What does travel insurance cover, and is it actually necessary?

Start with what you would lose. Texas tells you to check the cancellation rule for each thing you booked, and add up what you would be out [1]. Hotels and tours often cancel free. A flight or a cruise deposit often does not. Then check what you already have. Texas notes your home or renters policy may include travel cover. Some credit cards carry travel protections, or sell travel insurance, so ask when you pay with the card [1]. Washington makes the same point about cards [2].

Then the gap that catches people abroad. Most health plans, including Medicare, will not pay for care in another country [1]. Texas flags that for trips abroad, and says to think about how you would reach a hospital from a remote place [1]. What the policies promise varies more than the price does. Texas puts it plainly. Travel insurance is not all the same. Some policies pay only for listed reasons, such as weather or illness. Some rule out a cancellation caused by a pre-existing condition, or by a declared epidemic or pandemic. You can pay more for "cancel for any reason" cover [1].

Washington adds two things to check. Does it cover cancellation for a disease outbreak or a natural disaster where you are going? Does it cover cancellation for terrorism, civil unrest, or a State Department warning [2]? One right you have in Texas. If you have not started the trip and not filed a claim, you can cancel for a full refund of the plan price. You must act before the 15th day after the papers arrive by mail, or the 10th day if they arrive another way. The plan may allow a later date [3]. Use that window to read what you bought.

What it costs. We have no official average premium for travel insurance to show you. Before you compare prices, TDI says to add up what you would lose if the trip fell through [1]. That amount is the measure the premium has to beat.

Read the TDI travel insurance page at the link quoted here, then read your own card's benefit guide and your health plan's rules for care outside the country.