Lora Shinn
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Lora is a freelance contributor to Newsweek’s Vault team, specializing in articles on saving, investing, borrowing and making money. Lora has a master’s degree in library science, and is based in Seattle, Washington.
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Mariah is a freelance contributor to Newsweek’s personal finance team. After putting herself through college, Mariah became interested in using personal finance to achieve financial freedom—whether that means paying down debt or using credit card points to take a dream vacation. She’s written and edited hundreds of articles about the topic and feels passionately about helping other millennial and Gen Z women live their best lives.
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Updated August 29, 2024 at 4:04 pm
WorldTrips delivers extensive coverage with various options for enhancements and waivers in travel and medical insurance, suitable for leisure, adventure, study abroad, and professional travel.
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WorldTrips provides additional medical coverage and options for personalizing your travel insurance, whether for single or multiple trips, brief stays or extended durations. They now offer insurance for up to a year overseas, including coverage for digital nomads.
WorldTrips provides a broad range of travel insurance options, catering to diverse groups such as students, tourists, groups, international students, visitors to the U.S., and individuals traveling for extended periods. Their offerings for long-term international travel exceed what many travel credit cards provide.
For U.S. residents, WorldTrips has several insurance plans ideal for single-trip protection, including trip cancellation. There is also an annual insurance plan that addresses both medical and travel issues, and a specialized plan for “digital nomads” who work while traveling abroad. Premium single-trip plans from WorldTrips also include coverage for pets and service animals, along with a comprehensive list of valid cancellation reasons.
WorldTrips Travel Insurance offers various types of coverage:
Different plans come with distinct coverages and limits. If you find yourself unsure about the best plan for your needs or have questions regarding claim eligibility, WorldTrips offers customer service through live chat with their representatives.
Below are some limits and highlights of the Atlas Journey Elevate, the plan with the highest cancellation limits.
With so many coverage options, WorldTrips has a policy for nearly any traveler. The Journey plan may be a good fit for expensive trips where you’re concerned about a potential cancellation. The plan’s trip cancellation coverage reaches up to $100,000 and offers a host of acceptable cancellation reasons.
With all insurers, cancellation coverage hinges on whether your reason for cancellation is listed as a potential reason. Each insurer’s list is unique—and Journey plans cover more than two dozen reasons ranging from standard human illness to a service animal’s illness.
The Nomad plan may also be suitable if you’re preparing to spend time abroad as a digital nomad and need proof of medical coverage.
The Journey Explore and Elevate packages might be particularly beneficial for travelers with pets or service animals. These plans not only cover boarding costs when the return from a trip is delayed like other plans, but additionally offer a unique pet waiver. This waiver includes cover for trip cancellations caused by the death or serious illness of a pet shortly before departure, specifically within seven days. With an optional pet care addition, travelers can obtain up to $500 for emergency veterinary care for accompanying pets, and reimbursements up to $250 for extended pet boarding dues due to travel delays.
The coverage provided by Worldwide Travel Insurance varies based on the chosen plan. Generally, the accessibility of specific plans or additional features is contingent on your state of residence. Below is a brief overview of coverage options:
The three individual trip plans, designated as Atlas Journey Escape, Explore, and Elevate, encompass the ensuing covers, albeit with varying limitations across the plans:
The two higher-tier plans, Explore and Elevate, incorporate the subsequent enhancements:
All plans include a waiver for preexisting conditions. To take advantage of the least expensive option, Atlas Journey Escape, the policy must be purchased within 14 days of making an initial trip deposit, while the other plans allow for purchase within 21 days.
The Explore and Elevate plans also include an optional adventure sports waiver that provides trip interruption coverage for injuries related to adventure sports that could cut your trip short.
These plans are ideal for travelers who are not concerned about losing money on prepaid trip expenses, such as when those expenses are fully refundable. The focus rather is on covering issues that might arise while traveling. Atlas On-The-Go provides coverage that includes:
This plan primarily offers coverage on a per-trip basis, excluding cancellation and missed connection coverage. Coverage limits might vary, and the plan can be purchased up until the day of departure or even after the trip has begun.
The Atlas Multi-Trip plan is designed for individuals who travel frequently for short periods, providing medical insurance coverage in the U.S. and other core travel benefits. It is important to examine the plan carefully for any exclusions related to preexisting conditions and daily medical care limits.
The Atlas Nomads plan caters to those who expect to work or reside overseas for up to a year. This plan provides up to $250,000 for eligible medical expenses without any deductible and includes coverage for medical emergencies, unexpected death, and various travel necessities. Additionally, the plan offers unique coverages tailored for diverse situations faced while living abroad.
