How to Choose a Family Travel Health Insurance Plan

What’s the Difference Between Trip Cancellation Insurance and Travel Medical Insurance?

Trip Cancellation Insurance

Sometimes referred to as travel insurance, this type of plan provides coverage for unused and nonrefundable expenses for a trip canceled or interrupted due to a covered reason. Covered reasons often include sickness, injury, hospitalization, death of a traveling companion or family member, delay or cancellation due to weather, and more.

Many travel insurance plans also provide additional coverage for other trip-related expenses like Travel Delay, Missed Connection, and Baggage Damage or Loss. Some travel insurance plans even include a limited amount of coverage for Emergency Accident & Sickness Medical Expenses and Medical Evacuation.

Some travel insurance plans with these emergency medical benefits exclude pre-existing conditions that exist during a specific time prior to coverage – usually 90 days. However, some plans offer a waiver for this exclusion for policies purchased near the time of the initial trip payment – usually within 21 days. Check your plan’s policy documents for specifics about pre-existing conditions and potential waivers.  

When deciding on a type of plan, it’s important to note that many trip cancellation plans are only available to a specific countries’ residents, though the insured may be traveling domestically and/or abroad. Because these plans include a Trip Cancellation benefit, they’re typically more expensive than travel medical insurance plans.

Looking for a trip cancellation plan? Consider a comprehensive plan like Atlas Journey for your next trip.

Travel Medical Insurance 

This type of plan covers expenses related to health care for unexpected illnesses and injuries that occur on an international trip. Some expenses that may be covered include hospital room and board, ambulance charges for a ride that results in hospitalization, physician fees, surgery costs, and more.

Like some trip cancellation plans with emergency medical benefits, many travel medical insurance plans include a pre-existing condition exclusion that exists during a specific time period prior to coverage – usually 90 days. Waivers to this exclusion may also be available to those who purchase closer to the time of the initial trip payment – usually within 21 days.

It’s time to shop! The most important fact to remember when you compare prices:

The lowest price does not mean it’s your best option. Instead, aim to get the best value.

You probably didn’t pick the cheapest family vacation you could find. Otherwise, you might end up in a bug-ridden motel in a dangerous area after a 26-hour flight with three long layovers.

It’s the same with insurance – get what you need at the best price you can find. Don’t just look for the lowest cost plan, which may or may not meet your needs.

These factors will generally determine the price of a family travel medical insurance plan:

• Number of people
• Age of each person
• Length of trip
• Deductible amount
• Maximum coverage amount
• Per-benefit limits
• Specific coverages and exclusions 

For a primer on how much you could expect to pay, read "How Much Does Travel Medical Insurance Cost?" 

Many travel medical insurance policies from different companies offer similar benefits. You’ll find the most differences in the overall coverage limits and the per-benefit coverage limits (we’ll discuss what those mean later). Also, review for specific coverages you may need or excluded conditions.

The number of people you need to cover, their ages, and your trip length are already established, so start your comparison by determining your deductible level.

How to Choose Your Deductible

A deductible is the dollar amount you have to pay before your insurance plan starts covering eligible expenses.

In general, a lower deductible will increase the price you pay to purchase the plan, which is known as the “premium.” Likewise, a higher deductible will usually result in a lower premium.

Determine how much you can comfortably afford to pay out of pocket for medical expenses. This is the highest deductible level you should select. Including this amount in your trip budget will also help you accurately estimate your potential trip costs.

With that said, you may not see a significant difference in price when you compare the lowest and highest deductible levels. You may want to choose a $0 deductible for the extra financial protection without a significant increase in up-front cost.

Example Scenario:

Consider a family of two 33-year-old adults and two kids (ages 6 and 4) on a 14-day trip to Europe. They’re deliberating between an Atlas Travel plan with a $1,000,000 maximum limit and a $0 deductible versus an Atlas Travel plan with a $1,000,000 maximum limit and a $5,000 deductible.

