Travel insurance is often a smart investment, particularly for expensive trips or when you don’t have a credit card with comprehensive coverage. Investopedia’s research highlights Travelex as a top choice, known for its strong coverage at a reasonable price. However, HTH, Seven Corners, and World Nomads also stand out depending on individual needs.
Investopedia evaluated 17 travel insurance companies, analyzing their plans in detail. This included comparing primary, secondary, medical, and cruise coverage, along with premium costs for the least and most expensive plans, and customer service features.
Best Travel Insurance Companies for 2025:
- Best Overall, Most Affordable: Travelex
- Best for Older Adults, Best for Extended Travel or Living Abroad: HTH
- Best for Cruises: Seven Corners
- Best for Adventure Travel: World Nomads
Travelex
- Why We Chose It: Travelex offers some of the lowest premiums Investopedia found. Its plans provide good value relative to their cost.
The Essential Plan is a good budget-conscious option with competitive trip delay and lost baggage coverage. More comprehensive plans are still affordable, and there’s a range of add-ons to customize your plan.
- Pros:
- Excellent prices on both cheapest and most expensive plans
- Good coverage available for trip delays and lost baggage
- Pre-existing coverage included in budget and comprehensive plans
- Numerous optional upgrades available, including cancel-for-any-reason
- Longest free-look period
- Cons:
- Limited coverage amounts on some plans
- Maximum coverage duration is capped at 30 days
- Longer look-back period for pre-existing conditions
- Pre-existing condition waiver and cancel-for-any-reason coverage only available on the expensive plans
Travelex provides a variety of coverage choices, including three comprehensive plans and other specialized options such as post-departure medical plans and even plans that focus on flights. They cover common issues such as trip delay, interruption, and cancellation, as well as lost or damaged baggage and emergency medical care. Optional upgrades are available with every comprehensive plan — the Ultimate plan lets you add nine extras.
The Essential plan provides good coverage for trip delays and lost or damaged baggage — up to $10,000, but it offers only minimal coverage for missed connections and emergency medical care. The look-back period for pre-existing conditions is 180 days long, meaning any conditions existing within the past six months are excluded from medical coverage. Importantly, the Essential plan doesn’t allow you to waive that exclusion.
The Ultimate plan offers better coverage than the Essential plan with cancel-for-any-reason and medical coverage included. Kids under 17 are covered for free. All plans do let you add extra coverage for rental car damage, adventure sports, and protecting rental property security deposits. With the Ultimate plan, there is a 90-day lookback period for preexisting conditions and the exclusion can be waived if you purchase the plan within 21 days of paying for the trip.
Based in Omaha, Nebraska, Travelex Insurance Services was established in 1996, originally after The Travelex Group bought Mutual of Omaha’s travel insurance branch. Policies are underwritten by Zurich American Insurance Company, which has a superior financial strength rating from AM Best.
HTH
- Why We Chose It: HTH is a strong choice for older adults, with good medical coverage, even with the budget plan. Several plans offer coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, and waivers are available if you purchase the plan soon after booking.
HTH offers an array of medical-only plans, which are available for those up to age 95. Some of these medical plans include primary health coverage, which can speed up claim resolution.
- Pros:
- High medical evacuation and trip interruption coverage on the budget plan
- Medical plans available for people aged up to 95
- Multi-trip plans offer pre-existing conditions coverage
- Long-term medical plans for those living abroad
- Cancel-for-any-reason coverage is available
- Cons:
- Most plans require existing health insurance
- Budget plan offers no coverage for preexisting conditions
Holding the best insurance companies for older adults, HTH insurance offers the highest percentage of trip interruption reimbursement coverage and medical evacuation coverage of the selected companies. While premiums are middle-of-the-pack, this plan’s maximum trip cancellation coverage is only $5,000, and it doesn’t include an option to waive the exclusion of preexisting conditions from medical coverage.
The TripProtector Classic plan has a cancellation limit of $25,000 and will cover preexisting conditions if you buy the plan within 14 days of your initial trip deposit, with a 60-day lookback period. Several HTH standalone medical plans are available to applicants up to age 95 and cover preexisting conditions. The TravelGap Voyager plan also offers primary medical coverage, which can be important for people on Medicare or without any health insurance at all. HTH also stands out for offering cancel-for-any reason coverage for up to 75%. In addition, HTH is great for people spending extended time overseas because it offers annual multi-trip plans and, for people who live abroad, long-term medical plans.
Based in Pennsylvania, HTH Travel Insurance is administered by World Insurance Services.
Seven Corners
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Why We Chose It: Seven Corners has comprehensive cruise coverage. Its cruise insurance won high scores on criteria like missed connections, emergency medical care, and itinerary changes, which are vital for cruisers.
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Pros:
- Cruise insurance offers top-of-the-line coverage for important mishaps
- Good coverage for medical evacuation
- Cancel-for-any-reason and interruption-for-any-reason optional coverage offer 75% reimbursement
- Other Seven Corners plans offer lower rates if you need less coverage
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Cons:
- Highest premiums
- Fewer cruise-specific plans than competitors
Seven Corners’ cruise insurance provides extensive coverage, with the best reimbursement levels available for trip cancellation (up to $30,000), interruption (150%), and delay ($250 a day, up to $1,000). It includes $500,000 for emergency medical evacuation.
The main downside is the premium cost. Seven Corners has the highest premiums overall. If you don’t need all the benefits of the cruise plan, the Seven Corners Trip Protector Basic plan provides good coverage at a lower price.
Seven Corners, based in Carmel, Indiana, was founded in 1997.
World Nomads
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Why We Chose It: World Nomads’ budget plan covers numerous adventure sports and activities. Its trip delay, baggage, and emergency medical coverage were all the best the editors found in the review of the providers. It also has great medical evacuation coverage.
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Pros:
- Budget plan offers coverage for a vast range of sports and activities
- Best trip delay coverage
- Best baggage coverage
- Excellent emergency medical and medical evacuation coverage
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Cons:
- High premiums
- Poor trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage
- No primary medical coverage
- Offers no coverage for pre-existing conditions
World Nomads is a good insurer if you’re looking for adventure. The Standard plan covers activities such as skiing. Choose an upgraded plan for heliskiing, hang gliding, and skydiving, among others. The Standard plan provides excellent coverage, with a few exceptions. Trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage are capped at $2,500. It doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions at all. The Epic plan has a more reasonable cancellation coverage limit of $15,000 and outstanding coverage for other travel mishaps.
Sydney, Australia-based World Nomads began selling travel insurance in 2002, focusing on independent travelers. Its U.S. headquarters is in Oakland, California.
