A packed suitcase and passport on a bed before a trip.

Personal Insurance

Most people buy travel insurance for the trip. The part that matters is the hospital.

Trip cancellation protects deposits. Travel medical and evacuation protect against the bill that could actually ruin you — and your own health plan may not travel.

No obligation. Starting a review does not change or bind any coverage.

What's going on

You are booking something expensive and non-refundable, and the checkout page is offering you insurance you have thirty seconds to decide about. Or you are going abroad and it has occurred to you to wonder what happens if you end up in a hospital there.

Why it matters

Travel insurance is several different coverages sold together, and the one people buy it for is rarely the one that matters most. Trip cancellation protects money already spent. Travel medical and emergency evacuation protect against a cost with no ceiling — and that is the genuine risk transfer, because many US health plans provide limited or no coverage outside the country, and Original Medicare generally does not cover care outside the United States at all.

Things worth considering

Points we would talk through with you. Which of them apply depends on your situation, and what you do about them is your decision.

  1. Emergency medical evacuation is the catastrophic item

    Getting someone from a remote area, a ship or a country with limited facilities to somewhere they can be treated — or home — is the cost that runs into six figures. Lost luggage is an inconvenience; this is the part that is actually insurance rather than reimbursement.

  2. Check what your health plan does abroad before you buy anything

    Some plans cover emergencies overseas, many do not, and most will not arrange or pay for an evacuation. Medicare beneficiaries should look particularly carefully, because the default is no coverage outside the US, with narrow exceptions. Some Medicare Advantage or supplement plans add limited foreign emergency benefits.

  3. Timing decides what you are eligible for

    The most valuable options — a pre-existing condition waiver, and "cancel for any reason" — are usually only available if the policy is bought within a short window of the first trip deposit, often a couple of weeks. Miss the window and they are simply off the table. This is the most common and most avoidable mistake.

  4. "Cancel for any reason" does not mean a full refund

    It is an upgrade that typically reimburses a percentage rather than everything, requires cancelling more than a set number of days out, and costs meaningfully more. It is genuinely useful for uncertain plans — just not what the name suggests.

  5. Covered reasons on a standard policy are a defined list

    Illness, injury, a death in the family, severe weather, a carrier ceasing operations. Changing your mind, a work commitment or a foreseeable event that was already in the news generally are not on it.

  6. Your credit card probably does something, but less than you think

    Card travel benefits are real and often secondary — meaning they pay after other coverage — with lower limits and narrower terms. Worth reading before paying twice for the same thing, and worth not relying on for medical.

  7. What you are actually protecting

    Add up the non-refundable money at risk. For a cheap, flexible domestic trip the answer may be very little, and buying nothing is a reasonable decision. For a long-planned international trip with deposits and a medical history, it is a different calculation entirely.

Information on this website is general in nature and is not a complete description of any insurance policy or every coverage option that may be available. Coverage availability, terms, conditions, limits and exclusions vary by insurer, policy and individual circumstances. The issued insurance policy and applicable endorsements control coverage. Beacon Point Insurance Group may provide information regarding available insurance options and discuss coverage considerations based on information you provide, but customers are responsible for selecting the carrier, coverages, limits and deductibles they wish to purchase. No insurance coverage is bound, changed, or canceled through this website unless confirmed by Beacon Point Insurance Group or the applicable insurer.

How this tends to come up

  • Taken ill abroad

    A hospital admission in another country, with a domestic health plan that covers little or nothing there and no means of getting home safely. This is the scenario travel medical and evacuation exist for, and it is not the one the checkout page is selling.

  • The waiver that was missed by a week

    Someone with a managed long-term condition buys a policy a month after paying the deposit, and finds the pre-existing condition waiver was only available in the first two weeks. The coverage is not wrong — the timing was.

We Learn. We Compare. We Explain. You Decide.

  1. 01

    We Learn

    We ask questions about your situation and the insurance you currently carry.

  2. 02

    We Compare

    Based on the information you provide, we can obtain and compare available options from the insurance companies we represent.

  3. 03

    We Explain

    We help you understand important differences in coverage, limits, deductibles, policy terms, and price.

  4. 04

    You Decide

    You select the company, coverages, limits, deductibles, and options you want to purchase.

What working with us is like

The part people tend to mention is that someone explained it and then let them decide.

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Absolutely in love with these folks. Have both personal and business insurance through Beacon Point. I've never worried about making sure I'm covered. Quick to answer questions, even via text while I'm on the go every day. Highly recommend.

— Andrew P. State Line Door & Lift · Grain Valley, MO

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