Travel insurance: when it's worth it

Travel insurance can cover cancellations, medical care abroad, delays and lost bags. Whether you need it depends on how much you'd lose and what you're already covered for.

Check first

• Your credit card's trip protections, if you pay with it
• Your health plan's coverage outside the US (many plans cover little or nothing abroad)
• Refundable bookings that make cancellation coverage unnecessary

Often worth considering

• Expensive, non-refundable trips
• Travel abroad where your health plan won't pay
• Trips with older travelers or health concerns

Read the policy

Look at exclusions, pre-existing condition rules, and what counts as a covered reason to cancel. "Cancel for any reason" coverage costs more and usually pays back only part of the cost.

General education, not insurance advice. Dime Pockets isn't paid by any airline, hotel, booking site or insurer.