Road trip insurance doesn’t exist as a standalone policy — but that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck.
I’ll show you how to patch together coverage from your existing policies and affordable add-ons to avoid financial potholes like breakdowns, theft, or medical emergencies.
This way, you can embark on your next road trip adventure feeling protected and relaxed!
Erika Recommends
- Coverage.com
Compare car insurance policies and get rates. - Chase Freedom Unlimited®
No-annual-fee card with built-in trip cancellation and purchase protection. - Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Great travel card with primary rental car insurance included.
4 Essential Coverages Every Road Tripper Needs
1. Auto insurance upgrades
If you’re prepping for a long road trip, now might be a good time to re-evaluate some of your auto insurance coverage.
Because if you think about it, you’ll be doing a lot more driving soon — which means your likelihood of an accident goes up, too.
Here are some coverages you might consider upping a bit before heading out:
- Liability insurance covers damage you cause to others in an at-fault accident, including their property and medical bills. And since you’ll be traveling at highway speeds for hours a day, it might be worth increasing your coverage to 50/100.
- Collision insurance helps to cover the cost of repairing or replacing your own vehicle after an at-fault accident, including collisions with other vehicles or hitting fences/trees. Again, since you’ll be traveling at high speeds all day, it might be worth upping your collision coverage to cover the total value of your car.
- Comprehensive insurance covers damage to your car that occurs in non-accident scenarios, such as theft, fire, vandalism, weather damage, getting struck by road debris, or incidents with animals. If you’ll be traveling through construction zones, bad weather, or rural backroads (with more animals), beefing up your comprehensive coverage and lowering your deductibles would be a wise idea.
RELATED: The Best Way to Shop for Car Insurance
2. Medical coverage
While your auto insurance policy will cover you in all 50 states and Canada, your health insurance may not.
That’s because most health insurance policies are state-specific, meaning once you drive across state lines, you may have trouble finding an “in-network” provider.
The good news is that a basic and affordable travel insurance policy will help fill those gaps, providing emergency medical and dental coverage (and more) while you’re on the go.
READ MORE: What Is Travel Insurance and Do You Need It?
3. Roadside assistance
Roadside assistance is like a paramedic for your car. Call roadside assistance, and a local mechanic will come by to help with flat tires, dead batteries, lockouts, fuel delivery, minor repairs, and even towing if necessary.
You can always call for roadside assistance on an as-needed basis, but the cost can be high ($300+).
That’s why getting a roadside assistance plan before a road trip can be a wise investment, especially if you have an older or less reliable car.
A basic AAA Classic Membership covers all of the above services and costs just $65 per year.
4. Rental car reimbursement
Rental car reimbursement is an optional insurance add-on that helps to cover the cost of a rental car if your own vehicle becomes undrivable after an accident.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t kick in after a breakdown (just accidents), but it can still be handy to have if you’re concerned that an accident could derail your road trip plans, since a rental car may be your only option for continuing on your trip.
Optional (But Smart) Add-Ons
Trip interruption insurance
Trip interruption insurance helps to cover nonrefundable trip expenses if your travel plans get derailed. Covered reasons typically include medical emergencies (you, your travel companions, or your family), natural disasters/severe weather, and jury duty.
Let’s say you and your best friend plan a two-day road trip to attend a Taylor Swift concert a few states away. But on Day 1 of the trip, she catches Covid, forcing you to turn around and head home.
At this point, your $500 Airbnb and $1,000 tickets are nonrefundable, so you file a trip interruption insurance claim and get the bulk of your $1,500 back.
The good news is that some credit cards include trip interruption insurance for free!
Personal belongings coverage
Believe it or not, you might already have coverage for your valuables from your homeowners or renters insurance, which protects your stuff even if it leaves the home.
To find out, see if your policy includes personal property coverage.
The caveat is that personal property coverage often has a high deductible ($1,000+), so you may want to temporarily lower your limit — or purchase a separate travel insurance policy — before you fill your car with valuables like your smartphone, laptop, wedding ring, and GPS.
