Nationwide Travel Insurance Review 2024

You may know Nationwide for its auto and home insurance, but it also offers travel insurance for cruises and other vacations, and also annual plans that can cover multiple trips during one year.

Nationwide’s Cruise Luxury plan is its highest-rated plan, according to Forbes Advisor’s ratings of the best travel insurance policies. This policy offers the highest levels of travel insurance protection for cruise travelers. The Cruise Luxury plan offers $1 million in medical evacuation coverage. In addition, it provides $150,000 in accident coverage and $150,000 for sickness medical expenses. The medical coverage is secondary.

Nationwide’s Cruise Choice plan provides $100,000 in medical expense coverage and $500,000 in medical evacuation coverage.  Cruise Choice also includes non-medical evacuation coverage and offers a trip interruption upgrade. The policy provides compensation if you miss activities because your cruise ship changes its itinerary, and for the inconvenience of delays to the next port of call.

Nationwide’s Prime Plan earned 3.7 stars in our scoring of the best travel insurance companies. The Prime plan has superior medical evacuation coverage limits of $1 million, and $150,000 in travel medical expense coverage. It also has generous trip interruption coverage of 200% of the trip cost, very good baggage loss coverage of $2,000 per person and good travel delay coverage of $1,500 per person after a 6-hour delay. A “cancel for any reason” upgrade is available.

Nationwide’s Essential: This plan offers $75,000 in emergency medical coverage and $250,000 in medical evacuation coverage. It allows for cancellation due to Covid-19 sickness in its trip cancellation and interruption coverage. And there is medical coverage for Covid-19 in its emergency medical coverage.

Nationwide’s Universal Cruise plan: This plan is good for travelers who want medical evacuation evacuation coverage of $250,000. There is an emergency accident coverage of $75,000 and sickness coverage of $75,000. This medical coverage is secondary, which means any other health insurance coverage that you have would pay first.

Nationwide’s Travel Pro plan: This annual plan is geared for travelers who travel often and want one plan to cover multiple trips. The Travel Pro plan includes coverage for trip delay, emergency medical expenses and lost luggage. It provides $10,000 for medical expenses per person, per trip and $50,000 for medical evacuation per person, per trip.

Nationwide’s Travel Plus plan: This annual plan can cover multiple trips. Emergency medical evacuation is $50,000 per person, per trip and emergency medical expenses is $10,000 per person, per trip. There’s also baggage coverage.

Nationwide’s Pro Deluxe plan: This is Nationwide’s best annual travel insurance plan, with increased benefit levels for travel delay, lost and delayed luggage, medical emergency coverage and medical evacuation.

Some Nationwide’s Essential plan and Prime plan both have optional rental car coverage (not available in all states).

Because travel benefits vary among the different travel plans at Nationwide, there is a range of pricing available. In general, cost varies by your age and the cost of the trip. Here are examples of prices for Nationwide’s Cruise Luxury plan.

Travelers and trip	Cost per trip for Nationwide’s Cruise Luxury policy
Two travelers age 30, $3,000 trip cost, traveling to Mexico for 8 days	$174
Two travelers age 40, $6,000 trip cost, traveling to Italy for 17 days	$280
Family with two parents age 40 and two children, $15,000 trip cost, traveling to Italy for 17 days	$716
Family with two parents age 40 and two children, $15,000 trip cost, traveling to France for 17 days	$716
Family with two parents age 40 and two children, $15,000 trip cost, traveling to U.K. for 17 days	$716
Two travelers age 65, $6,000 trip cost, traveling to the Italy for 17 days	$450
Two travelers age 70, $3,000 trip cost, traveling to the Mexico for 8 days	$346

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Nationwide’s travel insurance plans include 24/7 travel assistance. The assistance team can help with transportation services in an emergency, medical and dental referrals, language interpretation, an emergency cash advance for medical expenses, legal referrals and bail money, and much more.

All travel insurance plans contain exclusions, so it’s good to review the fine print to learn what your plan doesn’t cover. Here are some examples of exclusions to Nationwide’s Cruise Luxury plan:

• Suicide and attempted suicide or any intentionally self-infliced injury
• Being under the influence of drugs, unless prescribed by a physician
• Mental or emotional disorders, unless hospitalized
• Piloting or learning to pilot
• Participation in underwater activities
• Participation as a professional in athletics
• Participation in contact sports such as skydiving, hang gliding, parachuting, mountaineering, bungee cord jumping, scuba diving, spelunking or caving, heliskiing and extreme skiing
• Any non-emergency treatment or surgery, routine physical examinations, hearing aids, eyeglasses or contact lenses

Nationwide has customer service numbers and an email address for claims, along with an online claims portal. Make sure you have all the supporting documentation that you may need when making a travel insurance claim.

Forbes Advisor researched and analyzed 39 policies to find the best travel insurance. When companies had more than one travel insurance policy we used the highest-scoring plan. Ratings are based on the following metrics.

Cost (25% of score): We analyzed the average cost for each travel insurance policy for trips to popular destinations:

• Couple, age 30 for a Mexico trip costing $3,000.
• Couple, age 40, for an Italy trip costing $6,000.
• Family of four for an Italy trip costing $15,000.
• Family of four for a France trip costing $15,000.
• Family of four for a U.K. trip costing $15,000.
• Couple, age 65, for an Italy trip costing $6,000.
• Couple, age 70, for a Mexico trip costing $3,000.

Missed connection coverage (10% of score): Travel insurance policies were awarded more points if they include missed connection benefits of $1,000 per person or more.

Medical expenses (10% of score): Travel insurance policies with travel medical expense benefits of $250,000 and up per person were given the highest points.

Medical evacuation (10% of score): Travel insurance policies with medical evacuation expense benefits of $500,000 and up per person were given the highest points.

“Cancel for any reason” upgrade (10%): Travel insurance policies received points if “cancel for any reason” upgrades are offered. More points were awarded for “cancel for any reason” upgrades with reimbursement levels of 75%.

Baggage delay required waiting time (5%): Policies with baggage delay benefits kicking in at 12 hours or less were given points.

Cancel for work reasons (5%): Travel insurance plans that allow cancellations for work reasons were awarded points.

Hurricane and weather (5%): Policies received points if the required waiting period for hurricane and weather coverage was 12 hours or less.

“Interruption for any reason” upgrade (5%): Policies were awarded points if they offered an “interruption for any reason” upgrade.

Pre-existing medical condition exclusion waiver (5%): Points were given to policies that cover pre-existing medical conditions (if purchased within a required timeframe after the first trip deposit).

Travel delay required waiting time (5%): Policies with travel delay benefits kicking in after six hours or less were given points.

Trip interruption travel insurance (5%): Points were given if trip interruption reimbursement is 150% or higher.