Travelex Travel Insurance Review 2024

Travelex Insurance Services is a travel insurance company that provides a wide range of plans for both domestic and international travelers.

Here are key types of benefits included in Travelex travel insurance policies:

• Trip cancellation insurance: Trip cancellation insurance reimburses you for pre-paid, non-refundable costs if you cancel a trip for a reason listed in the policy.
• Travel medical insurance: If you become ill or injured during your trip, travel medical insurance can pay for emergency medical expenses, up to the limits in your plan. These expenses can include doctor and hospital bills, medicine and lab work.
• Emergency medical evacuation: If you require emergency transportation for treatment after an injury or illness during your trip, emergency medical evacuation insurance helps pay for medevac costs. You’ll be brought to the nearest medical center that can treat your condition. Your travel insurance company’s emergency assistance team can also arrange for the transportation.
• Travel delay insurance: If your trip is delayed due to a reason covered in your policy, travel delay insurance reimburses you for extra costs, such as bills for a hotel room and meals for an overnight layover, up to the amount specified in your policy. You can also recoup pre-paid, non-refundable costs for portions of the trip you miss due to the delay.
• Travel interruption insurance: If an emergency back home causes you to cut your trip short, trip interruption insurance pays for a last-minute flight home. It can also compensate you for the money you lose on forfeited, non-refundable activities and hotel stays.
• Baggage and personal effects: Baggage insurance reimburses the depreciated value of your suitcases and what you packed if lost, stolen or damaged. If your bags show up late, baggage delay coverage can reimburse you for the cost of necessities you bought to tide you over. It also extends to your personal belongings, if lost, damaged or stolen. Some exclusions apply to baggage and personal effects insurance, so check your policy to see what’s covered.
• Covid: Covid is covered by Travelex plans if you (or a travel companion) test positive for the virus and need to quarantine, as certified by a physician. If you contract Covid right before your trip and have to cancel, these plans can reimburse you for 100% of what you lose in prepaid and non-refundable deposits. If you get Covid during your trip, and are diagnosed by a physician, you could be eligible for trip delay, trip interruption, emergency medical and emergency evacuation benefits.

Here’s a comparison of Travelex’s Travel Basic, Travel Select and Travel America plans. Travel assistance services are included in all plans.

Coverage type	Travel Basic Plan	Travel Select Plan	Travel America Plan
Trip cancellation	100% of insured trip cost	100% of insured trip cost	100% up to $750
Trip interruption	100% of insured trip cost	150% of insured trip cost	150% of insured trip cost, up to $1,125
Emergency medical expense per person	$15,000 (primary)	$50,000 (primary)	$50,000 (secondary)
Medical evacuation per person	$100,000	$500,000	$250,000
Travel delay per person	$500/$250 per day; five-hour wait	$2,000/$250 per day; five-hour wait	$2,000
Baggage and personal effects per person	$500	$1,000	$2,000
Baggage delay per person; with 12-hour wait per person	$100	$200	$1,000
AD&D per person	$10,000	$25,000	$25,000
Missed connection per person	$500	$750	$2,000
“Cancel for any reason”	No	Optional	None
Pre-existing medical condition exclusion waiver available	No	Yes	Yes
Sports equipment delay	No	$200	$2,000
Adventure sports	No	Optional	No
Children included in pricing	No	Yes	Coverage can be shared with up to eight travel companions

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Travelex Travel Basic Plan

This budget-friendly plan offers pre- and post-departure coverage with adequate limits. Benefits include trip cancellation, trip delay, trip interruption, emergency evacuation, emergency medical insurance, and baggage and personal effects coverage.

Your U.S. health plan may provide little or no coverage outside of the country and Medicare isn’t accepted in other countries, which is why travel medical insurance is essential if going abroad.

If you’re on a domestic trip, your U.S. health insurance can apply if you’re hurt or get sick. Some travel insurance companies make you file a claim first with your health insurance company. With the Basic plan, medical expense coverage is primary, which means claims are filed first with Travelex, not your health insurance company.

If you purchase a Travel Basic plan within 15 days of your first trip payment, coverage for trip cancellation includes financial default—if your airline, cruise line, or tour operator goes bankrupt—and cancellation for business reasons if you’re required to work during the dates of your trip.

“Cancel for any reason” coverage is not available with the Travel Basic plan.

