Where are you going?

Our Essential travel insurance plan is packed with budget-friendly benefits to help keep your trip on track.

How our inexpensive travel insurance can help you

Wondering how to get cheap travel insurance that you can depend on? Our Essential plan can help you save money on your premium without asking you to sacrifice on quality protection.

If you want trip cancellation coverage …

Our Essential plan offers up to 100% reimbursement of your trip cost up to $10,000.

Get trip cancellation

If you have unexpected medical costs …

Our essential travel insurance offers emergency medical coverage during your trip.

See medical benefits

If you like having options …

You can customize our Essential plan with up to six upgrades like rental car damage and adventure activities.

Unlock our upgrades

If you need help while you’re away …

You can reach our assistance provider 24/7 for help finding a doctor, replacing your passport, and more.

Discover nonstop support

Here’s what you get with our

Essential travel insurance plan

Want cheap travel insurance without compromising helpful benefits? Our Essential plan offers comprehensive coverage before and during your trip while helping you stick to your budget. Check it out below.

Before you buy: Remember our Essential plan offers secondary medical coverage, so you’d have to file a claim with your health insurance provider first. Rather have primary coverage? We offer it on our Ultimate, Advantage, and Travel Med Go plans.

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Benefit	Benefit Limit
Trip cancellation	100% of trip cost ($10,000 maximum)
Trip interruption	100% of trip cost ($10,000 maximum)
Travel delay	Up to $600 ($200 per day maximum)
Emergency medical*	Up to $25,000
Baggage and personal belongings	Up to $750 ($500 per item limit)

