if traveling overseas, as an evacuation can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
For example, maybe you're hiking in the Andes but twist your ankle badly and need to be evacuated from a remote destination to get medical help.
Trip protection is for situations specific to travel operators, such as if you decide to cancel a guided tour you’ve booked.
Travel insurance is usually significantly more expensive than trip protection. However, trip protection is an unregulated product, so there’s a risk of complicated exclusions or even not receiving the protection you were promised!
Benefits of Combining Travel Insurance and Trip Protection
There is no need to stick to one or the other — you can even purchase travel insurance that includes trip protection for a more comprehensive policy.
Or you can buy them as separate plans that complement each other.
Holistic coverage for all risks
Maybe you’re traveling to a country where you’re worried about the health conditions.
Medical emergency coverage that’s included with travel insurance would be ideal if illness strikes, while trip protection could cover prepaid fees for tours and activities you had to cancel because of being sick.
Maximizing claims and reimbursements
Combining the broader coverage from travel insurance with the more service-specific trip protection coverage can ensure broader financial coverage.
For example, maybe you’re traveling with expensive camera equipment and require higher limits for baggage protection, which the trip protection has.
You might decide to purchase it for your pricey possessions, while still relying on your travel insurance policy for its medical coverage.
Flexibility for diverse travel needs
Travel insurance offers the flexibility to customize with add-ons such as cancel for any reason (CFAR).
Trip protection doesn’t offer this option, so if you think you might want to cancel for a reason not covered, you can pair your trip protection with a travel insurance policy that offers this protection.
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How to Combine Travel Insurance and Trip Protection Effectively
Evaluate your trip type, destination, and risks so you can decide on the right combination of coverage.
Generally, the higher the risk you take on, the more costly the premiums will be.
Assess your trip type and risks
Travel insurance with medical coverage is highly recommended for overseas travel. But how much coverage you need depends on your situation.
For example, young travelers or those with few health concerns may settle for a lower limit than older travelers or those with health concerns.
If you’ve booked costly tours and hotels, consider trip protection so you can cancel the booking with no fee. But if your hotel doesn’t charge for last-minute cancellations or your tours are fairly cheap, you may not need trip protection.
Choose compatible providers
Ensure that travel insurance and trip protection providers complement each other without overlapping excessively.
For example, you wouldn’t purchase a trip protection plan just for its $1,000 cancellation coverage when your travel insurance policy already provides a substantial amount of $5,000.
Read the fine print carefully
Read the terms and conditions, inclusions, exclusions, and claims processes carefully.
Remember: Trip protection is an unregulated product when it’s not part of a bundled policy from an insurance company. Only buy trip protection from reputable companies and read the terms thoroughly.
FAQs About Travel Insurance and Trip Protection
Can I purchase trip protection and travel insurance separately?
Yes, and they can complement each other to fill in gaps in coverage.
For example, you may find a travel insurance policy that offers excellent medical coverage but lacks cancellation and trip interruption coverage. Adding a suitable trip protection product can maximize your coverage.
Trip protection plans are generally much lower in cost, so combining the two might be more economical than purchasing a more expensive single travel insurance policy that ticks all the boxes.
How do I avoid overlapping coverage when combining plans?
Look at the inclusions and exclusions of both so you don’t double up. Assess which one has broader coverage or offers coverage the other plan doesn’t provide.
Review the restrictions between the two, once again based on the risks of your trip, to help you decide which one may be more suitable.
For example, say you buy a policy that covers medical emergencies but doesn’t offer cancellation coverage. You might pair this with a trip protection plan from your hotel or tour operator.
If you end up purchasing a product and realize you don’t need it, many travel insurance policies offer a 14-day period to cancel with a refund.
Is trip protection included with all travel booking platforms?
Trip protection may come up as an optional add-on during the booking process.
For example, Booking.com offers different pricing levels for hotel stays, depending on the cancellation flexibility.
TL;DR: Travel Insurance vs. Trip Protection
Travel insurance and trip protection sound similar, but they aren’t the same thing. Trip protection is not a regulated product, whereas travel insurance is regulated.
However, when it comes to choosing between these two types of protection for your travels, they don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Evaluate the risks of your trip, and search and compare plans that can adequately protect you. You might find that combining both plans offsets any gaps in coverage, giving you more holistic coverage and saving you money.

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As a freelance lifestyle and health writer, I recognize the profound impact financial literacy can have on health and wellbeing. I’m passionate about equality and believe education is the key to building a stable financial future. I provide easy-to-understand, practical information to make it less daunting for people to feel empowered to take that first step towards building a stable financial future.
Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.