Travel Insurance Guide: Do You Need It & What's Covered
What travel insurance actually covers, what it costs, and when to buy it for maximum protection
What travel insurance actually covers, what it costs, and when to buy it for maximum protection
Travel insurance is one of the easiest trip expenses to skip — until the one time it would have saved thousands of dollars. Here is a clear, honest look at what it covers, what it costs, and when it makes sense to buy it.
What Travel Insurance Covers
See the full breakdown in <a href="/faq/what-does-travel-insurance-cover" class="text-gold hover:text-gold/80 underline underline-offset-2">what does travel insurance cover</a>.
What It Typically Costs
Most policies run 5–10% of the total trip cost. A $3,000 cruise might cost $150–$300 to insure — a small fraction of what a canceled trip or a medical evacuation would cost without coverage.
When to Buy It
Purchase within 14–21 days of your initial deposit. Buying within this window typically unlocks coverage for pre-existing medical conditions and, on many policies, a "cancel for any reason" upgrade — both of which are unavailable if you wait until closer to departure.
Do You Really Need It?
For any cruise or international trip, we strongly recommend it. Ships and remote destinations make emergency medical evacuation dramatically more expensive than a land-based emergency, and trip cancellation coverage protects a non-refundable deposit if illness or a family emergency arises before departure.
Examples From Real Plan Categories
It helps to think in terms of real plan categories rather than marketing labels. Cruise-line protection programs — such as Carnival Vacation Protection, Royal Caribbean Travel Protection Program, Celebrity CruiseCare, NorwegianCare, Princess Vacation Protection, and the MSC Global Protection Plan — are convenient to add during booking but their medical and evacuation limits vary widely and are set by state-specific certificates. Independent providers offer broader categories: Allianz Travel Insurance offers OneTrip single-trip plans and AllTrips annual multi-trip plans, while Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection offers single-trip choices including cruise-focused WaveCare, ExactCare, and LuxuryCare (its website states it does not offer annual plans). Premier Travelers’ two preferred independent providers are Allianz and Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, presented as preferred — not as the only choices or as universally better than every competing provider. Compare them side by side in <a href="/blog/cruise-line-vs-independent-travel-insurance" class="text-gold hover:text-gold/80 underline underline-offset-2 transition-colors">cruise line insurance vs. independent travel insurance</a>, and see the full series on our <a href="/blog/cruise-travel-insurance" class="text-gold hover:text-gold/80 underline underline-offset-2 transition-colors">cruise travel insurance hub</a>.
How We Help
We provide a travel insurance quote with every cruise or resort booking and walk through exactly what is and is not covered, so the decision is informed rather than rushed at checkout.