Our plan benefits and coverage details	Essential
Trip cancellation, interruption, delay, and inconvenience
Protects travel investments and recovers nonrefundable, prepaid costs if your trip is canceled for an eligible reason.	100% of trip cost ($10,000 maximum)
Protects unused, prepaid, and nonrefundable expenses and additional transportation to join the departed trip or return home if your trip is interrupted for an eligible reason.	100% of trip cost ($10,000 maximum)
Reimbursement for reasonable additional expenses — such as accommodations, local transportation, and meals — if your trip is delayed for an eligible reason.	$600 ($200 per day maximum)
Reimbursement for luggage and personal articles if your bags are lost, stolen, or damaged.	$750 ($500 per item limit)
Reimbursement for personal articles — such as reasonable additional clothing and toiletries — if your bags are delayed by a common carrier.	$200
Reimbursement for reasonable additional lodging, meal expenses, and the prepaid, unused, and nonrefundable portion of the trip if you miss a connection for an eligible reason.	$150
Reimbursement for travel inconveniences such as a closed ski resort, golf course, or beach at your destination, or cruise disablement due to an eligible reason. Closed attractions: $200 maximum Closed beach: $200 maximum Cruise disablement: $200 maximum	Not included
Emergency evacuation and repatriation
Coverage for physician-ordered medical evacuation to a hospital or home if an injury or sickness occurs while traveling. Also includes coverage for repatriation of remains if you pass away while traveling.	$200,000
Emergency medical expense
Coverage for emergency medical treatment if you have a sickness or injury while traveling on an insured trip. Residents of NH have up to $50,000 in emergency medical coverage with the Ultimate plan. Residents of CT, IN, KS, MO, MT, VT, and WA have a $50 deductible.	$25,000
Coverage for emergency dental treatment if you’re injured while traveling on an insured trip. Residents of CT, IN, KS, MO, MT, VT, and WA have a $50 deductible.	$500
If you meet the plan purchase requirements listed, exclusions for pre-existing conditions are waived. Exclusions do not apply to NH residents.	Not included
This represents the number of days to “look back” at changes in medical history and determine if a claim is related to a pre-existing medical condition. The days are counted backward from the day preceding the policy purchase date.	180 days Does not apply to NH residents
If you need to file a claim, your plan benefits will be used first as primary coverage. Our Essential plan provides excess medical coverage unless you’re a CT resident, in which case you’d have primary coverage.	Not included (secondary coverage) Included for CT residents
Accidental death and dismemberment
Coverage if you have an eligible loss, such as your life or a limb, as a result of an eligible injury while on an insured trip. Exclusions may apply. See policy for details.	$10,000
Coverage if you’re exposed to weather or disappear due to an accident that results in an eligible loss.	$10,000
Other benefits
If you need help while you’re traveling, our team of assistance experts is available 24/7 to help you with medical emergencies, language interpretation, prescription refills, and much more.	Included
We can provide coverage at no additional cost to one travel companion aged 17 years old or younger per each insured adult traveler. Each insured adult traveler on the Ultimate plan must be aged 18 years or older for the child to be eligible. The child’s individual trip cost must be equal to or lower than the insured adult’s individual trip cost for coverage to apply. If upgrades are selected and included in the policy, each traveler will be charged the applicable premium for the upgrade.	No
The plan you choose will provide coverage for a trip length up to the number of days shown. It’s important to check that the plan’s maximum trip length will insure your entire trip or coverage may not apply.	Up to 30 days
We offer coverage for most U.S. states and international locations, excluding trips to, through, or from destinations sanctioned by Zurich Group or the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Please check the OFAC website and our travel alerts page for information on affected countries.	All domestic and international locations without Zurich Group or OFAC sanctions. For a list of our restricted destinations, please check our travel alerts page.
This is the number of days after purchasing your policy during which you may cancel your policy and receive a premium refund, as long as you have not departed or filed a claim. We count the date you purchase your policy as day one of your review period.	21 days
We provide coverage for certain sports and activities, including kayaking, horseback riding, and hiking. To include coverage for excluded activities, such as skiing or scuba diving more than 75 feet, consider adding our adventure activities upgrade.	Included, but limited to eligible activities (optional upgrade available for additional activities)
Optional upgrades
If you include this upgrade, you can be reimbursed up to 75% of your prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs (up to $7,500) if you need to cancel your trip. You must cancel at least two days prior to your scheduled departure date. To get cancel for any reason coverage, you must insure all your nonrefundable trip expenses in your plan, your trip cost can’t be more than $10,000, and you must purchase the upgrade 31 days or more before your departure date. You also must purchase the cancel for any reason upgrade with the Ultimate plan within 21 days of your initial payment for your trip. Subsequent arrangements must be insured within 14 days of booking those arrangements. Cancel for any fortuitous reason in NY.	Not available
If you include this upgrade in your policy, you can have coverage up to $50,000 ($100 deductible) for collision, vandalism, windstorm, theft, hail, fire, or flood damage to your rental car while on your trip. This upgrade is not available in all destinations, including Costa Rica, Ireland, Jamaica, and Mexico. Please contact our customer service team at 1-800-228-9792 to check if coverage is available for your trip.	Available ($50,000 with a $100 deductible)
If you include this upgrade in your policy, you can increase your emergency medical expense coverage limit by $250,000. Not available to NH residents.	Not available
If you include this upgrade in your policy, you can have protection for the following activities that are excluded from coverage in our base plans: snow skiing, skydiving, parachuting, free falling, cliff diving, B.A.S.E. or base jumping, hang gliding, parasailing, travel on any air supported device other than a regularly scheduled airline or air charter company, mountain climbing, free climbing, scuba diving at a depth greater than 75 feet, and participating in underwater activities if the depth of the water is greater than 75 feet. This upgrade provides up to $10,000 coverage for an organized search & rescue by appropriate authorities, should you or a traveling companion become lost, disoriented, or missing during your trip. It also offers up to $100,000 coverage in case an event on your trip results in imminent physical danger to you and your traveling companions and you require additional accommodations, transportation, or extrication from your destination. This upgrade isn’t available to IL residents. Exclusions on activities listed above don’t apply to IL residents.	Available (waives exclusions on certain activities) Search and rescue: $10,000 Security evacuation: $100,000
If you include this upgrade in your policy, you can have coverage if you suffer from the permanent loss of life from an eligible injury while boarding, as a passenger on, or disembarking from an aircraft of a commercial airline or air charter company licensed to carry passengers for hire during a trip, up to the maximum eligible amount selected. This upgrade isn’t available to NH residents.	Available ($200,000, $500,000, or $1,000,000) Not available to NH residents
If you include this upgrade in your policy, you can have coverage if your trip is delayed for an eligible reason and you have extra pet boarding fees. Plus, if your pet traveling with you has a sickness or injury, you can have coverage for pet veterinarian expenses up to the maximum eligible amount. This upgrade isn’t available to NY and VA residents.	Available Pet care: $250 Pet veterinarian expense: $2,500
Reimbursement for expenses such as the cost of repairs if you cause accidental damage to your accommodations.	Available ($2,000)
Protect travel investments and recover nonrefundable, prepaid costs up to $10,000 per person. This applies if you need to cancel your trip due to your previously approved time off being revoked or your business being rendered unsuitable for business due to an eligible event and you’re required to work during your insured trip. To get cancel for business reasons coverage, you must purchase the upgrade 31 days or more before your departure date. You must also purchase the cancel for business reasons upgrade with the Ultimate plan within 21 days of your initial payment for your trip.	Not available
Increase your benefit limit for lost or stolen baggage and add coverage for lost or stolen electronics and professional equipment. This also includes benefits for sporting equipment delay or rental if delayed by a common carrier.	Available (additional $4,250) Per item limit: $1,500 Electronic and professional equipment limit: $2,000 Sporting equipment delay limit: $1,500 Sporting equipment rental limit: $2,000

