What Are Family Travel Insurance Plans?

Family travel insurance refers to plans that cover multiple travelers within the same family and for people who live at the same address. Almost all providers on Squaremouth let you cover multiple family members under the same policy. Some travel insurance plans include "Kids Covered Free" pricing, which protects children 18 years or younger at no additional cost.

Plans that include this family-friendly pricing can save you money by eliminating the need to buy individual plans for each family member. If one member of your family is impacted by a covered event, the rest of the family may also be able to file a claim for reimbursement since the plans are grouped together.

How Does Travel Insurance Define "Family"?

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Travel insurance companies generally consider "family" to mean your immediate and extended relatives. While the exact definition varies by provider, most include the following relationships:

  • Spouse, civil union partner, or domestic partner
  • Children, stepchildren, foster children, or adopted children
  • Parents and stepparents
  • Siblings and step-siblings
  • Grandparents and grandchildren
  • In-laws, including parents, children, brothers, sisters, and grandparents
  • Aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews
  • Legal guardians, wards, or caregivers

Understanding how your policy defines "family" is important because it directly impacts your coverage eligibility if a family emergency occurs within your coverage period. For example, some travel insurance benefits, such as Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption, can apply if a covered family member becomes ill, injured, or dies before or during your trip. It’s always best to review the policy details before purchasing to ensure you are fully covered.

What Does Travel Insurance for Families Cover?

Family travel insurance can protect you financially if an unforeseen event impacts a member of your family while you’re away from home and provide access to quality care if a medical emergency occurs during your trip.

This type of plan provides coverage for a wide range of disruptions, from your child getting hurt during your trip and needing urgent medical care to having to book a last-minute hotel room because your flight was delayed overnight.

While coverage can vary from one family plan to the next, most policies are comprehensive and include the following travel insurance benefits:

When traveling with family, especially younger children, an illness or accidental injury is always just around the corner. If your child gets food poisoning or breaks their leg while traveling, your plan’s Emergency Medical benefit can reimburse you for unexpected medical bills. This includes hospital stays, doctor visits, and ambulance rides. This coverage is essential if you’re traveling overseas to a destination that doesn’t accept U.S. health insurance.

If a member of your family gets severely injured during your trip, you may need to be airlifted to the nearest medical facility. These services can be costly, sometimes costing upwards of $100,000. The Medical Evacuation benefit covers these transportation costs, limiting the financial burden on your family. If you’re traveling with children, this benefit may also cover the cost to transport them back home so they can be in the care of a close friend or relative while you are treated. This coverage is essential if you’re traveling to a remote destination or a region with limited health resources.

If a member of your family suffers from an ongoing or chronic health issue, such as asthma, allergies, or developmental issues, it’s essential to find coverage that can provide financial protection if a flare-up occurs. While most standard policies exclude pre-existing medical conditions, some policies offer a Pre-Existing Condition waiver that removes this exclusion and covers resulting medical expenses. This is a time-sensitive benefit that typically must be purchased within 10-21 days after your initial trip deposit date.

Plans can change without a moment's notice. Trip Cancellation reimburses protects up to 100% your prepaid, non-refundable expenses if you’re forced to cancel your trip due to a covered reason, such as a member of your family becoming sick or injured leading up to your departure date. Other covered cancellation reasons include inclement weather, natural disasters, and a death in the family. This benefit covers everyone under the policy, so if one member of your family is forced to cancel, all travelers are eligible to cancel their trip.

If anyone in your family is forced to end their trip early due to a covered reason, Trip Interruption insurance can reimburse everyone’s prepaid, non-refundable trip expenses that your family was unable to use. This can include partial hotel bookings, excursion fees, and return airfare. Some travel insurance policies provide additional reimbursement to help cover the cost of booking new travel arrangements home if your trip is interrupted. Common reasons why you may interrupt your trip include an unexpected injury, a family emergency, or a job requirement.

Experiencing lengthy delays can add stress to any trip, especially if you’re traveling as part of a larger group. Travel Delay is a common travel insurance benefit that covers the cost of meals, accommodation, and transportation expenses if your flights, cruise, train, or other common carrier is significantly delayed. Many policies also provide Missed Connection coverage, which provides reimbursement if a covered delay forces your family to miss a connecting flight or cruise departure.

Baggage Loss coverage is designed to protect your belongings throughout the course of your trip. Under most policies, your provider will reimburse the actual cash value of items that get lost, stolen, or damaged while traveling. This includes clothing, kids’ toys, baby formula, jewelry, and more. Most plans also include protection for baggage delays en route to your destination.

If you're planning a fun-filled family vacation, it’s important to choose a plan that covers your entire itinerary. Even family-friendly activities like hiking, snorkeling, and cycling are considered high-risk by some insurers and often excluded from coverage. To be safe, look for adventure travel insurance plans that can cover the specific activities you plan on participating in with your family while traveling.

A good travel insurance provider will support you every step of the way. Fortunately, all insurers on Squaremouth come with 24-Hour Emergency Assistance services that can help you before and during your trip. These services can assist in referring you to quality medical care, coordinating medical evacuations, providing translation support, and much more.

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How Much Does Family Travel Insurance Cost?

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According to proprietary travel insurance policy sales data, family travel insurance costs roughly $345 on average.

The cost of travel insurance is determined by a wide range of factors, including the age of the travelers on the policy, the length of your trip, and the amount of coverage the policy provides.

