Travel insurance is worth serious consideration for international trips. It’s especially valuable when your bookings are nonrefundable or expensive; flights, tours, cruises, or when you’re headed somewhere with limited or very costly medical care. Buy it if you have tight connection schedules, a complex multi-city itinerary, or pre-existing medical conditions (look for plans that include a pre-existing condition waiver). For cruises, adventure travel, or activities like skiing or scuba, confirm the policy covers those specific risks.

Essential coverage to prioritize include emergency medical and medical evacuation (air ambulance can be ruinously expensive), trip cancellation and interruption for covered reasons, baggage loss/delay, and travel delay (meals, lodging). If COVID-19 concerns remain for you, check whether testing, quarantine, and related costs are covered. Also verify whether coverage is primary or secondary to your health insurance or credit-card benefits. Remember, if you’re on Medicare and traveling abroad, assume you won’t have coverage.

When choosing a policy, compare covered reasons, limits, exclusions, deductibles, and whether reimbursements are primary or secondary. Pay attention to medical evacuation limits and the insurer’s required purchase window for pre-existing condition waivers (often within 14–21 days of your first trip payment). Read cancellation and interruption definitions carefully, “cancel for any reason” is rare and costly. Keep both digital and physical copies of your policy and emergency contact numbers.

Moral of the story:

You might skip travel insurance for short, inexpensive trips with fully refundable bookings or if you already have comprehensive international medical and evacuation coverage through your health insurer, employer, or a premium credit card. Just confirm those benefits apply abroad and for your activities. However, if you’re on Medicare, buy travel health insurance. And, confirm any limited foreign emergency benefits you may have under your Medicare Advantage or Medigap policies and carry documentation.