Our plan benefits and coverage details
Essential
Trip cancellation, interruption, delay, and inconvenience
Protects travel investments and recovers nonrefundable, prepaid costs if your trip is canceled for an eligible reason.
100% of trip cost ($10,000 maximum)
Protects unused, prepaid, and nonrefundable expenses and additional transportation to join the departed trip or return home if your trip is interrupted for an eligible reason.
100% of trip cost ($10,000 maximum)
Reimbursement for reasonable additional expenses — such as accommodations, local transportation, and meals — if your trip is delayed for an eligible reason.
$600 ($200 per day maximum)
Reimbursement for luggage and personal articles if your bags are lost, stolen, or damaged.
$750 ($500 per item limit)
Reimbursement for personal articles — such as reasonable additional clothing and toiletries — if your bags are delayed by a common carrier.
$200
Reimbursement for reasonable additional lodging, meal expenses, and the prepaid, unused, and nonrefundable portion of the trip if you miss a connection for an eligible reason.
$150
Reimbursement for travel inconveniences such as a closed ski resort, golf course, or beach at your destination, or cruise disablement due to an eligible reason. Closed attractions: $200 maximum Closed beach: $200 maximum Cruise disablement: $200 maximum
Not included
Emergency evacuation and repatriation
Coverage for physician-ordered medical evacuation to a hospital or home if an injury or sickness occurs while traveling. Also includes coverage for repatriation of remains if you pass away while traveling.
$200,000
Emergency medical expense
Coverage for emergency medical treatment if you have a sickness or injury while traveling on an insured trip. Residents of NH have up to $50,000 in emergency medical coverage with the Ultimate plan. Residents of CT, IN, KS, MO, MT, VT, and WA have a $50 deductible.
$25,000
Coverage for emergency dental treatment if you’re injured while traveling on an insured trip. Residents of CT, IN, KS, MO, MT, VT, and WA have a $50 deductible.
$500
If you meet the plan purchase requirements listed, exclusions for pre-existing conditions are waived. Exclusions do not apply to NH residents.
Not included
This represents the number of days to “look back” at changes in medical history and determine if a claim is related to a pre-existing medical condition. The days are counted backward from the day preceding the policy purchase date.
180 days Does not apply to NH residents
If you need to file a claim, your plan benefits will be used first as primary coverage. Our Essential plan provides excess medical coverage unless you’re a CT resident, in which case you’d have primary coverage.
Not included (secondary coverage) Included for CT residents
Accidental death and dismemberment
Coverage if you have an eligible loss, such as your life or a limb, as a result of an eligible injury while on an insured trip. Exclusions may apply. See policy for details.
$10,000
Coverage if you’re exposed to weather or disappear due to an accident that results in an eligible loss.
$10,000
Other benefits
If you need help while you’re traveling, our team of assistance experts is available 24/7 to help you with medical emergencies, language interpretation, prescription refills, and much more.
Included
We can provide coverage at no additional cost to one travel companion aged 17 years old or younger per each insured adult traveler. Each insured adult traveler on the Ultimate plan must be aged 18 years or older for the child to be eligible. The child’s individual trip cost must be equal to or lower than the insured adult’s individual trip cost for coverage to apply. If upgrades are selected and included in the policy, each traveler will be charged the applicable premium for the upgrade.
No
The plan you choose will provide coverage for a trip length up to the number of days shown. It’s important to check that the plan’s maximum trip length will insure your entire trip or coverage may not apply.
Up to 30 days
We offer coverage for most U.S. states and international locations, excluding trips to, through, or from destinations sanctioned by Zurich Group or the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Please check the OFAC website and our travel alerts page for information on affected countries.
All domestic and international locations without Zurich Group or OFAC sanctions. For a list of our restricted destinations, please check our travel alerts page.
This is the number of days after purchasing your policy during which you may cancel your policy and receive a premium refund, as long as you have not departed or filed a claim. We count the date you purchase your policy as day one of your review period.
21 days