READ MORE: Protecting Your Belongings While Traveling: Tips & Coverage
Emergency evacuation
Finally, emergency evacuation coverage can help cover the costs of emergency medical transportation (e.g., ambulance, EMS helicopter) if you get sick or injured during your road trip.
Considering your medical insurance may not fully cover you when you leave your home state and that the cost of an uninsured ambulance ride can be $3,500+, emergency evac coverage can lend big peace of mind.
Credit Card Perks You (Might) Already Have
Using the Chase Freedom Unlimited® as an example, here are some road trip coverages that you might already have from your credit card benefits (even one with no annual fee!).
- Purchase protection covers damage or theft of items purchased within the last 120 days.
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance covers nonrefundable trip expenses if your road trip gets canceled or delayed due to sickness, weather, etc.
- Extended warranty protection adds a year of warranty coverage to your older stuff, which could come in handy on a road trip (e.g., your three-year-old GPS stops working).
- Auto rental coverage (aka rental car insurance) offers free collision insurance on your rental car so you don’t have to pay Hertz and friends $30/day for it. Some credit cards, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, offer primary rental car insurance, which is much better than secondary, since it means you don’t have to involve your own insurance first.
COMPARE: Best Credit Cards for Rental Car Insurance
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Rewards Rate
- 5% cashback on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3% cashback on drugstore purchases, restaurants, takeout, and eligible delivery services
- 1.5% on all other purchases
Welcome Offer
Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$0
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 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Don’t Waste Your Money on These
Duplicate coverage
Before buying any form of coverage, be sure to take inventory of what you might already have through your auto insurance, medical insurance, renters/homeowners insurance, and especially credit card benefits.
For example, your medical insurance provider may have a nationwide provider network, you might already have “stuff” coverage through your renters insurance, and trip interruption could be covered through your credit card benefits.
All three lessen the need for you to buy a separate travel insurance policy.
Rental car insurance
If you have collision insurance on your regular auto insurance policy – or auto rental coverage through your credit card benefits – you don’t have to buy the rental car agency’s separate collision insurance and can save $30/day.
READ MORE: Rental Car Insurance: Everything You Need to Know
Overpriced medical evacuation coverage
Some companies like MedJet offer short-term, platinum-level medical evac coverage starting at $99 for eight days — but it’s not entirely necessary for the average road-tripper, since you can get an entire travel insurance policy for around that cost.
FAQs About Insurance for Road Trips
Does my car insurance cover road trips?
Yes. Your auto insurance coverage and limits should cover you in all 50 states plus Canada.
How to protect belongings on a road trip?
Whenever possible, try to bring your valuables with you and leave them locked inside your Airbnb or hotel room. If you can’t bring your valuables inside (i.e., you’re just popping into Waffle House for some lunch), the next best way to protect them from thieves is to lock them inside the trunk.
Does my car insurance cover me in Canada and Mexico?
Most U.S. car insurance policies will provide the same coverage in Canada thanks to a reciprocal agreement between the two countries.
Mexico, on the other hand, does not recognize U.S. or Canadian insurance, so you’ll need to buy tourist insurance before driving across the border.
TL;DR: How To Insure a Road Trip
When all is said and done, you can cobble together all the road trip insurance you need for less than $200.
A basic travel insurance policy can help cover your out-of-state medical bills and travel plans, while a small increase in your auto insurance premiums can help protect your car itself.
Finally, your credit card benefits can often help cover the rest.
For more ways to save money on your next asphalt adventure, check out the Best Road Trip Travel Tips.
Was there an issue with your flight?
We read the fine print so you don't have to! Take our Flight Rights Quiz to learn more about the compensation the airline may owe you if your flight was delayed or canceled!
Learn With Erika
- Free Travel Secrets Workshop
- Learn how to use the fine print to book your next vacation practically for free with Erika's step-by-step system
- Free 5 Day Investing Challenge
- Learn how to get started as a beginner investor and make your first $10,000
- Free 5 Day Savings Challenge
- Discover how you can save $1,000 without penny pinching or making major life sacrifices
- Join Erika Kullberg Insiders
- Ask investing questions, share successes and participate in monthly challenges and expert workshops
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.
