Comprehensive Plan Pricing

Comparing pricing among the comprehensive plans featured here should take into account the differences between the policies in their features and coverages.

One plan, Travelex, will be usually higher than the others because they provide "primary coverage" for the medical and baggage benefits. For many travelers this is enough to make the plan worth any additional cost. But keep in mind that Travelex will also cover travelers under 16 years of age for free if accompanying adults purchase the plan. For families with younger children this can actually make Travelex the least expensive option.

It would be nice if the industry had some common age brackets among the insurers but there's not. This means that there are over a dozen age brackets that you could fall into. Remember, the age bracket you should pick is your age at the time the policy is purchased, not at the time of travel. This leads to some interesting premium differences -- you can't assume that if one plan is less expensive for you it will be less expensive for everyone in your traveling party.

When figuring the trip cost that you want to insure you should use the total of your pre-paid, non-refundable travel arrangements -- basically the total amount that you would be forfeiting should you have to cancel your trip at the last minute. Don't over insure! For example, your trip might involve a seven-night stay at a resort. But if you have to cancel your trip they may only charge a two-night penalty. That's the amount you'd want to insure.

Step One: Select you age as of the policy purchase date, not your travel date