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Travel insurance for US travelers, read properly before you buy

A travel policy is easy to buy and easy to leave unread until something goes wrong. These guides do the reading first: what medical cover pays for outside the US, when a cancelled or delayed trip is reimbursed, and which exclusions decide a claim, with Europe covered in the most detail.

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603 guides publishedNewest: September 2026Independent guides, no policies sold here

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Your route: Before you buy

  1. How to Read a Travel Insurance Policy Before You Buy

    Which document governs, and the sections to read in order.

  2. Pre-Existing Condition Waiver Travel Insurance: The 3 Rules

    Buy soon after the first trip deposit, insure the full trip cost, be fit to travel.

  3. How Much Does Travel Insurance Cost? What Drives the Price

    The rating factors behind a premium, and how to compare quotes.

  1. Does US Health Insurance Work Abroad? Where Plans Stop

    Networks end, and foreign hospitals may want payment up front.

  2. Travel Insurance for Europe: What US Travelers Need

    Medical, evacuation, cancellation and baggage cover, and what the EU requires.

  3. Can US Citizens Use the European Health Insurance Card?

    What the EHIC covers, what it never does, and what fills the gap.

  1. Trip Delay vs Trip Interruption vs Trip Cancellation: Timing

    Before departure, after departure, or during a wait: which benefit applies.

  2. Credit Card Trip Cancellation Insurance: What It Won’t Cover

    Listed reasons only, and the trip has to be charged to the card.

  3. Citi Trip Delay Protection: How the Benefit Is Structured

    Why delay cover varies by card and issue date, and how to find yours.

  1. Baggage Delay and Lost Luggage: What the Benefit Really Pays

    Delay and loss are different benefits, and the airline claim comes first.

  2. How to File a Travel Insurance Claim: Steps and Documents

    Notice and proof-of-loss deadlines, and the documents a claim needs.

  3. Credit Card Travel Insurance: What It Covers and Misses

    Cancellation, delay, baggage and rental cars, and the medical gap it leaves.

Start here

One main guide for each question US travelers ask first. Each one links on to the narrower guides behind it.

An older American woman talks with a pharmacist across the wooden counter of a small pharmacy in Lisbon
A pharmacy counter abroad is often where a medical question starts. Illustrative image.

Where a US health plan stops working abroad

A US plan usually works only partly outside the country: networks end, hospitals may want payment up front, and Medicare rarely pays abroad. These guides explain what a travel medical policy is for, and where cheap policies stop paying.

An older couple at a kitchen table reading carefully on a laptop before a trip
The time to read a policy is before paying for it. Illustrative image.

Before you buy

Four things to settle while you can still choose a different policy. Show this route on the plan

An older couple waits beside an almost empty baggage carousel in a small island airport
A bag that does not come off the belt starts two claims: the airline's first, then the policy's. Show the lost-bag route on the plan. Illustrative image.

How this site works

Worth knowing before you rely on anything here.

A publisher, not a broker

We do not sell policies, quote them or handle claims, and no one on the editorial desk holds an insurance license. Nothing here is a recommendation for your circumstances. About this site

How guides are written

Cover terms come from insurers' policy wording and official sources rather than marketing pages. What cannot be checked against a source is marked unverified or left out. Editorial policy

How it is paid for

Some links earn a commission if you buy. That never changes what a guide says or the order options appear in, and no insurer reviews a guide before it is published. Affiliate disclosure

This is general information, not advice. Cover, limits and exclusions differ by policy, insurer and state, and they change. Always read the policy wording and confirm the detail with the insurer before you buy.

If you have an active policy or an open claim, contact your insurer directly; the phone number is on your certificate of insurance. Found something wrong on this site? Tell us, corrections are welcome.

Hotelsca US is a publisher, not an insurance broker or agent. Our guides are general information, not advice about your own circumstances, and we are not licensed to sell insurance. Coverage varies by insurer, state and traveler — the certificate of insurance issued to you is the only document that determines what you are covered for. Some links on this site are affiliate links; this never affects our coverage or your price.

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