Why Travel Insurance Should Be Part of Your Trip Planning
Originally published October 8, 2028; substantially updated September 5, 2026.
When you travel, do you have a plan in place? You book your flights and accommodations, choose your excursions and sometimes even reserve restaurants and shows. But have you planned for what might go wrong?
What would you do if:
- You developed a stomach illness while your cruise ship was in Split, Croatia, and needed to see the ship’s doctor?
- You made a tight connection at Charles de Gaulle Airport, but your luggage remained in Paris?
- You missed a curb outside your London hotel and fractured your foot?
- An emergency at home forced you to cut your trip short?
- Severe weather canceled your flight and left you stranded?
- Your travel documents continued back to Venice after you stepped off the train in Rome?
Several of these scenarios are drawn from my own travels, including lost luggage, a shipboard stomach illness and a fractured foot. On one trip to London, I missed a curb outside my hotel and fractured my right foot—an unexpected injury that changed the way I navigated the rest of my trip and resulted in visits to two London hospitals.
Travel insurance can’t prevent flights from being canceled, bags from going astray or travelers from becoming sick or injured. But depending on the policy you purchase, it may help protect you from some of the financial consequences.
What can travel insurance cover?
Travel insurance policies vary widely, so there is no single list of benefits that applies to every plan. Depending on the policy you choose, coverage may include some combination of the following:
Trip Cancellation and Interruption
Trip cancellation coverage may reimburse you for eligible prepaid, nonrefundable expenses if you must cancel your trip for a reason covered by your policy. Trip interruption coverage applies after your trip has begun and may help with unused reservations or the additional cost of returning home early. This could become important if, for example, an emergency at home forced you to cut your trip short.
Travel Delays and Missed Connections
A winter storm, mechanical problem or other covered disruption can leave you stranded or cause you to miss the next part of your journey. Some policies may reimburse reasonable expenses such as meals, accommodations or transportation during a qualifying delay. Coverage often begins only after a specified number of hours, so check the policy carefully.
Lost, Delayed or Damaged Baggage
Baggage coverage may help if your belongings are lost, stolen or damaged during your trip. Some policies also reimburse essential purchases when checked luggage is delayed for a certain length of time.
Once, on a trip to Romania, I raced through Charles de Gaulle Airport to make my connection to Bucharest. I made the flight, but my checked bag didn’t. When I arrived, I learned that my suitcase was still in Paris. Although it was eventually located and delivered to me, I had to manage without my belongings in the meantime. The shoes I was wearing weren’t meant for walking long distances, and after exploring Bucharest, I developed painful blisters and had to find somewhere to buy bandages.
Fortunately, I didn’t need to make an insurance claim. But the experience taught me to keep medications, important documents, a change of clothing and other immediate necessities in my carry-on—and to wear comfortable shoes that could get me through at least the first day of my trip.
Before checking your luggage, take a few photos of the bag and its contents. A current photo can help airline personnel identify a missing suitcase and may also be useful if you need to document what was packed for an insurance claim. Photographing the luggage tag after it has been attached can provide another useful record.
Emergency Medical Care
Becoming sick or injured away from home can be stressful—and potentially expensive. Travel medical coverage may help pay for eligible emergency treatment, hospital care or visits to a doctor during your trip. Coverage for international travel and preexisting conditions varies. Some policies may cover preexisting conditions only if you purchase the policy within a specified period after making your first trip payment and meet the policy’s other requirements.
After my foot fracture in London, I Ubered to a hospital around midnight and was told the wait could be five hours. As someone who is immunosuppressed, I was concerned about spending that long in a crowded waiting room with people who were seriously ill. I ultimately sought treatment at a second hospital the next morning—an added complication I hadn’t anticipated when planning my trip.
Fortunately, I saved all my receipts, including those for the Uber and taxi rides connected with my medical care. Those records helped me document my expenses when I filed my insurance claim.
Emergency Medical Evacuation
If adequate treatment isn’t available where you are, medical evacuation coverage may help pay to transport you to an appropriate medical facility. According to the CDC, emergency transportation from a remote area to a high-quality hospital could cost more than $100,000. Coverage limits and destinations vary, however: a policy may cover transportation to the nearest appropriate facility rather than all the way home. Read the policy carefully so you understand where it would take you and how much it would cover.
Lost or Stolen Travel Documents
Some policies may provide assistance or limited reimbursement if a passport or other essential travel document is lost or stolen. The details matter, however: a policy might help with certain replacement costs without covering every expense caused by the loss.
For U.S. travelers, the U.S. State Department’s travel-insurance guidance explains the important differences between trip-cancellation insurance, travel health insurance and medical-evacuation coverage. One type should not automatically be assumed to include the others.
Travelers from other countries should consult their own government’s travel guidance and review the terms offered by insurance providers in their country of residence.
Don’t Assume Your Regular Insurance Covers You
Before purchasing travel insurance, check what protection you may already have through your health insurance, credit cards, homeowners or renters insurance, and any membership benefits. Existing coverage could prevent you from paying twice for the same protection—but it may also contain important gaps.
For example, Original Medicare generally provides very limited coverage outside the United States and its territories, although certain Medigap policies may cover some emergency care abroad. Medicare Advantage benefits vary by plan. If you rely on Medicare, contact your plan before traveling to find out whether overseas medical treatment is covered, what limits apply and whether you would need to pay the provider first and seek reimbursement later. You can also review the current information on the Medicare website.
Even a health plan that covers emergency treatment abroad may not include medical evacuation or transportation home. Similarly, a credit card may offer protection for certain delays, cancellations, rental cars or lost luggage—but usually only under specified circumstances, such as paying for the trip with that card.
Make a list of the coverage you already have, and then compare it with the travel insurance policy you’re considering. The goal is to identify the gaps that could leave you responsible for a substantial expense.
Questions to ask before buying a policy
One of the biggest mistakes travelers can make is assuming that purchasing insurance means they can cancel a trip for any reason and receive all their money back. Standard policies specify the circumstances that qualify for reimbursement, so it’s important to understand the terms before purchasing.
Before choosing a policy, ask:
• What reasons for cancellation or interruption are covered?
• Does it cover medical treatment and emergency evacuation at my destination?
• How does it handle preexisting medical conditions?
• What coverage does it provide for delays, missed connections and baggage problems?
• What documents will I need if I file a claim?
Save receipts, medical records and other documentation until any claim has been resolved. Don’t choose a policy based only on its price; compare its coverage, limits and exclusions with the needs of your particular trip.
We spend hours choosing hotels, comparing flights and planning everything we’ll do once we arrive. Travel insurance is simply another part of planning for the whole trip—not because you expect something to go wrong, but because sometimes it does. Then you can put the policy away, board the plane and concentrate on the part of travel you planned for in the first place: enjoying it.
Note: Each travel insurance policy is different, you should always refer to the terms and conditions of your policy to see exactly what is covered.
