The best cheap travel insurance companies of 2026

While booking flights, choosing hotels and planning your vacation is exciting, there's one essential you shouldn't forget: travel insurance.

Luckily, several insurers offer affordable coverage for your travel plans. Whether a bag is lost or you're hurt abroad, a travel insurance policy can help you get back to enjoying your vacation.

CNBC Select has chosen the best budget travel insurance companies across a range of categories. (See our methodology for more information on how we made this list.)

Who's this for? Faye's trip delay coverage limit is up to $300 a day and $2,100 per trip, the most generous of the companies we've reviewed.

Standout benefits: Faye's trip inconvenience benefit covers $200 per incident and up to $600 per trip for airport security delays, late hotel arrivals, lockouts at rental properties and more.

Who's this for? AIG Travel Guard is a great option if you want customizable coverage, with upgrades for rental vehicle coverage, weddings, adventure travel, increased limits for medical coverage and more.

Standout benefits: Travel Guard's Preferred plan has an optional medical bundle upgrade that increases medical coverage to $100,000 and emergency evacuation benefit to $1 million. You can also select your preferred hospital.

Who's this for? Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection is ideal if you're concerned about waiting for reimbursement: It offers a claims process that's five times faster than the competition, with same-day compensation available in some cases.

Standout benefits: The most basic plan, called ExactCare, includes $35,000 in car rental collision coverage.

Who's this for? Crossing off a bucket list adventure? World Nomads Travel Insurance's Explorer Plan includes coverage for more than 300 sports and experiences, as well as missed connections and an optional benefit to cancel the policy for any reason.

Standout benefits: World Nomads' Standard plan has a generous $300,000 limit for emergency evacuation. The Explorer plan bumps that up to $500,000.

Who's this for? If you're taking the whole family, Travel Insured International's Worldwide Trip Protector Platinum and Deluxe plans include free coverage for one child 17 or younger with every insured adult.

Standout benefits: Job loss is a covered reason for cancellation or interruption on all plans.

Who's this for? Nationwide has three tiers of cruise-specific coverage that can reimburse you in case of itinerary changes, missed connections, mechanical breakdowns or other disruptions.

Standout benefits: Nationwide's basic Universal Cruise plan includes $75,000 in emergency medical coverage and $250,00 for emergency evacuations.

A travel insurance policy typically costs between 4% and 10% of your trip's nonrefundable cost. The price varies based on your age, the coverage limits you choose and any optional add-ons. A plan with a Cancel for Any Reason benefit can cost up to 40% more.

Travel insurance reimburses costs associated with a variety of covered events, including:

Trip cancellation: This reimburses airline tickets, hotel rooms and other nonrefundable expenses if your trip is canceled for a covered reason, like an illness or injury, the death of a family member or a job loss.

Trip interruption: If you must return home early for a covered reason, this benefit reimburses nonrefundable expenses. Some plans will cover as much as 150% of your costs to help you pay for a new flight home or other additional travel arrangements.

Trip delay: This coverage pays for food, accommodations and transportation if your trip is delayed for a minimum amount of time, usually six or 12 hours. Covered reasons include severe weather, airline maintenance and civil unrest. There are caps, usually $100 to $300 per day and $500 to $1,500 per trip. 

Baggage delay: Your policy should cover toiletries, clothes and other essentials you need to buy if your luggage is delayed for a certain amount of time, usually six or 12 hours.

Baggage loss: Airlines must compensate passengers for lost luggage, but a travel insurance policy can have a higher benefit limit. It can also provide coverage if your belongings are lost, damaged or stolen once you've gotten to your destination.

Emergency medical coverage and evacuation: Your U.S. health insurance likely isn't valid abroad but travel insurance should cover doctors' fees and hospital bills. It can also pay for evacuation or repatriation if your condition requires you to return home.

Every travel insurance company has different exclusions, but losses caused by the following are typically not covered:

• Negligence or illegal activities
• Pre-existing medical conditions (without a waiver)
• Known storms or outbreaks
• Fear of flying or travel
• Pregnancy
• War or civil unrest
• Dangerous activities like mountain climbing, bungee jumping or skydiving

Current medical conditions are not covered by travel insurance unless your provider offers a waiver for pre-existing conditions. You must buy your policy within a few weeks of booking, insure 100% of your nonrefundable trip costs and be medically able to travel at the time of departure. A waiver won't cover some conditions, however, including pregnancy, mental illness and substance abuse issues.

Many providers have optional cancel for any reason policies that allow you to call off your plans for any cause. Typically, you must cancel at least 48 hours before departure and you'll only get 50% to 75% of your expenses back.

Travel insurance costs are generally stable, but there are some ways to save:

• Check for existing coverage: Your credit card or homeowner's insurance policies may provide some basic protections while you travel. However, an insurance policy can still help fill any gaps.
• Consider an annual plan: If you travel frequently, an annual plan is more cost-effective than single-trip policies. There may be coverage limitations, however, so be sure to read the fine print.
• Skip Cancel for Any Reason: While a cancel for any reason upgrade allows you to be reimbursed for reasons not covered by your policy, it can also add another 40% to your premium. 
• Avoid popular travel times: The cost of your premiums is directly related to how much you're spending on your trip. If you schedule a vacation during the peak travel season, your airfare and hotel will be more expensive — and so will your policy.
• Compare plans: Getting price quotes from several providers is also a good way to save money. Make sure you request the same amount of coverage from each and look for any limitations or exclusions. 

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every travel insurance review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of travel insurance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

To determine the best cheap travel insurance companies, CNBC Select analyzed more than 20 of the top U.S. travel insurance companies. In addition to cost, we focused on coverage, the number of plans available, customer service, and policies regarding pre-existing coverage waivers, Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage and other benefits and add-ons.

We also considered CNBC Select audience data when available, such as general demographics and engagement with our content and tools.

We gathered price quotes on four sample trips. (Rates assume payment was made that day.)

1. A two-person trip to Mexico:

• $2,000 per person, $4,000 total
• New York residents
• Travelers aged 35

2. A two-person trip to the United Kingdom:

• $3,000 per person, $6,000 total
• New York residents
• Travelers aged 65

3. A trip to the United Kingdom for a family of four:

• $3,000 per person, $12,000 total
• New York residents
• Two travelers aged 35 with two children, ages 8 and 10

4. A cruise to Alaska for a family of four (including flights):

• $3,000 per person, $12,000 total
• New York residents
• Two travelers aged 35 with two children, ages 8 and 10

Our recommendations have been organized by the best for trip delay coverage, for customization, for the claims process, for adventure travel, for family and for cruises.

Premiums and policy structures cited for travel insurance companies fluctuate according to company policy.

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