We provide coverage for certain sports and activities, including kayaking, horseback riding, and hiking. To include coverage for excluded activities, such as skiing or scuba diving more than 75 feet, consider adding our adventure activities upgrade.
Included, but limited to eligible activities (optional upgrade available for additional activities)
Optional upgrades
If you include this upgrade, you can be reimbursed up to 75% of your prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs (up to $7,500) if you need to cancel your trip. You must cancel at least two days prior to your scheduled departure date. To get cancel for any reason coverage, you must insure all your nonrefundable trip expenses in your plan, your trip cost can’t be more than $10,000, and you must purchase the upgrade 31 days or more before your departure date. You also must purchase the cancel for any reason upgrade with the Ultimate plan within 21 days of your initial payment for your trip. Subsequent arrangements must be insured within 14 days of booking those arrangements. Cancel for any fortuitous reason in NY.
Not available
If you include this upgrade in your policy, you can have coverage up to $50,000 ($100 deductible) for collision, vandalism, windstorm, theft, hail, fire, or flood damage to your rental car while on your trip. This upgrade is not available in all destinations, including Costa Rica, Ireland, Jamaica, and Mexico. Please contact our customer service team at 1-800-228-9792 to check if coverage is available for your trip.
Available ($50,000 with a $100 deductible)
If you include this upgrade in your policy, you can increase your emergency medical expense coverage limit by $250,000. Not available to NH residents.
Not available
If you include this upgrade in your policy, you can have protection for the following activities that are excluded from coverage in our base plans: snow skiing, skydiving, parachuting, free falling, cliff diving, B.A.S.E. or base jumping, hang gliding, parasailing, travel on any air supported device other than a regularly scheduled airline or air charter company, mountain climbing, free climbing, scuba diving at a depth greater than 75 feet, and participating in underwater activities if the depth of the water is greater than 75 feet. This upgrade provides up to $10,000 coverage for an organized search & rescue by appropriate authorities, should you or a traveling companion become lost, disoriented, or missing during your trip. It also offers up to $100,000 coverage in case an event on your trip results in imminent physical danger to you and your traveling companions and you require additional accommodations, transportation, or extrication from your destination. This upgrade isn’t available to IL residents. Exclusions on activities listed above don’t apply to IL residents.
Available (waives exclusions on certain activities) Search and rescue: $10,000 Security evacuation: $100,000
If you include this upgrade in your policy, you can have coverage if you suffer from the permanent loss of life from an eligible injury while boarding, as a passenger on, or disembarking from an aircraft of a commercial airline or air charter company licensed to carry passengers for hire during a trip, up to the maximum eligible amount selected. This upgrade isn’t available to NH residents.
Available ($200,000, $500,000, or $1,000,000) Not available to NH residents
If you include this upgrade in your policy, you can have coverage if your trip is delayed for an eligible reason and you have extra pet boarding fees. Plus, if your pet traveling with you has a sickness or injury, you can have coverage for pet veterinarian expenses up to the maximum eligible amount. This upgrade isn’t available to NY and VA residents.
Available Pet care: $250 Pet veterinarian expense: $2,500
Reimbursement for expenses such as the cost of repairs if you cause accidental damage to your accommodations.
Available ($2,000)
Protect travel investments and recover nonrefundable, prepaid costs up to $10,000 per person. This applies if you need to cancel your trip due to your previously approved time off being revoked or your business being rendered unsuitable for business due to an eligible event and you’re required to work during your insured trip. To get cancel for business reasons coverage, you must purchase the upgrade 31 days or more before your departure date. You must also purchase the cancel for business reasons upgrade with the Ultimate plan within 21 days of your initial payment for your trip.
Not available
Increase your benefit limit for lost or stolen baggage and add coverage for lost or stolen electronics and professional equipment. This also includes benefits for sporting equipment delay or rental if delayed by a common carrier.
Available (additional $4,250) Per item limit: $1,500 Electronic and professional equipment limit: $2,000 Sporting equipment delay limit: $1,500 Sporting equipment rental limit: $2,000