The cost for the $0 deductible plan (with no add-ons) for this family of four would be $121.80* while the cost for the $5,000 deductible plan (with no add-ons) would be $59.64*. In this case, the difference in premiums between a $0 deductible plan and a $5,000 deductible plan is $62.16.

However, if you end up with several thousand dollars in eligible medical expenses, a lower deductible could provide significant cost savings.

*Prices valid as of February 2023.

Expand your knowledge of what to expect from healthcare abroad.

How to Choose Your Maximum Coverage

We’ll say it plain and simple – we recommend going for the highest amount offered. You’re getting insurance to manage your health and financial risk.

Insurance is a funny product – you don't want to get sick or hurt, so you hope you never have to use it when you buy it. And typically, you won’t end up using it.

But…

Insurance is all about exceptions. You’re preparing for the potential loss that comes from an out-of-the-ordinary illness or injury.

Selecting a higher overall maximum coverage may not cost much more than lower coverage amounts. Compare prices to see the cost differences for you.

For Example...

The maximum coverage amount for an Atlas Travel plan goes is $2 million. Consider the family of two 33-year-old adults and two kids (ages 6 and 4) from the example in the How to Choose Your Deductible section above. They’re taking a 14-day trip to Europe.

For their family of four, choosing an Atlas Travel plan with the lowest coverage maximum available ($50,000) and a $100 deductible would cost them $61.32*. Choosing an Atlas Travel plan with the highest coverage maximum available ($2,000,000) and a $100 deductible would cost them $111.16*. In this case, the difference in premiums between the lowest coverage amount and the highest coverage amount is only $49.84. And that extra $1,950,000 of coverage could be vital if you were to face a high-cost emergency abroad.

*Prices valid as of February 2023.

Per-Benefit Coverage Limits

Very few – if any – policies allow you to customize those limits independently. Instead, you’ll likely choose between a few different categories:

• “Budget” – These are the lowest-cost policies that also offer the most limited benefits and coverage limits.

• “Standard” – These are the most popular policies. They strike a balance between offering more benefits and a budget-friendly policy cost. (Example: Atlas Travel)

• “Premium” – These plans offer the most benefits with the highest coverage limits. They can be a good option for your family if you are taking a shorter trip outside the U.S. The policy cost may still be comparable to that of a standard plan, and you get the advantage of having the most coverage available. (Example: Atlas Premium)

It’s up to you which of these categories best meets the needs of your family. Compare your prioritized benefits list – your “must have,” “should have,” and “nice to have” categories – to the benefits offered for each of the plan levels.

But First…

Let’s define what we mean. A per-benefit limit is the maximum amount the insurance will cover for a particular benefit, while the overall maximum limit is the total amount of money the insurance company will pay for all eligible claims you incur during your policy term.

One claim may have multiple types of expenses. For example, a fall where you break your leg, get a concussion, and are hospitalized as inpatient could activate the Local Ambulance, Hospital Room & Board, and Eligible Medical Expense benefits. Each could have their own per-benefit limit, but they all would contribute to the overall maximum coverage amount.

Some benefit limits are quite a bit lower than the overall maximum coverage amount for your policy.

Insurance companies will list these limits as:

• Lifetime maximum (maximum amount the policy will pay toward your expenses in your lifetime)

• Maximum per day

• Maximum per certificate period (maximum amount the policy will pay toward expenses incurred during your coverage period)

Some benefits are not subject to the deductible or coinsurance, meaning you do not have to pay your deductible or meet your coinsurance before the policy will begin to pay for eligible expenses under that benefit.

Review Atlas Travel insurance to see an example of what these per-benefit maximums look like. The name of the benefit is on the left, and the per-benefit limit is on the right.

Most companies, and certainly comparison sites, will allow you to see a side-by-side list of benefits for the different plan levels. Use that view to see how each plan level measures up to your prioritized benefit list.