Once again, ensure you understand how a claim could qualify for reimbursement and pay attention to any exclusions or restrictions regarding situations such as preexisting conditions.
WorldTrips offers a strong slate of plans, coverages and high limits; some competitors offer different coverages or plans that may be more suitable. See more competitors on our list of the best travel insurance.
Both WorldTrips and Seven Corners offer an array of single-trip, annual and other travel coverage for U.S. citizens and travel medical insurance for visitors coming to the U.S. Seven Corners offers a cruise-specific plan, while WorldTrips does not.
WorldTrips and Seven Corners offer Interrupt for Any Reason (IFAR) coverage with specific plans.
WorldTrips provides an option to buy an interruption-only plan at the last minute if you’re sure you won’t need to cancel or if your trip is about to start. This plan can be further upgraded to include coverage for adventure sports.
Both organizations offer complete coverage of up to $100,000 in nonrefundable expenses, providing 150% coverage in cases of trip interruption. Among the two, Seven Corners Choice delivers substantially more coverage for emergency medical situations than WorldTrips.
Each company provides three levels of coverage for single trips, an annual plan, and a more rare last-minute plan. In the highest category of single-trip coverage, Travel Guard insures up to $150,000, higher than the WorldTrips Atlas plan.
Travel Guard also offers a last-minute coverage option known as “Pack ‘n’ Go,” akin to the Atlas On-the-Go by WorldTrips. The Pack ‘n’ Go plan includes coverage for travel interruptions, baggage issues, emergency evacuations, repatriation, and some dental and medical costs.
Each last-minute plan has unique offerings. The Travel Guard plan covers missed connections, whereas the WorldTrips Atlas On-the-Go plan includes accidental death and dismemberment coverage up to $25,000.
Both Travel Guard and WorldTrips provide extra options such as pet care, cancel for any reason, and adventure sports coverage or waiver. The “interrupt for any reason” option from WorldTrips covers 50% of non-refundable trip costs, a feature solely offered by them. Travel Guard uniquely offers additional upgrades like adding individuals as “family,” a wedding bundle, and other travel-related conveniences.
GeoBlue Travel Insurance mainly provides International medical insurance with additional coverages for U.S. residents, including options for single trips, annual plans, and long-term overseas stays. It includes limited travel-based coverages like lost baggage and post-departure trip interruption transportation, but lacks trip cancellation coverage.
GeoBlue’s Voyager plans offer a choice of coverage levels (up to $1 million) and variable deductibles to modify the pricing.
In contrast, WorldTrips offers plans that include medical coverage as well as travel insurance. These plans are generally intended for students and travelers going to the U.S. or U.S. residents living overseas. For instance, the Nomad plan provides continuous coverage for up to a year with a coverage cap of $250,000 but does not cover preexisting conditions from the past two years unless under specific circumstances.
It is, however, possible to find policies that include preexisting conditions. With GeoBlue Choice, showing proof of coverage under a primary health insurance plan suffices. For the WorldTrips Atlas Journey plans, the purchase must occur within 14-21 days following the initial trip deposit.
WorldTrips is part of the Tokio Marine HCC group. Based in Houston, Texas, Tokio Marine HCC operates globally, offering over 100 types of specialty insurance across more than 130 countries. WorldTrips boasts an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and has been accredited by the organization since 2016. On TrustPilot, WorldTrips is rated 4.2 stars out of 5 based on nearly 700 reviews.
WorldTrips defines the initial payment date for a trip as the day the first payment towards the trip was made, whether it’s an airline ticket, a deposit to a travel agent, a cruise line operator or a hotel booking. This definition aligns with those used by most other travel insurance providers.
WorldTrips provides an optional CFAR (cancel for any reason) coverage upgrade when you purchase either the mid-tier Explore or the top-tier Elevate travel insurance plans. For these additions, an extra charge is applicable, allowing you to select between a 50% or 75% reimbursement rate. This additional coverage will cost approximately another 3% of your total trip expenses.
Editorial Note: The opinions here are solely the author’s and not associated with any banks, credit card issuers, hotels, airlines, or other entities. This content has not received approval or endorsement by any of the mentioned entities. Though we may receive a commission from links on Newsweek, these do not influence our editorial opinions or evaluations.
Lora Shinn
Contributor
Lora contributes freelance articles to the Vault team at Newsweek, focusing on topics such as saving, investing, borrowing, and earning money. She has a Master’s degree in Library Science and resides in Seattle, Washington.