Full vs. Partial Travel Coverage: Which Plan Is Right for You?

  • Full coverage plans protect against a wide range of risks, including medical emergencies, cancellations, and delays.
  • Partial coverage plans focus on specific areas, such as medical or trip interruption, and often cost less.
  • Compare policies carefully to ensure you’re not paying for unnecessary coverage or leaving important risks unaddressed.

Amid all the excitement of planning a trip, travel insurance is often a forgotten expense.

But choosing the right policy ensures you're adequately protected — without spending more than you have to. After all, you don’t want to “save” on a cheap policy only to find out you’re not covered for what you need.

There are two types of travel insurance plans to consider: full and partial.

Full coverage plans offer a wider range of protections, while partial coverage protects against fewer risks and often with lower limits.

. . .

What Is a Full Coverage Plan?

If you are seeking a comprehensive policy that can cover you for most of the main risks of a trip, a full coverage plan is the way to go. 

Here are some of the typical coverages included:

  • Trip cancellation: Reimburses you for prepaid, nonrefundable costs when your trip is canceled due to a covered reason, such as illness or natural disaster. 
  • Medical emergency: Getting sick overseas can be scary. This lets you focus on getting the proper care without worrying about the costs of doctor visits and hospital stays. 
  • Emergency evacuation: An emergency evacuation (for a medical emergency or otherwise) can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
  • Interruptions: Protects you if you need to end your trip early due to circumstances like illness or an emergency back home. It’s similar to trip cancellation, but covers you when you're already at the destination.
  • Delays: Reimburses costs for alternative transportation, meals, and hotel stays.
  • Lost/delayed baggage: Reimburses the costs of lost, stolen, or damaged personal belongings, including passports. You can also get reimbursed for purchasing essential items such as a change of clothes and toiletries while waiting for your bags.

When full coverage is ideal

Typically, trips that require more comprehensive coverage are longer and involve travel to multiple international destinations. 

You’ll especially want to consider it if you’re traveling anywhere that’s associated with risks such as bad weather or political unrest.

Full coverage may also be better if you have any health issues or are older.

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What Is a Partial Coverage Plan?

Partial coverage plans are generally lower in cost but offer fewer features. Coverage amounts are also lower and come with restrictions.

Partial plans generally only cover medical emergencies and trip cancellations. Some may provide similar benefits to full coverage plans but with lower limits for each risk.

When partial coverage is sufficient

With a lower cost, partial coverage plans may be ideal if you:

  • Are on a budget
  • Are embarking on a shorter trip
  • Consider yourself healthy and low risk for illness
  • Don't anticipate undertaking any high-risk activities 
  • Won't be carrying expensive items

Even if you consider yourself healthy, being prepared will pay off financially if the unforeseen occurs. 

How To Choose Between Full and Partial Coverage

Deciding which plan is best to purchase involves understanding the difference between these two types of plans, and the unique needs and risks of your trip.

This can help avoid unnecessary costs while ensuring you have the best protection for your finances, health, and belongings.

Assess your travel risks and trip type

When assessing the risks of your trip, consider the following factors:

  • Destination: Consider risks like political unrest, natural disasters, the season, crime, and illnesses.
  • Activities: If you plan to, say, go snowboarding or diving, consider a full coverage plan with the flexibility to add coverage for riskier activities.
  • Trip duration: Generally, the longer you will be away, the higher the risk of adverse unforeseen events.

Consider coverage limits

As the name suggests, full plans cover a lot of situations. In contrast, partial plans are generally quite basic — they usually only include medical coverage or focus on a few specific risks.

For example, an extended family trip overseas to Europe would benefit from a full plan to cover the risk of losing belongings, illness, and bad weather. Meanwhile, someone taking a short weekend trip may opt for a partial plan that covers baggage and delays only.

Some partial plans, such as Travel Guard’s Essential Plan, may provide similar coverage to full coverage plans but with lower benefit limits.

Check customization options

One benefit of full coverage over partial plans is the greater ability to add optional coverage for specific and unique risks. Partial plans often have fewer options to customize.

If you need add-ons like coverage for adventure sports or cancel for any reason (CFAR) insurance, check what customizations are available.

Compare costs

Full coverage is more expensive but offers broader protection and for higher amounts. Should you need to make a claim, more money will be reimbursed to you than with a partial coverage plan. 

