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Compare road trip insurance
Add to your existing insurance or buy a specialty policy based on your situation.
Travel Insurance Guides
Guides
If you’re planning a road trip, it’s likely you’re covered through car insurance add-ons, health or home insurance. But a few situations may warrant separate protection customized specifically for road trips.
What's in this guide?
Is road trip insurance worth buying?
Most people don’t need road trip insurance because regular car insurance covers a majority of car travel needs. Other policies like health or home insurance cover medical costs or damaged belongings caused by accidents.
If anything, you might look for extra coverage on your car insurance policy that boosts on-the-road protection. If needed, a separate road trip policy can supplement other policies you own, especially if you keep minimal insurance or are driving outside the US.
What kinds of road trip insurance can I get?
Consider your options for expensive trips, long journeys or any other situations that calls for boosted protection:
- Car insurance. Add optional coverage through your current insurer or buy temporary car insurance if you don’t normally drive. Coverage to consider adding to your existing policy includes trip interruption, rental car reimbursement or roadside assistance.
- Credit card benefits. You might receive travel benefits through your credit card, such as a rental car damage waiver or trip interruption coverage. You’ll need to pay for trip costs with your card and follow other criteria for your expenses to be covered.
- Travel insurance policies. Companies like Seven Corners customize plans for road trips, offering specialized coverage like a car concierge if you’re unable to drive home. Standard travel policies can help with unexpected travel medical expenses or trip interruption costs whether you’re flying or driving, and policies that cover your road tripping abroad can help with damage waivers for car rentals.
- Rental car insurance. Although many car insurance policies cover rentals, there are scenarios when you might want separate rental car insurance, such as if you’re driving a rental that’s much pricier than your current ride.
- RV insurance. Some rental companies include insurance, but you may opt for a separate RV insurance to cover additional liability, collision and comprehensive coverage if you need to fill in any coverage gaps.
What does road trip travel insurance cover?
Travel insurance tailored for road trips specifically will typically include coverage for:
- Medical expenses if you get injured or sick away from home or need an ambulance or airlift
- Medical reunion for a loved one to join you if you’re hospitalized away from home
- Repatriation costs to return passengers, children or pets home
- Vehicle concierge to return your car or RV home if you can’t drive
- Prescription coverage to replace prescriptions you forgot like medicine or glasses
- Pet injury coverage to pay for medical care if they’re injured during an accident on the road
- Funeral costs associated with your burial if the worst happens
- Travel assistance to help you locate stores or services nearby or make arrangements for you
Did you know?
Many travel insurance companies let you cover trips as long as 30 or 60 days, and some give you the option to choose the length of your trip. Annual plans can cover multiple road trips throughout the year.
Compare travel insurance with road trip coverage
Going for a long road trip or renting an RV for the family? Compare travel insurance policies that offer the most benefits to protect your trip.
How much does road trip insurance cost?
A separate road trip policy could cost as little as $50 for the year, significantly less than other travel insurance policies. A standard travel policy might cost 5% to 10% of a single trip’s cost or several hundred dollars for an annual plan.
Extra car insurance coverage can add just a few dollars monthly for rental reimbursement or go as high as $50 or $100 a month for an extensive roadside assistance plan.
What to watch out for
Stay aware of the downsides to buying a separate road trip policy:
- End dates. Roaming the US for a coast-to-coast journey? An annual road trip travel plan will cut off protection after a specified amount of days, like 30 days per road trip. That means your policy may only cover 30 days even if your trip takes 90.
- Coverage minimums. Many travel policies won’t cover short road trips, since most policies require you to drive at least 100 miles from home before coverage begins.
- Overlapping coverage. Because you can insure road trips through a patchwork of policies you already have, you could be overpaying with a separate travel policy. Consider your car insurance, health insurance and credit card benefits before buying anything extra.
- Primary vs secondary coverage. Many travel policies only kick in after you use your other insurance policies first. In this case, you might want a basic policy to supplement your other insurance, or you may decide the extra coverage isn’t worth it.
Bottom line
Protecting yourself on a road trip comes down to how often you take road trips, how long they are and any special situations that call for extra coverage. Exclusions on insurance policies can play a role too, which can limit travel policy coverage to trips over 100 miles from home.
If you’re looking to do road trips often, you might compare travel insurance companies that offer the coverage you need.
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