Like most tour operators, we require travel insurance in order to join our trips. Guests will often ask why, with questions like: Do I have to? How much does it cost? Is my credit card insurance enough? What is the difference between travel insurance and trip insurance? What if I don’t get insurance?

To unveil the mysteries of all things travel insurance, we brought in our partners at Wanderwell, who not only provide a variety of travel insurance options (along with excellent service!) but are also a Certified B Corp provider and 1% for the Planet member. Here are their answers to the most common questions we receive.

1. Why should I buy travel insurance?

One thing that's certain about travel is its unpredictability. The numbers of Americans traveling abroad for leisure, business, study, gap year, and missionary work are climbing every year. Along with common medical issues that can easily appear in a foreign country, the rise of recent epidemics, natural disasters, and security threats give travelers plenty of good reasons to assure their health and safety are fully insured prior to embarking on a trip. Some countries are now requiring visitors to show proof of travel insurance prior to entering. Many travel providers, like Traverse, require traveling customers to purchase and maintain a qualified travel insurance policy for the duration of the trip. 

Whether you miss a flight, lose your luggage, have an injury abroad, or need to cancel or interrupt your trip due to a family emergency, travel insurance can be invaluable.

For short-term travel, there are two types of coverage: Comprehensive Trip Protection and Post-Departure-Only (travel medical) There are a few key questions to answer to help you find the appropriate type of travel insurance for your trip and which type of coverage is most appropriate for your needs.

2. What’s the difference between comprehensive Trip Protection and post-departure-only coverage?

Comprehensive Trip Protection:

Comprehensive Trip Protection is designed to cover the investment of your trip in case you are forced to cancel or interrupt your trip due to a covered reason; most notably - illness, injury, or death to the traveler, a traveling companion, and/or an immediate family member not traveling, unforecasted inclement weather, as well as more reasons. Comprehensive Trip Protection coverage generally also includes coverage for trip delays, baggage, emergency travel medical expenses, emergency medical evacuation, and much more. This coverage is typically designed for short-term travel. Plan costs can vary and can be based on each traveler's age, length of trip, total nonrefundable trip costs, destination, and resident state.

*Make sure your policy includes global assistance services, which help you to coordinate guaranteed payments to medical providers, hospitals, and clinics, as well as arrange emergency medical evacuations.

*For comprehensive trip protection travel insurance, the sooner you purchase the policy, the more it will cover. This is mainly due to time sensitive purchasing requirements (i.e., the inclusion of pre-existing conditions and the option to add Cancellation for Any Reason - CFAR - upgraded benefits) and the fact that you are not insured until you purchase a policy. In most cases, if you purchase a trip protection plan within two weeks from the day you make your initial trip payment of any kind, the plan will include coverage for pre-existing conditions. Check with the provider and plan details for specifics.

*Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) upgrade option can be added to some plans. CFAR typically provides reimbursement for up to 75% percent of the prepaid, nonrefundable, forfeited payments you paid for your trip, if you cancel your trip for any reason not otherwise covered by your policy.

Post-Departure-Only:

Post-Departure-Only plans generally have lower plan costs because they don’t cover trip cancellation. Consider plans with primary emergency travel medical coverage that is considered primary, as well as emergency medical evacuation and repatriation. Some even have limited coverage for trip interruption and Baggage & Personal Effects.

*It helps to have a plan that includes global assistance services, which help you to coordinate guaranteed payments to medical providers, hospitals, and clinics, as well as arrange emergency medical evacuations.

*It helps to have a plan that treats COVID-19 the same as any other sickness.

We’ve seen many flight delays, lost luggage, and missed connections over the years and have found that Comprehensive Trip Protection is worth the extra spend to insure the investment of your trip!

3. Doesn't my medical insurance in the USA already cover me?

Despite what you may think, most domestic medical insurance in the United States is limited to zero coverage overseas. If your domestic medical insurance does cover claims for care received abroad, it is likely limited to emergencies only and subject to your deductible. Travel insurance covers the many gaps often associated with depending on your U.S. domestic medical coverage abroad. Check with your domestic medical insurance company for details.

4. Won't the credit card that I use pay for the trip or the travel supplier reimburse me, if something goes wrong?

Not all credit cards cover trip cancellation or trip interruption, and even those that do often exclude cancellation and interruption due to pre-existing conditions. In such coverage, medical coverage is often excluded or limited.

Also, coverage purchased at the end of a booking process (through the airline, hotel, etc.) is often not as comprehensive for trip cancellation, and it typically isn't available for ancillary or upgraded benefits, such as coverage if the supplier falls into bankruptcy or for Collision Damage Waivers.

5. To recap, what are the top 5 reasons to have travel insurance?

1. You become ill or injured on your trip.

2. Flight delays and missed connections or your baggage or personal belongings are lost, stolen, delayed, or damaged.

3. Your passport is lost or stolen.

4. You need to cancel/interrupt your trip due to:

   • illness, injury, or death to the traveler, a traveling companion, &/or a family member not traveling.

   • unforeseen inclement weather and terror events, and carrier default.

   • any reason at all (generally requires an upgrade and covers only ~75% rather than 100%).

5. You require an emergency medical evacuation from one facility to the nearest adequate facility or you need emergency assistance services and 24/7 Global Medical Assistance.

Need travel insurance?

We partner with Wanderwell, a Certified B Corp Certified provider who can offer both types of coverage we have shared in this blog article. If you choose to purchase through Wanderwell, you can buy the trip protection directly from our Traverse Journeys partner page by clicking here, and a portion of your purchase will be donated to WeForest through 1% For the Planet to aid with carbon offset for your trip. Double check that the plan you purchase through Wanderwell meets our minimum requirements for coverage for your trip. Plan inclusions and eligibility vary by resident state of the traveler.

Updated 06/2024

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