Purchasing a travel insurance plan as a family is often the same price as purchasing policies individually. However, some family travel insurance plans offer free coverage for children under the age of 18, which can provide you with big savings if you’re traveling with younger kids or grandchildren. Some of these plans are highlighted in the next section.

To find the best value plan, compare family travel insurance plans from at least 2-3 different providers. Comparison sites like Squaremouth make it easy to see plans from top providers side-by-side.

A family taking a selfie together on the beach.

Plans With Free Coverage for Kids

Only a handful of travel insurance policies on the market offer complimentary protection. Most of which typically allow you to insure one child per insured adult. However, some providers offer more generous pricing structures, allowing parents to insure multiple children at no additional cost.

Below are some of the top plans on Squaremouth that currently offer family-friendly pricing:

Opting for a plan that includes free coverage for children can result in significant savings. According to Squaremouth data, travel insurance for children costs $63 on average. If you and your spouse are traveling with four children, for example, the Berkshire Hathaway ExactCare policy can save you roughly $250.

It’s important to note that most coverage limits found in policies are set on an individual basis, rather than as a group. This means that each member of your family, including your children who were added for free, will be covered up to the listed limits if a disruption occurs. For example, if a policy offers $50,000 in Emergency Medical coverage, each family member is eligible for that amount of coverage, regardless of their age.

How Does Family Travel Insurance Work?

A family sitting on top of a boat looking offscreen at a sunset. A family sitting on top of a boat looking offscreen at a sunset.

Family travel insurance extends travel protection to every family member listed on a policy, including your spouse, children, and other relatives. If your trip gets disrupted by a medical emergency, delay, or other type of disruption, this type of policy will provide financial protection to every member of your family.

If a member of your family were to fall ill or get injured during your trip, you would pay for expenses out of pocket and then file a claim with your travel insurance provider at your earliest convenience. Your provider can often help refer you to quality medical facilities if you are traveling abroad and arrange upfront payment for services if necessary. If you purchased a policy that offers secondary medical coverage, you will need to first file a claim with your primary health insurance before your travel insurance provider.

If you’re forced to cancel your trip due to a covered reason, you will need to cancel each booking you made before filing a Trip Cancellation claim. Your policy will reimburse up to 100% of your prepaid, non-refundable trip costs such as airfare, hotel reservations, and excursions.

Regardless of the type of disruption you encounter, it’s always recommended to contact your travel insurance provider to confirm coverage and get information on the types of documents required to file a claim.

Is Travel Insurance for Families Worth It?

A family taking a selfie in the hallway of an airport.
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Traveling with family can be expensive, and small disruptions can result in significant financial loss. Policies that include “Kids Covered Free” pricing offer significant savings to parents.

Most family travel insurance plans are comprehensive and include coverage for the most common travel disruptions that families face, like trip cancellations, medical emergencies, lost baggage, and travel delays. This can offer valuable peace of mind heading into your trip, as well as financial protection if disaster strikes while traveling.

Keep in mind that travel insurance providers often have their own definition for “family,” and not all policies include “Kids Free Pricing.” For more insight into the top family-friendly policies, visit our list of the Best Family Travel Insurance plans.

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FAQs: Travel Insurance for Families and Kids

Yes, many travel insurance plans can help care for your children if you’re hospitalized, incapacitated, or pass away during a trip. The specific benefits vary by provider, but most comprehensive family policies include emergency assistance services designed to ensure your children’s safety and return them home.

For example, if you’re hospitalized while traveling, your provider’s Emergency Assistance line can help coordinate for a family member or guardian to travel to your children’s location and accompany them home. Additionally, many policies include AD&D coverage, which can provide a cash payment to a beneficiary if you pass away during a covered trip.

Most travel insurance companies require policyholders to be at least 18 years old to purchase a plan. For children under the age of 18 to get coverage, they will likely need to be included on a policy with an adult.

Yes, most comprehensive travel insurance plans cover cancellations due to an unexpected family emergency. This includes non-traveling family members. However, you must meet certain criteria to qualify for coverage.

For example, your policy may provide coverage if a parent is hospitalized and you are the primary caregiver. The family member in question must also fit the definition of “family” as outlined in your policy’s Certificate of Insurance.

Yes, travel insurance can cover babies and newborns. However, some providers impose age restrictions that limit who is eligible for coverage. For example, some policies won’t cover babies until they are at least 14 days old. If you are traveling with an infant, we recommend contacting our customer service team for assistance in finding a policy that can cover your entire family.

It’s important to note that family travel insurance is only intended to cover unexpected illnesses, injuries, and other disruptions. Routine newborn care is typically excluded from coverage.

Yes, some travel insurance policies offer coverage to travelers who have a health issue that existed before a policy was purchased. These are referred to as pre-existing medical conditions. While these conditions are often excluded by most standard travel insurance plans, some options include a Pre-Existing Condition waiver that removes this exclusion.

If your child has a pre-existing medical condition, it’s essential to find a policy that includes a waiver. Be sure to review the policy documentation to ensure your child’s condition is eligible for coverage. You can also speak to the provider directly to confirm coverage.

It’s important to be open and honest with your provider about any health issues that may flare up during your trip. Failure to disclose health information may result in denied claims down the road.

The majority of travel insurance providers do not place age restrictions on their policies. The best way to find a plan that covers your entire family is to use a travel insurance comparison site. When getting travel insurance quotes, you will be asked to provide the ages of every member of your travel party. Comparison platforms will only display eligible policies that cover all members of your family.