Do I need travel insurance
You may need travel insurance if you would lose money you cannot afford to lose if a trip is canceled, or if your health plan does not cover you abroad, which many do not. Policies can cover trip cancellation, medical care and evacuation overseas, delays and lost bags. Read the exclusions: preexisting conditions, risky activities and changing your mind are often not covered.
Why it matters: It covers expensive surprises, but only if you know what is excluded.
Steps
- Ask your health insurer whether you are covered abroad and how claims work.
- Check what your credit card already includes for trip delays or cancellation.
- Total the nonrefundable costs of the trip.
- Compare policies for medical cover abroad, emergency evacuation, cancellation and baggage.
- Read the exclusions: preexisting conditions, activities such as diving, and reasons for canceling.
- Buy soon after booking, since some benefits need an early purchase.
- Save the policy number and the emergency assistance line on your phone and on paper.
Stop and call a professional if
- you have a preexisting condition or plan risky activities: ask a licensed insurance agent or the insurer in writing whether you are covered
Questions to ask the professional
- Is my preexisting condition covered, and under what conditions?
- Does this cover medical evacuation, and how do I reach the assistance line?
Common mistakes
- Assuming your regular health plan covers you overseas.
- Not reading what counts as a covered reason to cancel.
- Buying cover that duplicates what your card already includes.
Teach this to someone
A one page sheet for showing a friend, a teenager or a parent: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.
Teach: Do I need travel insurance
What to say
You may need travel insurance if you would lose money you cannot afford to lose if a trip is canceled, or if your health plan does not cover you abroad, which many do not. Policies can cover trip cancellation, medical care and evacuation overseas, delays and lost bags. Read the exclusions: preexisting conditions, risky activities and changing your mind are often not covered.
What to show
- Ask your health insurer whether you are covered abroad and how claims work.
- Check what your credit card already includes for trip delays or cancellation.
- Total the nonrefundable costs of the trip.
- Compare policies for medical cover abroad, emergency evacuation, cancellation and baggage.
- Read the exclusions: preexisting conditions, activities such as diving, and reasons for canceling.
- Buy soon after booking, since some benefits need an early purchase.
- Save the policy number and the emergency assistance line on your phone and on paper.
Where it stops
Stop and call a professional if you have a preexisting condition or plan risky activities: ask a licensed insurance agent or the insurer in writing whether you are covered.
Check question
Does a regular US health plan always cover you abroad?
Answer: No, many do not. Check before you go; many plans do not cover care overseas.
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Related skills
Sources
- US federal guidance for citizens traveling abroad, 2026. Reviewed September 28, 2026.
- US state insurance department consumer guides on travel insurance, 2026. Reviewed September 28, 2026.
Written in our own words from the sources above. It is general information, not advice for your situation; where a professional, your doctor or your lease says something different, follow them.
Last reviewed . First published .