best travel insurance for 2016 in the world

Best travel insurance can help dampen the financial blow in case of a situation that could upend the expensive, carefully planned itineraries. Whether you're dealing with an unexpected illness, death in the family, or a missing suitcase, all scenarios have the potential to cancel or break your trip.

Even a late flight or skip can unveil your plans. and in 2014, the possibility for almost 1 in 4 travel flights, according to the Bureau of transportation statistics. More than 2% of flights are cancelled outright.

But do you really need travel insurance? This is the question we will be considering in depth later in this article — I'll admit I'm just buy travel insurance policies once despite frequent globe-trotting. For some, however, the trip can be an investment as significant as automobiles or houses. If you fall into this category, plan a relatively inexpensive travel insurance can protect your wallet from one of the above situation and much more. 

Travel insurance

The world's best travel insurance

I've had to sift through dozens of companies to find some of the top travel insurance options for you. Here's a quick look at my picks for the best travel insurance:

Best travel insurance for coverage of Choice: Travel Guard and Travelex

Best Cheap travel insurance: World Nomads and Seven Corners

Best Tour: HTH Worldwide health insurance and IMG

Keep reading to find out why these companies rise to the top in the travel insurance market. I will also discuss some of the basics of travel insurance, including what most plans include, how to shop for the best plan, and whether you really need travel insurance in the first place-because it doesn't make sense for everyone. 

Do You Need Travel Insurance?

Travel insurance makes sense for some travelers, but you will want to make sure you are between them before you out even more money before your trip.

A few years ago, I chose to travel insurance before the journey is expensive to New Zealand. Flights, hotels, and car rentals are expensive enough on their own, but we were prescheduled activities, too. I will lose a lot of money if there was something that prevented me from going, so shelling out a little more for travel insurance makes sense.

Here are some factors to consider when you are arguing whether the travel insurance worth the investment:

How much did you spend?

If you only spend a few hundred dollars on plane tickets and crashing on friends ' couches when you get to your goal, a low-cost (and risk) of your journey may not be worth insuring. I've certainly travelling with a little earlier, and relatively low costs means I don't think twice about travel insurance.

But if you spend $ 10000 on a budget-busting honeymoon in Bali (or in my case, heading to New Zealand for a three-week adventure) which is an investment you will want to protect.

Do you travel internationally?

It makes more sense to purchase travel insurance if you're headed overseas. International travel is expensive, but the best travel insurance can also took you to costly medical bills if you need care while abroad when your primary health insurance may not.

I have to go abroad several times without additional coverage-I am still young, healthy, and headed to Europe for the purpose of traveling both run-of-the-mill roads. This is a calculated risk on my part when I was very conscious of the point I. I would make the same choice today, especially with the family to consider? Maybe not.

Whether you are booking a trip during a time known for fragile weather conditions?

It is not possible to predict the weather, but a few times a year that complicated than others. For example, it may be an important leg of your journey will be in or out of Minneapolis or Chicago in January – primetime for blizzards or other nasty winter weather. Maybe you're booking a Caribbean cruise ship in September, during the peak of the hurricane season.

In both cases, travel insurance can protect the financial damage if a delay or cancel your trip.

Have you covered?

While it was relatively rare for most health insurance plans to offer more than a partial coverage abroad, check your policy. Flight accident insurance that pays benefits your family if you die in a plane crash might be overkill if you have life insurance – this is one of the options we missed our New Zealand travel.

The same applies to accidental death and dismemberment coverage travel insurance. Home insurance you can even cover the cost of lost or stolen luggage and stuff.

Your credit card may also offer some protection.

If you pay for Your trip with a credit card, you may have coverage for trip cancellation, delay, rental car insurance, or items which are lost and stolen. For example, we were able to get out of the rental car insurance company in New Zealand because our credit card provided.

You will need to check the fine print that lists all the benefits of your credit card. If any provision of travel insurance, you will need to pay for some or perhaps the whole trip with cards that will be discussed.

However, the benefits may not be so extensive as you will receive with the best travel insurance policy, and you may find that there are more exceptions: when planning a trip to Ireland, I found my credit card won't cover a rental car insurance there because of high accident rates. 

(If you want a credit card that offers great facilities for when you're on the go, see our guide to the best travel credit card for 2016. These cards often offer travel protection features are great as well as perks like bonus points on tours, no foreign transaction fee, and concierge services.)