Important:

^* This coverage only applies to emergency medical expenses that first arise during your trip. You’ll have a $50 deductible if your primary residence is in Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Vermont, or Washington. Residents of New Hampshire are eligible for up to $50,000 emergency medical and dental coverage with the Ultimate plan.

Why vacation with ourinexpensive travel insurance?

You can match your coverage to your trip and move forward with a team that understands the ups, downs, and surprises of travel.

Personalize your policy

With up to six optional upgrades like adventure activities and rental car damage, our Essential plan lets you protect your trip your way.

Unlock our upgrades

25+ years’ experience

We’ve been helping our travelers have safer trips for decades — and we continue innovating with award-winning technology.

Meet our team

24/7 travel support

Our assistance provider is here for you whenever and wherever you need help — from travel document replacement to finding emergency medical care on vacation.

See our assistance benefit

Get to know our coverage a little bit more

Our essential travel insurance is packed with benefits, plus upgrades that let you make your policy your own.

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Unpack our benefits

Our vacation plans don’t always unfold how we want them to. Our Essential plan can help with things like emergency medical expenses and travel delays, so you can focus on enjoying your trip instead of extra costs.

Show me the benefits

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Discover our upgrades

Our customizable coverage means we’re here for every traveler and trip. Make your inexpensive travel insurance work even better for you with up to six optional upgrades, from pet care to additional baggage.

Take me to the upgrades

Pack our Travel On app

Keep your policy in your pocket — and more. Travel safer with our app’s tap-to-call 24/7 assistance, destination information, and real-time safety alerts.

Useful travelinsurance tips

Before you get our Essential travel insurance plan, dig into these guides for extra insight.

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Need to calculate your trip cost?

Here’s our easy-to-follow guide to help you figure out what to include and what you can leave out.

Find out your trip cost

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Is inexpensive travel insurance worth it?

Check out seven reasons we think so — and how your policy could save you money in the long run.

See why coverage matters

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How much does travel insurance cost?

Before you get a quote, uncover the seven factors that could impact the price you’ll pay for a policy.

Understand policy pricing

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Want to know more about our best cheap travel insurance plan?

You’re in the right place — here’s the scoop on our Essential plan and how we can help you travel smoother.

Our Essential plan offers coverage for all the important things — such as pre-trip cancellation, on-trip interruptions, baggage, and emergency medical — but with lower benefit limits to help keep the cost of the policy low.

This means we can reimburse you for your prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs like flights and hotel bookings if something goes awry on your trip (up to the benefit limits of your policy). It also means you can get money back for extra expenses you pay because of unexpected travel issues — like flight delays and missing luggage.

