Long-Term Travel Insurance: Get Coverage for Extended Trips
Key Takeaways
- Long-term travel refers to travel insurance policies that cover extended trips, typically lasting anywhere from a couple of months up to a year
- Many top-rated travel insurance providers offer plans that cover trips lasting 60, 90, and 180 days. Some specialty plans even cover trips up to 364 days.
- Long-term travel insurance is not the same as annual travel insurance, which is a type of coverage that is designed to cover multiple trips taken within a 12-month period.
- The best way to find long-term coverage is to use a travel insurance marketplace and get quotes using your travel dates.
- A policy’s trip length limit can typically be found within its Certificate of Insurance, which can be viewed anytime before or after purchase.
What is Long-Term Travel Insurance?
Long-term travel insurance refers to single-trip travel insurance policies that cover extended trips with a defined start and end date, typically lasting 90 days or longer.
Long-term policies are usually comprehensive and offer a wide range of benefits to keep you financially protected from unexpected cancellations, medical emergencies, evacuations, delays, and baggage loss.
This protection is essential if your trip includes international destinations since U.S. health insurance coverage is rarely accepted abroad. Most trips that last several months also involve hefty upfront costs, such as airfare and accommodation. The right plan will reimburse all of your prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses if you need to cancel or interrupt your trip due to an illness, injury, family emergency, natural disaster, or other covered reason.
Long-Term Travel Insurance vs. Annual Travel Insurance
Long-term travel insurance and annual travel insurance sound similar, but are not the same. Long-term travel insurance refers to single-trip plans that cover one continuous travel itinerary, often lasting several months. Annual travel insurance (also called multi-trip insurance) covers unlimited shorter trips within 12 months, with each trip typically capped at 30-90 days.
Who Needs Long-Term Travel Insurance?
According to Squaremouth data from the past year, the average trip duration is roughly 15 days. However, thousands of users insured trips that lasted 90+ days.
Long-term travel insurance is recommended for anyone who travels for months on end before returning home. Examples of traveler types who benefit from this type of coverage include:
- Digital nomads and remote workers who spend large amounts of the year abroad
- Retirees who have the time to take longer trips without worrying about employment obligations
- Students studying abroad for months at a time before returning home
- Adventure travelers and backpackers who are planning long treks
- Professionals working abroad on extended assignments or long contracts
How Long Does Long-Term Travel Insurance Last?
The maximum trip length, sometimes referred to as the trip maximum, refers to the longest number of days you can travel and still be covered under the policy. Travel insurance policies commonly offer maximum trip lengths of 30, 60, 90, or 180 days. Speciality plans can even offer protection for up to 364 consecutive days.
Trip maximums vary significantly by plan and provider. Below is a breakdown of the most common trip duration limits you’ll encounter when looking for long-term coverage:
| Trip Length Maximum | Suitable For |
|---|---|
| 30 days | Weekend getaways, quick international trips |
| 60 days | Long overseas vacations |
| 90 days | Digital nomads, adventure travel |
| 180 days | Study abroad semesters |
| 364 days | Year-long gap years, extended work assignments |
How to Find a Policy’s Maximum Trip Length
There are multiple ways to find the trip maximum for any given policy, such as:
- Get Quotes: Use your travel dates to get quotes from top-rated providers on Squaremouth. Policies that cannot cover your full trip length will automatically be excluded from the results.
- Review Certificate of Insurance: The maximum coverage period will be listed in this document, which is available before or after purchase. Look for terms like ‘Maximum Trip Length,’ ‘Trip Duration,’ or ‘Eligible Trip Length.’
- Contact Provider: You can always call, email, or message the insurer directly to find a policy’s maximum trip length.
- Call Squaremouth: Our travel insurance experts can help you confirm trip maximums for any policy on our platform you are considering. Our customer support team can be reached at 1-800-240-369.
Differences by State
While the trip maximum is primarily determined by the plan itself, certain state-specific regulations can affect the policy terms. For example, a traveler in New York may receive different coverage limits or eligibility windows than a traveler in Tennessee. Always review state-specific disclosures in your policy documents.
Key Features to Look For in a Long-Term Travel Insurance Plan
When shopping for travel insurance for long trips, look for insurance providers that offer these key policy benefits:
Coverage for Medical Emergencies
If you become sick or injured during your extended travels, medical treatment could cost you thousands of dollars, and a medical evacuation back to the U.S. will compound your financial burden. According to the U.S. State Department, a medical evacuation alone can cost between $50,000 and $200,000.
We recommend a minimum of $100,000 for Emergency Medical coverage and $250,000 for Medical Evacuation coverage for any long-term international trip.
Emergency Medical benefits can reimburse you for covered medical expenses such as necessary treatment, hospital care, medical tests, prescriptions, and other medical services. In addition, Medical Evacuation and Repatriation can cover the transport costs to get you to the nearest appropriate medical facility, even if that’s in the U.S.
Qualifying for Pre-Existing Condition Coverage
Long-term travelers, especially retirees, should pay close attention to how a policy handles pre-existing health issues. The longer you are away from home, the higher the risk of suffering a flare-up of a medical diagnosis you received before buying travel insurance.
Most standard plans exclude coverage for pre-existing conditions unless you qualify for a Pre-Existing Condition Waiver. To qualify, you must purchase your protection within 14-21 days of your initial trip deposit and insure 100% of your prepaid, non-refundable trip costs.