Do you need peace of mind?

If all the "what-if" travel keep you awake at night, spending several hundred dollars on travel insurance may be a good investment if it means You will be able to relax and enjoy your trip more. In my case, I spent weeks planning every leg of our trip to New Zealand, so that travel insurance is a necessary comforts.

What Does Travel Insurance Cover?

Coverage will vary by company, but the best travel insurance plan to protect against financial hardship resulting from interruption or trip cancellation, medical expenses, emergency evacuation, and goods that are lost or stolen. Here are the main things you can expect travel insurance to cover:

Travel disruption or cancellation: If you are sick, the family member dies, or natural disasters foil your plans, the cancellation coverage can help replace any fees refunded you already issued. Terrorist attacks are also covered if the incident revealed in your destination shortly before you leave. You may even be covered if your employer change your schedule and requires you to work, you are called for jury duty or the vendor of the important tourist goes belly up. The scope of the disorder can protect you if your trip is cut short for the same reason.

Medical expenses: many health insurance plans will not cover you abroad; Medicare never did. Even if your insurance company covers some costs, out-of-network costs can still add up. You might even find that foreign service providers just won't help you until you pay for their services in the future.

Emergency evacuation: If you had to be evacuated from a place away for medical reasons or safety, it could cost tens of thousands of dollars. Evacuation coverage helps pay for speeding you to the nearest hospital, or medical flight prices include to the u.s. If necessary. 

Lost or stolen baggage or goods: while the flight has done a better job with baggage in the last few years, more than 24 million bags mishandled still in 2014. Most of the policy will pay up to a certain amount to compensate for this common travel scenarios. Best travel insurance plans also refund your money if you have to buy the item due to Your delayed bag.

The Best Travel Insurance Company

If you decide travel insurance is a good bet for Your next trip, make sure to check out the company below, all of the Simple Dollar, top picks when you're shopping around.

Best travel insurance for coverage of Choice: Travel Guard and Ex Tour

Travel Guard offers nearly every type of travel insurance plan you can think of: cancellation of travel insurance, flights, trips, business trips, and even plans for a medical for the frequent traveler. Some coverage of optional add-ons make it easy to customize your travel insurance to your specific needs.

For example, you can add a rider that allows you to cancel your trip for any reason, or you can add a plane crash or collision of car rental insurance. Travel concierge services and the existing conditions of the waivers are available at all levels, as well. The web site doesn't have much in the way of educational articles, however.

Why we like it: Travel Guard makes it easy to get a quote and compare his side of different plans side by side. Extensive Add-ons and "build your own" My Travel Guard plans make it easy to buy what you want, and skip what you don't want. You can ensure a very expensive trip to $ 100,000, and Travel Guard has accreditation and an A + rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

What to Watch for: some plans may not be available depending on the country where you live.

Travelex offers a lineup of more basic plans for leisure and business travelers, but they are still quite adapted to the upgrade. For example, you can add on coverage for adventure activities, or the busy professional can tack on coverage that kicks in if their employers change their work schedule. You will get three easy to compare plans: Basic, Select, or Max.

Why we like it: the offering of Travelex is more easy to understand for a newbie travel insurance, and their website is easy to navigate. If you are traveling with kids, take note: The Travel Select plans include them for free. There are also travel tips and FAQ. As Travel Guard, Travelex is a BBB-accredited with an A + rating.

What to Watch for: the highest price Max plan will only allow you to ensure your trip to $ 50000, and it only covers You for six months (no annual plan, unlike with Travel Guard). You can't add on a "Cancel for any reason" motorists unless you buy the most expensive plan, and no pre-existing condition waiver available for their basic plan. 

Best Cheap travel insurance: World Nomads and Seven Corners

World Nomads offers a lot of bang for your buck. It's not quite the cheapest quote I received, but it's not far away. For only $ 132-about $ 20 more than the cheapest I see policies that meet the requirements of the mine, explained at the end of this article-I can guarantee a $ 4000, a two-week trip to France with the beefier than many other insurance companies offer at the same price.

