A practical guide for families, frequent flyers, and growing companies choosing a travel insurance partner
Top Travel Insurance Companies: An Honest Comparison
A practical guide for families, frequent flyers, and growing companies choosing a travel insurance partner
A single disrupted trip can wipe out thousands of dollars in flights, hotels, and event tickets. Add weather delays, crowded airports, geopolitical shocks, and stricter visa rules, and it starts to feel risky to travel without some kind of protection.
The problem is that travel insurance is not one simple product. Some companies focus on medical coverage abroad. Others lean into trip cancellation and trip interruption for big vacations. A few aim at long term travelers, expats, or international students. On top of that, plan names and coverage details change often, which makes it hard to know where to start.
This guide walks through eight major travel insurance companies, explains where each one tends to fit, and highlights tradeoffs so you can match the insurer to your actual travel pattern instead of chasing one winner for everyone.
How we evaluated these travel insurance providers
To keep things structured, each insurer is evaluated on:
- Primary focus
Whether they center on trip cancellation and interruption, medical coverage abroad, or a blend of both. - Best fit traveler profile
Which travelers they serve best in practice, such as families, retirees, frequent business travelers, adventure travelers, or long stay nomads. - Coverage depth and flexibility
How strong their benefits are for medical emergencies, evacuations, cancellations, delays, and baggage, and whether they offer options like Cancel For Any Reason or pre existing condition waivers. - Plan variety
Whether they offer a small number of simple plans or a larger catalog that can be tuned for specific trip types, ages, and risk tolerance. - Claims and assistance experience
How they perform on claim speed, customer support, and 24 hour assistance, based on recent reviews and independent evaluations. - Fit for business and frequent work travel
How well they support annual or multi trip coverage, corporate groups, or people who spend a lot of time on the road for work.
This is not legal or financial advice and it does not replace reading the policy documents. Use it as a directional starting point, then compare quotes and sample policies before you buy.
Deeper dives - company by company
#1 Allianz Global Assistance
Allianz is one of the most recognizable travel insurance brands. It offers comprehensive plans that combine trip cancellation and interruption with medical coverage, emergency evacuation, baggage protection, and travel delay benefits. Allianz also offers annual and multi trip plans, which appeal to people who travel several times a year for work or personal reasons.
Strengths include brand familiarity, a mature global assistance network, and a range of plan designs, including options that may cover some pre existing conditions when purchased within certain time windows. Many travelers also like the ability to buy annual plans that can cover multiple trips with predictable pricing.
The tradeoff is that Allianz is sometimes more expensive than smaller competitors. Like every insurer, it has detailed exclusions and limits, so shoppers need to read the fine print and not rely only on marketing summaries.
Allianz tends to be a fit if you want a well known name, plan to travel multiple times per year, and value strong medical and trip protection benefits backed by a large insurer.
#2 Travel Guard by AIG
Travel Guard is part of AIG and has a long history in the travel insurance market. It offers several comprehensive single trip plans that cover trip cancellation, trip interruption, medical emergencies, evacuation, delays, and baggage, along with a more basic post departure plan for last minute travel.
Travel Guard stands out for its mix of plan tiers and optional upgrades. On some plans, you can increase medical limits, add Cancel For Any Reason, or adjust coverage for specific needs. That flexibility lets travelers tune protection to the cost and risk level of each trip rather than buying the same structure every time.
It works well for travelers who are comfortable comparing several similar plans and add ons, and who want the backing of a large, diversified insurer. The flip side is that the range of options can feel complex if you just want a simple, one click solution.
#3 Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection
Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, often shortened to BHTP, presents itself as a modern, technology focused travel insurer. Its products include comprehensive plans such as ExactCare and some more targeted offerings that pay fixed benefits for defined flight disruptions.
The company emphasizes fast, digital claims and 24 hour assistance. Many travelers like the ability to file and track claims online and in some cases receive payment very quickly once a claim is approved. This focus on speed and transparency is a core part of its brand.
Premiums can be higher than some budget competitors, especially for longer trips and families. BHTP tends to appeal to travelers who care about a streamlined digital experience, who are willing to pay for faster claims handling, and who take comfort in the Berkshire Hathaway name behind the product.
#4 Seven Corners
Seven Corners offers a mix of traditional trip protection, travel medical insurance, student coverage, and annual plans. Its comprehensive trip protection plans are aimed at United States residents traveling domestically or abroad and include cancellation, interruption, medical coverage, evacuation, delays, and baggage benefits.