At Travelex, we go beyond the cheap travel insurance basics — we offer coverage for sudden medical issues, too. Our Essential plan offers secondary coverage for medical care and even offers up to $10,000 accidental death and $500 emergency dental coverage.

Plus, if you want more than just the essentials, you can choose to include up to six optional upgrades with our Essential plan.

Our Essential plan is designed to be our inexpensive travel insurance option, so it has lower reimbursement limits than our Advantage and Ultimate plans. It has many of the same benefits — like trip cancellation and emergency medical — but here are a few key differences:

Benefits and upgrades: Our Ultimate plan offers trip inconvenience, eligibility for pre-existing medical condition coverage, and kids-included pricing. It also offers more upgrades: cancel for any reason, additional medical, and cancel for business reasons.
Primary and secondary coverage: Our Ultimate and Advantage plans offer primary medical coverage, while Essential offers secondary coverage. This means you have to file a claim with your health insurance provider for your medical costs before filing a claim with us.
Maximum trip length: Our Ultimate plan offers coverage for trips up to 180 days, while Advantage and Essential apply to vacations up to 30 days long.

Even though our Essential plan is our lower-priced comprehensive plan, it’s anything but “just” cheap travel insurance — it comes with 24/7 travel support and access to our helpful Travel On app.

Yes, it can. If you’re looking for cheap cruise travel insurance, our Essential plan coverage includes cruise vacations.

Our Essential plan can help if:

Weather interrupts your trip.
You need emergency medical help while at sea.
You lose your bags on the way to the ship.
You need help finding a doctor at a port.

... and more.

Our 24/7 assistance provider and Travel On app are there to help you during all those surprise moments that can happen during a cruise.

Consider packing our Essential travel insurance plan if you want to help protect the money you’ve already spent on your cruise – and focus on enjoying every wave and sunset instead.

Lots of travelers want to know how to get cheap travel insurance they can rely on because they want great coverage, but their budget is tight.

Our Essential plan is a great option for budget- and safety-conscious travelers like you. We designed it so you don’t have to give up quality coverage when you pay a lower premium for trip protection. After all, everyone deserves to travel, and every trip is worth protecting — no matter what size your budget is.

At Travelex, our Essential plan may offer the inexpensive travel insurance premium you’re looking for, along with reliable coverage and award-winning customer service that you’ll love. Plus, even if you choose to buy our most affordable comprehensive plan, you’ll still get access to our Travel On app for real-time safety alerts, destination information, and tap-to-call 24/7 travel assistance.

Remember: You can add optional upgrades to our Essential plan, too — but they cost extra.

Yes, our Essential travel insurance plan offers coverage for many standard vacation activities like hiking, kayaking, and snorkeling, but some high-risk activities might not be included automatically.

If you’re planning activities like skiing, scuba diving, or mountain climbing, you can add our adventure sports coverage to our Essential plan as an optional upgrade. This way, you get coverage that fits your trip — so you can feel better about adding a little adrenaline to your getaway.

Our Essential plan takes cheap travel insurance to the next level thanks to our upgrades. We offer six optional upgrades available with this plan:

Rental car damage
Adventure activities
Accidental death for air travel
Pet care
Rental property security deposit
Additional baggage

Want to get more details on each upgrade? Check out our upgrades page to see how they work.

If the plan you’re looking at offers pre-trip cancellation coverage — like our Essential plan — it’s smart to buy right after you book any part of your trip. (This could be your hotel stay or a tour at your destination.)

Why? Pre-trip cancellation coverage kicks in the day after you buy the plan. So, if you buy early, you can lean on your coverage if you need to use it!

We know finding inexpensive travel insurance might be important to you — so we make it easy for you to see pricing when you get a quote.

Every vacation is different, so we need to know a few trip and traveler details (it takes just a minute!) before we can show you your plan and pricing options.

Just hit the “Get quote” button on this page and enter your trip destination in the box at the top of this page to start generating your quote.

See our FAQ hub

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Get more inexpensive travel insurance with our Essential plan