Insuring Your Road Trip

Key Takeaways

• Road trip travel insurance provides coverage for specific unexpected travel-related issues that can impact a car trip.
• This coverage offers driveway-to-driveway protection, starting the moment you leave home, as long as your destination is at least 100 miles away.
• You should consider road trip insurance for both domestic and international trips, especially if they involve a significant financial investment or a remote destination.

What Is Road Trip Travel Insurance?

Road trip travel insurance offers driveway-to-driveway, round-trip coverage that protects you financially when traveling by car.

Road trip travel insurance typically covers:

• Trip cancellation for your prepaid, nonrefundable expenses
• Trip interruption, if you need to head home early for a reason listed in your policy
• Travel delay caused by a road closure, evacuation, or traffic accident you’re involved in
• Medical emergencies while away from home, and emergency evacuation in remote areas
• Baggage and personal belongings theft while traveling
• Rental car collision damage and theft, often offered as an upgrade

What Does Road Trip Travel Insurance Cover for Delays?

Road trip insurance typically covers delays, but the covered reasons will vary by policy. You’ll need to read your plan carefully to understand what reasons for delay are eligible for reimbursement.

Covered reasons can include:

• Illness or injury to you or your travel companion
• Traffic accident that you are involved in, not including a mechanical breakdown
• Evacuation of your destination due to a natural disaster
• Road closure due to severe weather

Trip delay benefits often have a daily limit and a maximum coverage limit. For example, generous trip delay coverage might include up to $150 per day, with a maximum of $2,500.

Does Travel Insurance Cover Medical Emergencies on Road Trips?

You can buy road trip travel insurance with emergency medical expense benefits, and it’s a good idea if your domestic health insurance coverage doesn’t extend to your destination. You might also want to consider a plan with travel medical coverage if:

• You have a high deductible: Look for a travel insurance plan with primary medical benefits. This means you won’t have to file a claim with your health insurance provider before filing a travel insurance claim.
• You’re traveling to a remote area: You may have difficulty finding an in-network provider in remote areas, and an injury could require an air ambulance. Look for travel insurance with a high limit for emergency medical evacuation.

InsureMyTrip tip: When taking an international road trip, even to Canada or Mexico, your domestic health insurance may not cover you. Make sure you understand the coverage you have outside of the U.S., and compare travel insurance policies with robust emergency medical and evacuation benefits.

Can I Cancel My Road Trip and Get Reimbursed?

Travel insurance for road trips generally covers cancellation, as long as you’re canceling your trip for a reason listed in your policy.

Reasons for cancellation can include:

• Injury, sickness, or death of you, your traveling companion, or a family member
• Job loss or unexpected job transfer
• Natural disaster like a hurricane
• Filing for legal separation or divorce
• Level four (4) Travel Advisory for the trip destination

After canceling for a reason listed in your policy, you can file a travel insurance claim for any prepaid, nonrefundable trip expenses.

If you’d like to be able to cancel for any reason at all, look for plans that allow you to add Cancel for any reason (CFAR) coverage.

What Is Driveway-to-Driveway Coverage?

Driveway-to-driveway coverage means your travel insurance protection begins the moment you leave your home, rather than when you arrive at your destination or check into your hotel.

Note that most domestic travel insurance plans require your destination to be at least 100 miles from home.

Do I Need Road Trip Travel Insurance?

Consider purchasing road trip travel insurance if:

• You have prepaid, nonrefundable accommodations or activities booked
• Your destination is remote or accessible by only one road
• Your trip represents a significant financial investment
• You’re traveling more than 100 miles from home

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Travel Insurance Cover Road Trips?

Yes, comprehensive travel insurance plans cover road trips, offering benefits such as trip cancellation and interruption, trip delay, baggage, and emergency medical and evacuation.

Do I Need Travel Insurance for a Short Road Trip?

If your trip includes prepaid, nonrefundable expenses and your destination is at least 100 miles from home, travel insurance can protect your financial investment.

Does Travel Insurance Cover Medical Emergencies in Areas Where My Health Insurance Is Out-of-Network?

Yes, travel insurance can provide emergency medical benefits, domestically and abroad, even if you have health insurance.

Look for a plan with primary medical coverage if you want travel insurance to cover your emergency medical care while on a road trip, regardless of other coverage you have.

There is one important exclusion to note: Pre-existing conditions are generally excluded from travel insurance coverage, unless you purchase the policy within the time-sensitive period (typically 21 days from your initial deposit) and are medically able to travel at the time of purchase. It’s a good idea to buy travel insurance early if pre-existing conditions are a concern.

What Prepaid Road Trip Expenses Does Travel Insurance Actually Reimburse?

Comprehensive travel insurance reimburses prepaid, nonrefundable payments you’ve made for your trip.

For a road trip, this can include:

• Hotel or vacation rental reservations that are non-refundable
• Campground or RV park reservations paid in advance
• Tickets to events, concerts, or national park tours, as long as the payments were made before you left home
• Guided tours or activity packages booked and paid for before departure
• Rental car fees, if you’ve prepaid them

Can I Buy Travel Insurance for a Domestic Road Trip?

Yes, travel insurance applies to domestic road trips. The key threshold is distance from home, not whether you cross a border. Your trip must take you 100 miles or more away from your home to be covered by road trip travel insurance.

What’s the Minimum Trip Cost That Makes Travel Insurance Worth Buying for a Road Trip?

Here’s a framework to help you decide if travel insurance is worth it for your next road trip.

Travel insurance typically costs 4% to 10% of your total insured trip cost. So if you have $1,000 in prepaid, nonrefundable road trip expenses (hotels, event tickets, campground fees), you’d pay roughly $40 to $100 for a policy.

Ask yourself how this amount compares to the amount you would lose if you had to cancel your trip.

You might also consider how much a medical emergency might cost you in out-of-pocket expenses. An air ambulance in a remote area could cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Does Travel Insurance Cover Trip Cancellation if a Wildfire, Hurricane, or Natural Disaster Forces the Evacuation of My Destination?

Yes, natural disasters are covered by travel insurance, but they usually have some important timing conditions.

For example, if your booked accommodations at your destination are made uninhabitable by a natural disaster for more than two days or 25% of your scheduled trip duration, it might qualify for coverage, as long as your policy was purchased within 21 days of your initial deposit.

Read your policy carefully to understand your coverage and any relevant exclusions.

Covered natural disasters generally include flood, tsunami, cyclone, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, mudslide, avalanche, landslide, volcanic eruption, sandstorm, sinkhole, named winter storm, severe hail storm, fire, wildfire, and blizzard.

Can I Buy Travel Insurance After I’ve Already Started My Road Trip?

You usually need to buy travel insurance before you leave for your trip. A few providers allow mid-trip purchases, but you’d be buying a policy with limited coverage.

It’s best to purchase travel insurance within days of making your first trip deposit. This will give you the greatest coverage for the longest period of time.

Does Cancel for Any Reason Coverage Apply to Road Trips?

Yes, CFAR works the same for road trips as it does for flight-based travel. With this optional upgrade, you can cancel your trip for any reason, not just those listed in your policy.

For road trippers, this means CFAR can cover cancellations from a change of plans, a friend backing out, cold feet about the route, or anything else that doesn’t meet the narrow “unforeseen covered reason” standard.