A notable feature is the availability of Cancel For Any Reason as an add on for some plans, sometimes at more accessible price points than you see with larger brands. Seven Corners also sells travel medical products that focus on health care costs abroad for travelers who already have some trip protection through credit cards or other sources.
Seven Corners often appeals to budget conscious travelers who still want solid medical and evacuation limits, or to people who like the idea of CFAR but do not want to pay premium prices for it. As with most insurers, reviews of claims experiences are mixed, so reading current feedback and comparing plan documents is important.
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#5 IMG (International Medical Group)
IMG focuses heavily on international medical coverage and expat health plans alongside more traditional travel insurance. Its lineup includes travel medical plans, comprehensive travel protection under the iTravelInsured brand, and long term international health coverage.
The travel protection plans combine trip cancellation and interruption with medical coverage, evacuation, and baggage benefits, with optional upgrades like Cancel For Any Reason on certain tiers. Travel medical and expat plans place more weight on medical limits, global provider networks, and long term coverage structures.
IMG is often a good match for people who spend significant time overseas, digital nomads, and companies that send employees on longer international assignments. The catalog is broad, which adds flexibility but also complexity. Shoppers should look closely at coverage limits, pre existing condition language, and provider networks before deciding.
#6 Trawick International
Trawick International is a full service travel insurance provider that covers tourists, students, visitors to the United States, and business travelers. It offers comprehensive trip protection, standalone travel medical plans, and specialized plans for students and visitors.
Plans such as its Safe Travels series combine primary medical coverage with trip cancellation and interruption, evacuation, baggage benefits, and delay coverage. On some tiers, travelers can add Cancel For Any Reason and certain pre existing condition benefits, which can be important for older travelers or high cost vacations.
Trawick tends to show up on comparison tools as a competitive choice for medical and evacuation limits at reasonable prices. It is often a strong option for travelers to or from the United States who want robust medical benefits, and for families or groups that need flexible coverage structures.
#7 Travelex Insurance Services
Travelex keeps its lineup relatively simple, which many shoppers appreciate. It focuses on a small set of comprehensive plans that cover trip cancellation and interruption, medical emergencies, evacuation, delays, and baggage. Additional focused products are available for flight coverage and post departure protection.
One selling point is family oriented pricing, where children traveling with insured adults are often included at no additional cost on certain plans. The clear tier structure helps families and casual travelers choose without comparing a long list of similar products.
Travelex is a strong candidate if you want straightforward, comprehensive protection for vacations, family trips, or cruises and you prefer a clear set of options rather than a dense catalog of add ons.
#8 World Nomads
World Nomads is well known among backpackers, adventure travelers, and long term independent travelers. It usually offers a couple of main tiers in each market, with coverage for overseas medical care, trip cancellation, belongings, and a long list of covered activities.
A core advantage is the way World Nomads includes many adventure sports and outdoor pursuits that other plans either exclude or require special riders for. In some regions, it also allows travelers to buy or extend coverage after a trip has already started, which is useful for flexible or open ended itineraries.
Availability varies by country of residence, and claim experiences, like those of most insurers, are mixed across reviews. World Nomads tends to be a good fit if your travel centers on activities like trekking, certain water sports, or extended overland trips that look different from a standard resort vacation.
How to choose the right travel insurance partner
Looking across these travel insurance companies, the right choice depends on how you actually travel.
- If you take multiple trips each year
Look for strong annual or multi trip options and predictable pricing. Allianz and IMG are common choices for frequent travelers who want one plan to cover many itineraries. - If medical coverage abroad is your main concern
Focus on insurers with higher medical and evacuation limits and clear terms. IMG, Seven Corners, and Trawick International often compete in this space, especially for international and long duration trips. - If you are planning a high cost, once in a lifetime trip
Spend more time comparing trip cancellation and interruption limits from providers such as Travel Guard, Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, Travelex, and Allianz. Decide whether Cancel For Any Reason is worth the higher cost based on your risk tolerance and what could realistically cause you to cancel. - If you are an adventure traveler or digital nomad
Consider specialists like World Nomads and some of the international plans from IMG. Check carefully which activities are covered, how long you can stay abroad, and whether you can extend coverage while traveling.
Whatever route you choose, the most important step is to read sample policy documents before buying. Look closely at exclusions, pre existing condition wording, coverage limits, and claim procedures. Then compare benefits and pricing across at least two or three providers so you can see which one lines up with your actual travel style instead of relying on a generic best list.