Why we like it: the quote I included up to $ 10000 for both cancellation and interruption coverage ($ 4000 and 6000 standards $), $ 100,000 in medical coverage, and even $ 3000 for lost or stolen luggage or personal belongings (mostly other insurers only give $ 1000 around this price). If I don't mind Hat $ 2500 in cancellation and interruption and only $ 1000 baggage coverage, I could maintain the same level of medical coverage and pay only $ 89 for my policy. World Nomads also includes more than 200 adventure activities such as skiing and bungee jumping that will require costly Add-ons or exclude you from the coverage with other companies.

What to Watch for: World Nomads does not offer coverage plans for tourist groups or more 70. Because it only has a two-level plan and don't have a lot of Add-ons that offer coverage to another company, not very customizeable. Finally, luxury travelers won't be able to get coverage with World Nomads, which only guarantees a trip up to $ 10000.

Seven Corners has a wider range of plans from World Nomads, including plans for groups and students, expatriates and even outdoor-sports enthusiasts. It also offers health coverage only. I received a quote travel insurance which meets the requirements I have for $ 11 less than a World Nomads, but these plans were not strong enough. However, it's better than most comparably plans.

Why we like it: despite the cancellation of the travel and disruption is the standard for $ 4000 and 6000 $, medical coverage goes to an impressive $ 150,000, and $ 2000 is available for lost or stolen baggage or goods on the plan Awards drive home. Step up to the Elite's plan would allow $ 250,000 medical coverage and $ 2500 for luggage.

What to Watch for: at $ 94, their basic plan is a good value, but $ 10000 in the medical coverage far skimpier than basic coverage the World Nomads '.

Best Tour: HTH Worldwide health insurance and IMG

While most travel insurance plans focus on the cancellation of the trip that throws travel health insurance as an afterthought, HTH Worldwide focuses on comprehensive medical travel insurance that you can purchase separately from other tour plan.

Their web site offers two short term plans: the preferred choice with the most comprehensive coverage that requires you to have a plan primary health, and economic options that don't require other health plan coverage but offers less than the existing conditions. Other options include a plan for the group, often traveling, expatriates, and students.

Why we like it: The easy-to-understand plans clearly state the benefits, exclusions, and FAQ. An impressive mobile applications help tourists identify the provider and ask for an appointment United Kingdom language wherever they are. There are flexible deductible up to $ 500 and a maximum of coverage ranges from $ 50000 till $ 1 million. The plan pays 100% of most medical services after Your deductible is met. 

What to Watch for: there is no scope of adventure sports, and the economy plan one time travel has 180 days pre-trial conditions are no exception.

IMG has served more than one million people around the world since 1990, and he offers a dizzying array of travel medical plan. However, you can also purchase a package that includes the benefits of the more traditional travel insurance including trip cancellation and lost baggage.

Why we like it: IMG may be a good choice for niche travelers. While he offers a plan for short and frequent travellers; the Group; and students; It also provides a policy niche for missionaries, the crew of the sea, and adventure sports. "Green" plan even allows eco-conscious to shrink their carbon footprint.

What to Watch for: Unfortunately, site IMG can be hard to wade through, with small print and too much of a drop-down menu. They offer account management-based website, but no mobile applications for tourists who have health problems down the road.

Five Tips for buying the best travel Insurance

If you still feel overwhelmed by your choice, remember that there is no single plan or operator that will be best for any tourist. Focus on where you're going, what you are doing, and what you spent to find the best travel insurance options for you.

Here are five tips that will help you shop for the best travel insurance for your needs: 

Tip No. 1: carefully Consider Your Trip

If you are going hiking in remote areas of the Amazon? Or are you planning a European vacation complex, with several flights to whisk you from one country to the next?

While extreme, these examples illustrate how much your needs can vary. In the former case, you will probably want to focus on medical and evacuation coverage; in the latter case, you may want a more traditional plans that have a good allowance for the trip cancellation or lost baggage.

If you think there's a good chance that circumstances might force you to scrap the trip, you can get a "Cancel for any reason" add-on for many travel insurance policies, but you have to add it immediately after purchase. If you're brave, there are special plans for dangerous or extreme sports. If you are heading to the Caribbean in September, you will want to make sure your plan covers cancellations and weather-related delays.

In our case, I found a policy that covered several adventure activities-we plan on bungee jumping, cave crawl, and glacier hike while in New Zealand. I also make sure we would be covered for natural disasters, because the area is prone to earthquakes. (This is not paranoia on my part: we are having a small tremor while we were there, and then a massive earthquake killed nearly 200 people in Christchurch, in which we are living in the last leg of our trip, two months after we left.)

