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BEST
The Best Travel Insurance Companies of 2017

PICKS STRESS-FREE TRAVEL
Services / Insurance / Insurance Quote Review / Travel Insurance Review

by Top Ten Reviews Staff

Summary

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CSA Travel Protection TravelSafe

Review Review

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Overall Rating Value Trip Cancellation & Interruption Emergency Medical Bene ts Claim Filing Process Help & Support
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9.45 8.53 Visit Site
/ 10 / 10

Sample Rates
2-Person U.S.
Cruise $996 $1,123

2-Person France
Vacation $630 $804

2-Person
International $740 $664
Adventure
 Average Percent
of Trip Cost 5% 6%

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Travel Insurance Review: Stress-Free Travel

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The best travel insurance plan provides trip cancellation protection, emergency medical
assistance and luggage protection to help make your trips less stressful.

Quick Picks
Standout
Benet Higher Payouts Short Delay Hours

Trip Cancellation & Interruption

Cancellation 100% 100%

Interruption Up to 150% Up to 150%

Delay
Compensation Up to $2000 Up to $1000

Minimum Trip
Delay (Hours) 6 5
 Missed
Connection Up to $2000 Up to $2500

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Lost Luggage Up to $3000 Up to $2500

Luggage Delay Up to $1000 Up to $500

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Miles or Reward
Card 100% Up to $250
Reimbursement
Trip
Cancellation - Up to 75% Up to 75%
Any Reason

Flight Ticket
Change $0 $0

Financial
Default

Emergency Medical Bene ts

Medical
Evacuation & Up to $2M Up to $1M
Repatriation

Medical
Expenses Up to $500K Up to $100K

Pre-Existing
Conditions 180 60
Waivers (Days)

Dental Coverage
Prescription
Assistance
Emergency
Companion
Claim Filing Process

Delayed or Gold Award 2

Cancelled Flight Average Average

Lost or Stolen
Luggage Above Average Average
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Cancelled Tour
or Planned Average Average
Excursions
Medical &
Emergency Average Average
Cancellation
Local
Hospitalization
Coverage

Secured Evac
Payout

Help & Support

Cancellation
Policy 10 Days 10 Days

English-
Speaking 24-
Hour Telephone
Assistance
Sample
Contracts
Online

Local Agents
Available

by Top Ten Reviews Staff

Travel Insurance Review

 Advertisement

How to Select Travel Insurance
Gold Award 2

The top performers in our review are CSA, the Gold Award winner; TravelSafe, the
Silver Award winner; and USI Afnity, the Bronze Award winner. Heres more on
choosing a policy to meet your needs, along with detail on how we arrived at our
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ranking of these 10 travel insurance service companies.

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What Protection Does Travel Insurance Provide?

Travel insurance provides nancial compensation for canceled travel plans, emergency medical
assistance, lost luggage and trip delay reimbursements. Additional services that are available
include emergency medical evacuation, translations services, prescription medicine replacements
and rental car insurance. If you experience signicant delays on your trip, you may be able to
recoup some food and hotel expenses that result from uncontrollable delays.

We compared several trip insurance plans that provide U.S. and international travel benets. Some
offer packages specically created for cruises and high adventure vacations. Many insurances offer
individual trip plans as well as yearly, group, family and business plans. While most offer group and

family plans, some plans cover children without adding to the cost of the premium. If you travel
often for business, you may want to look into business or yearly plans.

While your travel agent may attempt to sell you trip insurance, we recommend that you shop
around, since your agent may only offer plans from one or two companies (which they may receive
commission incentives from). It is also recommended that you avoid purchasing insurance from

the
same company that owns the cruise line or resort location you plan to use or stay at in the
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event the company becomes nancially compromised.

Top Reasons Travelers Buy

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Trip Cancellations
Through our research, we learned that the most common reason travelers purchase trip insurance
is to protect themselves from losing money when a trip is canceled specically a trip with a

large, pre-paid investment. Most often this is a trip with an upfront cost of $5,000 or more and
consists of all-inclusive cruises, resort packages or package deals.

For the most part, the types of expenses that trip cancellation insurance companies claim to cover
are non-refundable expenses. If your airline tickets, for example, are refundable, you will not be
able to recoup the costs. But if you have to cancel a costly cruise a week before leaving the dock
because you suffered a major medical problem, one that is not pre-existing, chances are your
upfront costs will be covered. Sometimes people look to recoup their upfront costs because the
company they work for suddenly freezes their personal time off. Should you have to cancel a trip
for reasons that are outside of your control, you may be able to recover your upfront costs. For an
additional premium fee, many travel insurance companies can help recoup part of your upfront
costs should you have to cancel your trip for any reason, even if those reasons are within your
control.

Medical Emergencies
The second reason consumers purchase travel insurance is to help cover the costs of a medical
emergency that might happen abroad that their stateside health insurance doesn't cover. Often
medical assistance includes consultation with a U.S.-based doctor. While most trip insurance plans
do not cover pre-existing conditions, some offer pre-existing condition waivers. Most offer

medical evacuations if you need to be moved from a remote location to a city with a larger
hospital.
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Travel Insurance: What We Evaluated, What We

Found

Since most people purchase trip insurance to recover costs, we looked at different travel scenarios
with an upfront investment of $5,000 or more. We gathered quotes for a U.S.-based cruise, a
French vacation and a high-adventure Antarctic vacation, all of which were trips for two adults.
Since age and state of residency affect quote rates, we compared three age groups and three
states of residence.