Travelex Travel Select Plan

Travel Select is Travelex’s highest-rated plan according to Forbes Advisor’s ratings of the best travel insurance. It includes all the coverage in the Basic plan, with higher coverage amounts and optional add-ons. The Travel Select plan also includes sports equipment delay coverage.

Another benefit of the Travel Select plan is the option to request a pre-existing medical condition exclusion waiver, if you have an existing condition you would like covered while you travel. These waivers can be requested at no charge with Travel Select, provided you purchase your travel insurance within 15 days of making your first trip payment.

The Travel Select plan also offers optional upgrades not available with the Basic plan:

• “Cancel for any reason” coverage
• Higher medical expense limits to provide and an extra layer of coverage
• Adventure sports coverage

Additionally, children under age 17 are included under a Travel Select plan for free, as long as their trip cost doesn’t exceed yours.

Travelex Travel America Plan

The Travel America plan from Travelex is designed for the domestic traveler and groups taking a trip of no more than 14 days.

It includes all the standard types of travel insurance coverage as the Basic and Select plans, with varying differences in coverage amounts. Most notably, Travel America has caps on the maximum amounts for trip cancellation and trip interruption.

The Travel America plan has shared benefits for up to eight travelers, meaning the plan’s coverage limits are shared across all the people listed on the policy.

It also includes $1,000 in emergency pet medical expenses, with a $50 deductible. Additionally, it provides $10,000 in “pet return” coverage, which helps pay for transportation for your pet if you were to get sick or injured during your trip and were unable to travel.

You can be covered for pre-existing medical conditions if you buy the Travel America insurance plan within three days of your final trip payment. You can get this pre-existing condition coverage only if you are physically able to travel at the time you purchase the policy.

The Travel Med Plan is for last-minute getaways and trips with few pre-paid expenses. It provides these post-departure benefits at the following limits and is primary coverage:

• Trip interruption, $1,000
• Trip delay, $100
• Missed connection, $250
• Medical expense, $10,000
• Emergency medical evacuation, $100,000
• Baggage and belongings, $1,000
• Baggage delay, $500
• AD&D, $10,000

Optional Travelex upgrades, depending on your plan, include:

• Car rental collision coverage of $35,000, with a $100 deductible
• Upgraded flight accident benefits or “accidental death and dismemberment common carrier coverage,” can cover accidental death or injury when boarding, riding or descending an aircraft, up to $200,000.
• Upgraded medical expense and evacuation coverage that provides an additional $50,000 in medical expense coverage and $500,000 in evacuation benefits.
• Upgraded coverage for adventure sports activities.

What you pay for travel insurance generally varies by your age and trip cost. Here are examples of prices for Travelex’s Travel Select plan.

Travelers and trip	Cost per trip for the Travel Select plan
Two travelers age 30, $3,000 trip cost, traveling to Mexico for 8 days	$124
Two travelers age 40, $6,000 trip cost, traveling to Italy for 17 days	$360
Family with two parents age 40 and two children, $15,000 trip cost, traveling to Italy for 17 days	$462
Family with two parents age 40 and two children, $15,000 trip cost, traveling to France for 17 days	$462
Family with two parents age 40 and two children, $15,000 trip cost, traveling to U.K. for 17 days	$462
Two travelers age 65, $6,000 trip cost, traveling to the Italy for 17 days	$492
Two travelers age 70, $3,000 trip cost, traveling to the Mexico for 8 days	$376

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Travelex plans include access to its 24/7 travel assistance hotline. Here are some of the services provided:

• Locating medical care
• Fulfilling emergency medical payments
• Lost passport or travel documents assistance
• Legal assistance
• Emergency cash transfers
• Language interpretation
• Flight and hotel rebooking

You can download the Travel On app to receive real-time security alerts, details on food and water safety at your destination, ATM locations, tipping protocols and more.

All travel insurance plans contain exclusions, so it’s good to review the fine print and understand what your travel insurance policy doesn’t cover. Here are some examples of exclusions to emergency medical coverage for Travelex’s Travel Select plan:

• Intentionally self-inflicted injury
• Normal pregnancy or childbirth
• Mental, nervous or psychological disorders
• Experimental medical treatments
• Injuries due to intoxication or drug abuse
• Routine physical examinations

You can file a claim on the company website, or call the Travelex customer service number for claims: 855-205-6054.

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.