Is travel insurance always necessary? While it’s a lifesaver for many trips, there are situations where you might not need it — or where it’s not worth the cost.
It’s a good feeling when you get home from a perfect vacation and realize you were just fine without that travel insurance policy. But if the worst happens while abroad, you will feel differently.
If you’re traveling to a remote locale, planning adventure sports, or have major nonrefundable costs, a travel insurance policy can make a lot of sense. If, however, you are planning a quick and easy trip to a major city, you may be more comfortable taking your chances.
Erika Recommends
- VisitorsCoverage
Compare travel polices from trusted providers. - World Nomads
Insurance options tailored to adventure travel. - Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Trip delay and cancellation coverage included in card benefits.
How To Assess Whether You Need Travel Insurance
Getting travel insurance isn’t necessary for every trip you’ll ever take — although disaster can strike no matter where you travel or for how long.
Consider factors like destination, your health, and your financial risk tolerance.
Evaluate your destination’s risks
Every destination comes with its own unique set of risks. Factors like healthcare quality, natural disasters, and political stability can all influence your decision to buy insurance. Consider how risky a destination is from every direction.
Consider your health and travel style
If you have ongoing health needs, a travel insurance policy can ensure you get any emergency care you need while traveling — without hurting your wallet.
You should also consider how likely it is that your planned activities could lead to injuries. A guided tour of the Louvre is very unlikely to lead to injury, but a hike through the Amazon very well could.
Review your trip’s costs and refundability
Travel is expensive, and you can often save big by booking nonrefundable flights and hotels. Guided tours, restaurant reservations, train tickets, and other activities may also be nonrefundable.
If you need to cancel your trip or end it early for any reason, you’ll be grateful that, alongside a ruined vacation, you don’t have to also pay for unused bookings.
If your trip was very expensive and is partially or fully nonrefundable, consider a travel insurance policy to protect your money.
You can use an online marketplace like VisitorsCoverage or SquareMouth to compare policy rates and compare against your trip’s nonrefundable costs.
Situations Where Travel Insurance Is Essential
There are some types of trips that more obviously highlight a need for reliable travel insurance.
International travel or cruises
Let’s say you miss a connecting flight to your overseas destination or a delayed flight causes you to miss your chance to board a cruise. In those cases, a travel insurance policy can help you pay for solutions.
Plus, your insurer’s customer support can help you find a way forward so you can still enjoy your trip.
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!
Expensive trips with nonrefundable costs
Most trips come with a nonrefundable booking or two, but some trips are particularly expensive and hard to back out of.
If you planned a luxury vacation, are traveling for a wedding, or booked prepaid tours, a travel policy can seriously protect your bank account.
READ MORE: How To Protect Your Trip by Planning With Cancellation Insurance
Adventure travel or high-risk activities
If you are an adventure junkie, you probably already know that your vacation activities of choice come with a bit of risk.
Not only do you face potential injuries when you plan an adventurous trip, but you may run into other issues like equipment loss, theft, or severe weather.
Some insurers, like World Nomads, specialize in adventure travel, while some others, like Travel Guard, offer adventure sports add-ons.
Situations Where Travel Insurance Is Optional
Again, not all trips immediately demand a travel insurance policy. Let’s look at a few scenarios when travel insurance feels more optional.
Domestic travel with minimal risks
When you travel domestically, your normal health insurance provider will typically cover emergency healthcare costs like a trip to the ER.
Traveling domestically is typically also less expensive and less complicated than international travel, so when a trip goes south, it won’t be as major of a financial or logistical disaster.
Flexible or refundable bookings
If your booking providers — such as hotels, airlines, or tour operators — offer easy cancellations or changes, you can feel more confident skipping the cancellation portion of a travel insurance policy.
Short trips with low upfront costs
Planning a quick escape? Weekend getaways or last-minute plans where expenses are minimal won’t benefit as much from a comprehensive travel insurance policy as a big multi-week international escapade.
Alternatives to Travel Insurance
Before you purchase any type of travel insurance, consider these alternatives. You only want to purchase coverage for protections you don’t already have through other avenues.
Credit card travel benefits
Many credit cards come with some level of travel insurance protection. Trip delay protection, car rental insurance, and lost luggage reimbursement are all common types of coverage you may already have.
Before buying travel insurance, get to know your credit card’s travel benefits better. In most cases, you need to book the trip with the credit card in question if you want to later turn to those benefits for support.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® are both great examples of travel-friendly credit cards.
Both offer strong travel insurance protections, including a rental car collision damage waiver, trip delay reimbursement, lost luggage reimbursement, and trip cancellation/interruption insurance.
READ MORE: When to Use Credit Card Coverage vs. Separate Travel Insurance
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
. . .
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Rewards Rate
- 10x points on hotel stays and car rentals through Chase Travel℠
- 10x points on dining purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- 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
. . .
Robust health insurance
In most cases, your domestic health insurance policy won’t cover medical care abroad. However, most policies do cover out-of-network emergency care when in the U.S.
A small few cover international health incidents as well, so it never hurts to call your health insurance provider to clarify which emergencies you have coverage for.
Self-insure for low-risk trips
If you are planning a low-risk trip, consider creating a travel emergency fund instead of buying insurance.
That way, if all goes according to plan, you didn’t spend any extra money on a policy and have some savings waiting for you.
FAQs About Buying Travel Insurance
Are there destinations where travel insurance is always recommended?
Generally, any location that is prone to natural disasters, experiences political unrest, or is a hotspot for adventure travel is a good candidate for travel insurance.
Is it worth buying travel insurance for trips under $500?
Generally, buying trip cancellation insurance for small trips isn’t worthwhile. You could simply put some money into an emergency fund in case something goes amiss on your trip.
However, you may want to still get travel medical insurance, even for a cheap trip — especially if you’re going somewhere with expensive healthcare or high risk of injury.
What’s the risk of skipping travel insurance for international travel?
Skipping travel insurance risks your financial stability. If you need major medical care in a foreign country, require emergency evacuation, or miss a flight, you can end up losing a lot of money. A travel insurance policy protects your financial interests and your peace of mind.
TL;DR: Do I Need Travel Insurance?
A travel insurance policy isn’t always necessary (sometimes your plans do go off without a hitch), but understanding your trip’s risks and costs can help you make an informed decision.
Evaluate your needs, check existing protections, and purchase insurance only when it provides clear value for your trip.
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
. . .