Trip Cancellations and Interruptions
Trip Cancellation can reimburse you for airfare, hotel expenses, and other non-refundable trip costs when an unforeseen and uncontrollable event, like an illness or severe weather, forces you to cancel your trip.
If you’re only able to partially take your trip because you had to start late or end your trip early, Trip Interruption can reimburse you for unused, prepaid, non-refundable trip costs. Common expenses covered include airfare, hotel, cruise bookings, excursions, rental cars, and event fees.
Travel Delays
Common carrier delays caused by bad weather, mechanical failures, lost travel documents, and other events can significantly disrupt your carefully planned extended trip. Travel Delay can reimburse you for unplanned expenses such as meals, hotel stays, local transportation, and other unexpected costs.
Luggage Benefits
If an airline or other common carrier mishandles your luggage during your extended trip, Baggage Delay can cover the cost of purchasing clothes, personal care items, and other necessities while you wait for your luggage to catch up to you.
Additionally, Baggage and Personal Items Loss will reimburse you for your personal belongings if they are permanently lost, stolen, or damaged at any time during your covered trip.
Adventure Sports Coverage
Many long-term travelers are adventure-minded, and standard policies often exclude coverage for high-risk activities like mountain trekking, skiing, scuba diving, and rock climbing. If your extended trip is likely to include excursions or adventure sports, look for a policy that offers the Sports & Activities benefit and covers your specific travel plans. Failure to disclose adventure activities, or assuming they’re covered, can result in denied claims.
What’s Typically Not Covered By Long-Term Travel Insurance
Understanding your long-term travel insurance policy’s exclusions is just as important as knowing what’s covered. Most plans for extended trips will not cover:
- Pre-existing medical conditions, unless a waiver is purchased within the time-sensitive period
- Routine medical checkups and preventive care
- High-risk activities, unless your policy explicitly includes adventure protection
- Travel to destination under a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory
- Losses resulting from illegal activity or intoxication
- Costs related to a known or foreseeable event at the time of purchase, such as a named storm
Exclusions and definitions can vary from one plan to the next, so it’s always smart to carefully review the Certificate of Insurance before purchasing.
How to Buy a Long-Term Travel Insurance Policy
Long-term travel insurance can often be purchased from the airline, cruise ship, or other common carriers used during your trip or through a travel insurance comparison website. Let’s take a closer look at each option.
Purchase Directly From a Travel Supplier
Travel insurance will typically be offered to you by the common carrier you use for your trip. This could include an airline, cruise line, train service, or other transportation company. If your extended trip includes more than one carrier, say a cruise and a train trip, you may have to purchase a separate policy for each.
Use a Travel Insurance Marketplace
Purchasing long-term travel insurance through a comparison website, like Squaremouth, can offer you a single comprehensive travel insurance policy that covers all the common carriers involved in your trip. It also provides the opportunity for you to compare the costs and benefits of several different travel insurance plans to find the right coverage for your trip.
Search for a Travel Insurance Provider
Long-term travel insurance can also be purchased from a specific travel insurance provider, such as Tin Leg, Berkshire Hathaway, John Hancock, and others. We recommend you compare the coverage benefits and premiums offered by at least three companies. This can help ensure that you get the best coverage and price for your extended travel.
How Much Does Long-Term Travel Insurance Cost?
Based on proprietary sales data from Squaremouth, a comprehensive long-term travel insurance plan will typically cost between 4%-10% of your total insured travel expenses. On average, that’s around $400 overall. The cost of non-comprehensive plans is much less. For example, medical travel insurance costs around $90 on average.
Factors That Influence Cost
No single factor determines the premium you pay. Here are some key variables insurers use to calculate premiums for your extended travel insurance coverage:
- Trip length
- Trip cost
- Traveler ages
- Number of travelers
- Coverage amounts
- Type of trip
Is Long-Term Travel Insurance Worth It?
Yes, long-term travel insurance is worth the cost of a policy. Because extended travel is often a large investment, like any investment, you want to safeguard it from loss.
Travelers, especially those on a long trip, want to avoid the unexpected expenses that come with cancellations, delays, lost luggage, medical emergencies, and any number of other events. Instead of risking their trip investment, they purchase travel insurance to provide financial protection and the peace of mind that they have coverage for travel disruptions.
FAQs: Long-Term Travel Insurance
Can I buy long-term travel insurance if I’ve already left home?
In most cases, no. Travel insurance typically must be purchased before you depart. Some specialty medical-only plans may be available if you are already traveling, but these plans are usually only available directly from providers rather than a travel insurance marketplace.
Can I buy long-term travel insurance if I don’t know my return date?
No, all providers on Squaremouth require travelers to have a defined start and end date to get a quote. Failure to purchase a return travel plan can result in denied claims. One-way travel insurance may be available through specialty providers that cater to the needs of expats, digital nomads, or other travelers who plan trips without a known return date.
Can I extend my long-term travel insurance policy if my trip runs longer than expected?
Yes, some policies allow for extensions. However, this feature is not universal. If you think there is a chance your trip may extend beyond your planned return date, look for a policy that offers coverage extensions. Select plans will automatically extend for 5-10 days if you’re forced to stay at your destination due to a medical emergency, natural disasters, flight delays, or other covered reasons.
Does long-term travel insurance cover multiple destinations?
Yes, travel insurance covers multi-destination travel. This is beneficial if you plan on visiting more than one country during your coverage period. When getting a quote, simply input the destination you plan on spending most of your time. If you plan to come home in between each destination, you may need to purchase separate policies for each individual trip.