5 Essential Travel Insurance Plan Tips
for Every Traveler

Choosing the right type of coverage is crucial, as not all travel insurance plans are the same (just like not every traveler is the same). If you're going on a skiing vacation, golf trip or an adventure-based vacation, you’ll want to look for plans that offer specialized coverage for those activities. 

Take into consideration your needs when it comes to comprehensive coverages on your travel insurance plan as well. Think about what benefit limits you may need on coverage like medical expense, trip cancellation and lost baggage protection based on your needs.

Most comprehensive travel insurance plans will have similar coverages included on the base plan. Medical expense coverage, trip cancellation and trip interruption are just a few examples. It might be tempting when comparing travel insurance plans to just compare the coverages included to make your decision. But benefit limits on those coverages (essentially, how much you could be reimbursed up to in the event of a covered incident) is just as important to consider.

For example, if you’re traveling internationally to a country where medical care may be expensive for tourists, you’ll want a higher benefit limit for medical expense coverage than if you’re traveling within the U.S.

Always read the fine print to know what your travel insurance plan includes. At Travel Guard we include a schedule of benefits on every policy details document, which makes seeing all of your coverages and benefit limits easier at a glance. Even after you purchase you have the option to view and modify your policy quickly and easily. Understanding everything you’re covered and not covered for saves a lot of time and stress if you ever need to file a claim.

Always keep a copy of your travel insurance plan details accessible while traveling, including emergency contact numbers. If you need to file a claim, having all the details on hand will make the process much faster and easier.

If you'll be visiting more than one destination, please select the destination you will spend the most time at or your first destination. This is important because there are certain U.S. sanctioned countries where insurance benefits may not be paid.

This should be the date you leave your house and the date you return home. For example, if you are staying at a hotel the night before your flight, you'll want to include the night in the hotel as a travel day in case you have to cancel for a covered reason.

The cost of your trip will need to be entered per traveler as shown on your invoice. For example, if a child's portion is less expensive, their trip cost should reflect that. However, if the cost is not listed per person on an invoice you can split that cost evenly amongst the travelers. Your trip costs should include all expenses you pay for before you leave home. 

This could include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Any non-refundable deposits
• Pre-paid hotel and lodging expenses
• Train and airline tickets
• Cruise line tickets
• Deposits for excursions
• Car rentals
• Other transportation expenses

The date you made your first purchase or down payment for your vacation. This should be the date you first paid for any non-refundable part of your trip, which could be when you first booked your flight, cruise or any entertainment expenses for your trip.

The date of birth for all travelers on your plan. Some of our plans use the number of travelers and their age(s) to determine the price of your plan, so it's important to have this information.

Be aware that your travel insurance plan should only include people who live in the same state as you. If you are traveling with someone outside of your state, they'll need to purchase their own plan. However, they will still count as your traveling companion for coverage purposes.

Some plans provide additional benefits when you purchase your travel insurance plan early (typically within 15 days of your initial deposit date). It may be in your best interest to purchase your travel insurance plan as soon as you make the first payment towards your trip. If needed, you can modify your policy as additional components of your vacation are booked and paid for. If you need to add additional coverage or adjust any of the items above, you can do that easily with our online modification form.