What is the difference between travel assistance and travel insurance?
Read the guide: Travel Insurance for Beginners: The Complete Guide
While these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, they are actually very different types of coverage.
- Travel assistance provides support services in case of an emergency while traveling.
- Travel insurance provides monetary compensation for losses that occur while traveling.
Both types of coverage can be purchased for single trips or multiple trips throughout the year. Travel assistance plans are relatively affordable, and unlike travel insurance, you pay a set rate that isn’t based on the cost of your trip.
While individual plans may vary, the following outlines what each type of coverage provides.
| Travel assistance provides: | Travel insurance provides reimbursement for: |
| Lost or delayed baggage tracking Access to a medical help line Emergency medical evacuation and repatriation Emergency travel arrangements Replacing lost or forgotten prescriptions Legal, medical, dental and pharmaceutical referrals Emergency cash advances and credit card replacement Multi-lingual translation | Lost or stolen baggage and the costs related to delayed baggage Unexpected costs due to missed connections and travel delays Pre-paid travel costs if the trip is canceled or interrupted for a covered reason Flight accidents, loss of life or limb Costs related to replacing lost or stolen passports or visas Costs related to emergency evacuations or repatriation Costs due to medical or dental emergencies Costs due to a damaged or stolen rental car Plus multi-lingual world-wide travel assistance services when a traveler needs to find local medical care, arrange for emergency transportation, track lost baggage, and more. |
The key difference is that travel assistance is an assistance services plan and travel insurance is more like a typical insurance plan that provides protection for monetary losses that can occur while traveling.
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Damian TysdalDamian Tysdal is the founder of CoverTrip and a licensed travel insurance agent since 2006. He believes travel insurance should be easier to understand, and started the first travel insurance blog in 2006. About CoverTrip.