Once we collected the quote information, we then calculated a score based on the coverage, the
services available in the plan and the plan's cost. As you'll see in our reviews, rates and payouts
vary. The payouts we listed are possible payouts and may not be the same numbers you see in your
policy.

Another factor we considered is how simple it is to le claims. For the most part, all trip insurance
companies require a certain amount of paperwork when ling a claim. As you'll also see in our

individual reviews, some companies require more documentation than others. In addition, some
allow you to submit your claim online while others require that you mail or fax your claim.

Convenience aside, should something happen a medical emergency, theft, a delayed or canceled
ight your insurance company is going to require supporting documentation, so be sure to
gather as much information tickets, receipts, credit card statements, canceled checks, medical

records,
if you're ling a medical claim as possible. It's also a good idea to read the terms and
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conditions beforehand to familiarize yourself with the type of documentation the insurance
company requires.

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What Determines Travel Insurance Premium
Rates?
While
you might think that the cost of the insurance premium has a lot to do with the cost of your
trip, such as the destination, methods of travel, length of trip and dates of travel, in our testing, we
discovered that's not necessarily true. Most quotes don't ask for a lot of details, and changes, such
as extending the dates a week or going to a different country made little difference in the price.
Few travel insurance agencies offered special packages for cruises or high-adventure trips. What
we learned, is that similar to health insurance, the traveler's age played a signicant role in the
plan's cost.

In fact, age was the single most important determining factor followed by destination and the level
of plan selected. In one quote, we selected the highest-tier plan with adventure-oriented add-ons
for travelers in their 20s, and in most cases, it was comparable or cheaper than a domestic trip for
a couple in their 60s. Most likely this is because insurance companies anticipate increased medical
claims with older travelers. To learn more about trip insurance, see our articles about travel
insurance.

What Happens if I have a Medical Emergency

Abroad?


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Should something happen requiring medical care and you are not incapacitated, call your
insurance company right away. In most cases they'll connect you with local medical services and
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might even provide you with a stateside medical consultant to help you acquire the best care.

If you require a medical evacuation, you may need to work with your insurance provider since
many trip insurance companies require that you use your travel insurance services to arrange
evacuation
services. If you are traveling alone, many trip insurance plans will pay to y a friend or
family member to you if you are hospitalized, and will arrange for someone to assist you if you
need medical evacuation.

It is best to thoroughly review your insurance plan before your trip and carry a copy of your policy.
Some travel insurance services do not act the same as traditional U.S. medical insurance, and you
may be required to pay for medical treatment up front before being reimbursed later by your travel
insurance carrier.

It's also a good idea to have a cash reserve or an available credit card balance to pay for services
should you need them. Should an emergency arise, you also want to gather as much
documentation as you can to submit with your claims. To learn more, see our article Ten Tips for
Filing a Successful Travel Insurance Claim.

Additional International Travel Insurance Support

Options
Traveling abroad can be intimidating, especially if there is a language barrier, political unrest or
crime. Travel insurance offers some benet in that it can help you with these types of potentially
scary situations. Some of these services cost more than the standard plan price, but may be worth
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looking into depending on your travel destination.

Assistance with Lost IDs, Money & Passports

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If you lose or have your ID, money, credit cards or passports stolen, some companies offer
assistance in these situations. Some can even provide you with cash until you can get assistance.
While you'll need to contact credit card companies as well, some insurance companies can help
you le a local police report and locate the nearest U.S. Embassy.

Translation Services
If you are faced with a serious medical, legal or personal situation, some travel insurance services
can connect you with translation services to help you communicate with medical personnel and
law enforcement authorities. Some can even provide you with a translator to relay
communications.

Transportation Assistance
While many insurance plans cover emergency evacuation assistance, some can also help you with
less desperate transportation needs. For example, you may want assistance leaving a foreign
country, even though there is no apparent imminent danger. Travel insurance services can help
you, in your own language, navigate transportation options in foreign countries.
Other Available Travel Bene ts

Besides trip insurance, many companies offerGold Award riders. For example, you may be
additional 2

interested in adding rental car insurance if you plan on driving during your trip. While these
additional coverages may not be necessary for your specic trip, they are available should you
need to add them to your policy. Visit Site Visit Site

Some additional coverages to consider include:

Car rental insurance

ID theft protection

Flight accident insurance

Expanded luggage coverage

Free coverage for children

Travel companion benets

Concierge services

Vacation property rental insurance

Legal referrals and bail bond assistance

Do I Really Need Travel Insurance?

While travel insurance is helpful, it may not be nancially benecial for all travelers, especially
those whose expenses are low. For the most part, you may not necessarily benet from travel
insurance for low-cost, U.S.-based trips. Travel insurance is more suited for those whose trip

includes a lot of upfront investment, such as pre-purchased packaged deals. Additionally, if you are Related Reviews

concerned about a potential medical emergency,

Gold some
Award U.S.-based health insurance companies 2
Auto Insurance
offer limited services abroad that might cover your medical needs.
Dental Insurance

Our Verdict & Recommendations

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Final Expense Insurance

Gap Insurance
If you are planning a trip that will cost you more than $5,000 in upfront costs, travel insurance
could be a good investment, especially for those who might require medical assistance abroad. Health Insurance Provider

While
services vary greatly depending on the plan you choose, your age and other factors, we
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found CSA to offer high possible payouts for a reasonable price. TravelSafe also offers reasonable
premium rates and competitive payouts. USI Afnity is the lowest-priced service we reviewed;
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