Bottom line: make sure you buy a policy that covers your unique risks, not other people. 

Tip No. 2: Shop Around

Travel insurance policies are complex products, so your best bet may be to start your search by using comparison sites like SquareMouth or InsureMyTrip. This site has an excellent search filter that will let you zero in on what you need and instantly compare prices much easier than shopping with individual insurance.

An experienced travel agent can also help you select a policy, although some may earn commissions to steer you toward a particular company. Experts say it's best to avoid buying a policy directly from the cruise line or tour company, however. This plan will only bore You for your time with the company, but no other part of your trip. And if the company goes under, your travel policy (and the money) goes under them.

Tip No. 3: keep an Eye on your budget

Such as insurance products, travel insurance plan costs will vary based on the type of trip you are insuring and the kind of coverage you choose. Expect most plans to set you back about 4% to 10% of the cost of your trip – the larger the percentage, the more comprehensive plans.

Our New Zealand travel insurance is equal to about 5% of our trip. Age is also a factor in the old-You are, the more you can pay. However, you may not pay anything for children under 18 if they are travelling with you.

Tip No. 4: Beware of exceptions and Loopholes

If you have a travel cancellation coverage, read a list of reasons covered with carefully-they will be very specific. Consider whether pay extra for a policy that allows you to cancel your trip for any reason is very valuable, but note that not all policies will let you recover 100% of your costs.

Even the best travel insurance will cover other exceptions on other parts of Your coverage, too. Some examples: pre-existing medical conditions and pregnancy generally will not be discussed. Coverage of stolen goods, you will not pay you back for segepok cash missing. If civil unrest – even including a deadly protest-suddenly makes your destination safely, you're probably out of luck.

Tip 5: buy as soon as the possibility of

Although you can wait until closer to departure, it's best to get your travel insurance sorted out immediately after making the booking. Every day you wait, there is something a chance that will happen that will affect your plan, but you can't get a travel insurance policy once you know about it.

For example, if a category 5 storm clobbers the Bahamas and ruins your trip, your travel insurance will cover You only if you buy it before the storm formed. If terror attacks recently in Paris has made You afraid to go out, you're probably out of luck unless you buy travel insurance before the attack occurred.

You will also be required to purchase coverage as soon as possible to get a waiver for certain medical conditions existing or catch a policy that allows you to cancel for any reason, for example. 

How do I choose the best travel insurance company

To choose the best options for travel insurance coverage, I focus on companies that offer a variety of plans for the largest range of holiday travel, including short term, long term travel, and business travel. I also considered what Add-ons are available for travelers to customize their plans with their desire, and ensure the company does not exclude coverage for travel is very expensive. To cut down on my list, I also considered the ease with which shoppers can get quotes, compare plans, and read the "fine print" that tells them what is excluded from the plan.

To choose the best cheap travel insurance, I compare quotes for 33 years is $ 4000, a two-week trip to France. Because most insurance companies offer some plan, I compare the cheapest price that meet the following requirements: at least $ 4000 travel cancellation insurance; $ 6000 travel disruption; $ 50000 for medical expenses; $ 500,000 for emergency evacuation; and $ 1000 for lost or stolen baggage or goods. I then compare the quality of coverage among the five cheapest prices for insurance companies to make my final picks.

To choose the best travel medical insurance, I focus on companies that offer a wide variety of medical plan only. I considered the available flexibility for customers to select a deductible plan and the amount of coverage, as well as the quality of coverage (for example, if you still have to pay co-insurance for service even after meeting Your deductible).

Because it would be difficult to find a qualified medical provider in the way, I also considered ways of easing the process of a company (e.g., mobile applications or a well-executed online account management).

Search The Best Travel Insurance, Read The Fine Print

Best travel insurance tailored to your specific needs for a reasonable price. It is very easy for shopping comparison with companies over online, but be sure to read the entire list and plan coverage exceptions before you pay for the policy.

Have a clear idea of what your travel insurance will and will not pay to be able to protect you from nasty surprises in the event of a claim. Consider starting a search by checking my companies profiled above-all offers, the reputation of a comprehensive plan to keep you covered on the way. Travel Guard and Travelex an excellent choice for tourists who want a wide selection of coverage, while the World Nomads is suited very well for globetrotters on a tight budget-especially if you have the adventure activities in your agenda.