While partial plans are cheaper, you'll likely be paying more out-of-pocket if you need to make a claim.

But plans can vary between insurance companies, so compare a few different providers (for both full and partial) for costs and coverage limits — you may find an affordable full coverage plan or a fairly comprehensive partial plan. 

You can use comparison tools like VisitorsCoverage or SquareMouth, using filters to narrow down to only the features you are interested in.

Consider your budget

Determine how much you can spend to ensure you get the right protection.

While full coverage plans may be more expensive upfront, you will be better covered. With a partial plan, you may be out a lot of money if something goes wrong.

But make sure you’re paying for only the coverage you need. (There’s no point in getting coverage for adventure sports if you plan to spend your whole vacation reading on the beach!)

Check your credit card

There aren’t many credit cards that offer full coverage, but some do exist. 

If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, for example, you’ve got trip cancellation/interruption, trip delay, lost/delayed luggage, emergency medical and dental, and medical evacuation.

Just know that you must have paid for the trip in full with the credit card in order for it to qualify for the card’s travel insurance.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Rewards Rate
  • 10x points on hotel stays and car rentals through Chase Travel℠
  • 5x points on dining purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards and on Lyft purchases (through March 2025)
  • 5x points on flights booked through Chase Travel℠ (after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually)
  • 3x points on restaurants and travel
  • 1x points on everything else
Welcome Offer

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening

Annual Fee

$550

. . .

FAQs About Full vs. Partial Coverage Plans

How do I know if full coverage is worth the cost of my trip?

If your trip is high risk — considering the factors of trip duration, your health, the type of activities you will undertake, and the safety of the destination — then it might be worth forking out the higher costs for more comprehensive coverage so you're adequately protected.

Are partial plans available for specific activities, like skiing or diving?

Some travel insurance companies may offer the option to add extra coverage for sporting activities. However, check the fine print for coverage limits.

Can I upgrade a partial plan to full coverage later?

Once your trip has started, upgrading from a partial to full coverage plan is generally not permitted. 

However, if you inform the provider before you depart, you may still be able to upgrade.

Is full coverage necessary for domestic travel?

That depends on how risky your trip or the destination is. 

For example, if you’re traveling to a city with a high crime rate or plan to go bungee jumping, you might consider full coverage.

Do credit card benefits count as full or partial coverage?

Although some credit cards include travel insurance, most of them don’t include medical coverage. Limits are usually lower and typically only cover specific risks such as delays and lost baggage. 

If your trip involves more risks, you may be better off choosing a standalone travel insurance policy that can provide adequate coverage. You could also combine the two to provide the coverage you need.

TL;DR: Comparing Full and Partial Coverage

Although budget may be front of mind when deciding between full and partial travel insurance coverage, it’s important to assess the risks of your trip so you can make the right choice.

Full coverage includes protection for most risks, like medical emergencies, lost luggage, trip delays, and cancellations or interruptions. Partial coverage is more affordable but also more limited.

Compare different providers for their policy options, ratings, and reputation. You want to find a policy that’s worth paying for, but without overpaying for protection you don’t need. 

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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.

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I'm an award-winning lawyer and personal finance expert featured in Inc. Magazine, CNBC, the Today Show, Business Insider and more. My mission is to make personal finance accessible for everyone. As the largest financial influencer in the world, I'm connected to a community of over 20 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. I'm also the host of the podcast Erika Taught Me. You might recognize me from my viral tagline, "I read the fine print so you don't have to!"

I'm a graduate of Georgetown Law, where I founded the Georgetown Law Entrepreneurship Club, and the University of Notre Dame. I discovered my passion for personal finance after realizing I was drowning in over $200,000 of student debt and needed to take action-ultimately paying off my student loans in under 2 years. I then spent years as a corporate lawyer representing Fortune 500 companies, but I quit because I realized I wanted to have an impact; I wanted to help real people and teach them that you can create a financial future for yourself.

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Advertiser Disclosure

Our aim is to help you make financial decisions with confidence through our objective article content and reviews. Erika.com is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as MileValue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Advertiser Disclosure

Our aim is to help you make financial decisions with confidence through our objective article content and reviews. Erika.com is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as MileValue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.