Travel insurance checklist: 7 details you need to get travel insurance

Question

#1: Where are you traveling to?

Creating a list of all the countries you’ll be visiting is the first and most important part of your travel insurance checklist. Why? We need to know where you are if you need our help while you’re traveling!

If you’re only visiting one country on your vacation, you can enter the name of that country when getting a quote. If you’re planning to stop at multiple destinations, enter the destination where you’ll be spending the most time. For example, if you’ll be in France for three days and Spain for four days on your European adventure, select Spain as your destination.

Planning a trip within the United States? Simply enter “USA” as your destination. Our Travel Select and Travel Basic plans could be perfect for your trip, but we also offer a travel insurance plan just for domestic trips — Travel America. It provides affordable coverage for vacations up to 14 days long, so whether you want to enjoy a sunny getaway in Florida or winter ski trip in Colorado, it may be right for your trip.

Did you enter your destination but discover we can’t cover it? While our Travelex insurance can protect your trip to most destinations around the world, there are some destinations we can’t provide coverage for. If a country has an OFAC sanction against it, you won’t be eligible for our protection while at that destination. Additionally, there are some destinations that Travelex has made business decisions to not offer coverage for. So, before and after booking your trip, be sure to check the OFAC website and our travel alerts page, where we’ll post global concerns that may affect your coverage.

Good to know: Before you travel, keep an eye on the United States government's travel advisories page. There, you may see your intended destination has a “do not travel” warning, which the government may apply for several reasons. Common ones include crime, environmental or natural disasters, civil unrest, war, terrorism, or health threats. You’ll find the explanation for the travel advisory level on the website.

#2: When are you traveling?

One of the key details you need to get a travel insurance quote is when you’ll start and end your trip. This can help ensure you get the right coverage for your entire trip.

When submitting your travel dates, it’s best to include the date you’ll leave home as your start date and the date you’ll arrive back home as your return date for optimal protection.

Tip: When entering your trip return date, remember to enter the date you’ll arrive home in the U.S. based on your travel itinerary, which will be shown on travel documents like a flight ticket.

Our Travelex plans have varying maximum trip lengths. This means it’s important to enter accurate travel dates so we can give you the right travel insurance quote for your vacation. If you’re traveling for 30 days or less, Travel Basic may provide enough protection for your trip. But if you’re traveling for more than 30 days, our Travel Select plan would be needed because it covers trips up to 364 days.

#3: What’s your total trip cost per person and when did you make your first payment?

Understanding your total trip cost is essential to your travel insurance checklist. We’ll ask you for your trip cost per person when you get a quote to help us understand how much coverage you’ll need. This means you won’t get a quote that covers extras you don’t need!

Your trip cost includes all prepaid, nonrefundable expenses — like flight tickets, tours, and hotel reservations. If you’re traveling with others, you’ll calculate and enter everyone’s trip costs as per person amounts. Make sure you gather and keep track of all receipts and booking confirmations so it’s easier for you to calculate an accurate trip cost.

Along with your total trip cost per person, we'll also ask you for the date you made your first payment towards your vacation.

#4: What travel agency and suppliers are you using (if any)?

During the quote process, part of your travel insurance checklist is to enter the types and names of the travel suppliers — including airlines, cruise lines, and tour operators — you used to book any part of your vacation. We’ll also ask you to list your travel agent and agency if you’re working with one.

If you used a travel agency and they’re partnered with us, they’ll have a location number specific to Travelex. It’ll be in the format of two digits, a hyphen, and four digits. (For example: 12-3456). If you’re unsure whether your agency works with us, please reach out to them and ask if they have a Travelex location number. We’ll also ask for the name of your travel agent.

#5: Are you traveling with friends or family?

Is your upcoming trip a solo adventure or a getaway you’ll be enjoying in the company of family or friends? This is one of the details you need to get a travel insurance quote from us — especially if you’re wanting to share coverage with your travel companions — so we can give you the best plan options and price.

Does your travel insurance checklist include protecting those you’re traveling with? Depending on your travel companions and their personal circumstances, you may want to consider our most comprehensive plan, Travel Select.

For example, if certain members of your travel group have pre-existing medical conditions and you want coverage for those conditions, our Travel Select plan can help. To make sure you and your travel companions meet the requirements for pre-existing medical conditions coverage, check out tip #7 below.

If you do want to include coverage for traveling companions in your policy, we’ll need each traveler’s name, date of birth, and primary state of residence.

#6: What will you be doing on your trip?

No two vacations are alike, so one of the things to consider when getting a travel insurance quote is what kind of activities are on your trip itinerary.

For example, are you planning to ski down the slopes in Switzerland, snorkel the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, or even bungee jump from Macau Tower in China? Before you complete your travel insurance checklist for your thrilling vacation, ask yourself what activities you have in mind and how long you’ll be experiencing each activity. This way, you can make a more informed decision while getting a quote and have enough coverage for your getaway.

There are certain activities — mainly those that come with an additional element of risk, like skydiving, zip lining, and scuba diving deeper than 60 feet — that a base travel insurance plan may not cover. So, when you’re going through our travel insurance checklist while you get a quote, make sure to check if your intended activity is eligible for protection.

Wondering what you can do if your base plan doesn’t cover your intended activity? At Travelex, our most customizable plan — Travel Select — can include our optional adventure sports upgrade. With the upgrade added, you’ll have protection for certain extra activities that the base plan doesn’t insure.

If you have more questions about our adventure sports coverage, reach out to our customer service team at 1-800-228-9792.

#7: Do you have any medical conditions?

One of the most important things you need to know for a travel insurance quote is whether you have pre-existing medical conditions. If you do, you’ll want to check the requirements for you and your travel companions to get coverage for pre-existing medical conditions.

At Travelex, there are several medical conditions we can include in your coverage; however, you — and all travelers on your policy — need to meet certain requirements.

Here’s how you can have pre-existing medical conditions coverage with us:

If you get the Travel Select plan within 15 days of your first trip payment and insure your total prepaid nonrefundable trip cost.
If you get the Travel America plan within 3 days of your last trip payment.

Plus, you and your travel companions need to be medically able to travel when you buy your policy.

Have you gathered the details you need to get a travel insurance quote?

Once you’ve finalized and put together as many trip details as you can from our travel insurance checklist, such as where you’re traveling to, your travel dates, and who you’re traveling with, it’s time to safeguard your vacation with our travel insurance. Then, you can focus on what matters most – enjoying your getaway.