My Top Picks: November 2026

By Damian Tysdal, licensed travel insurance agent since 2006 · Prices checked 1 November 2026 · Next update 1 December 2026

How I get paid: if you buy a plan through CoverTrip, I earn a commission as a licensed agent. The insurance company pays it, not you. You pay the same price as buying direct.

If you asked me which plan to buy, this is my answer. Six common trips. For each one, the plan I would buy right now, what it costs, and why. Two plans win all six. The prices are from the CoverTrip comparison on 1 November, and you pay the same there as buying direct.

Wins four of the six trips

IMG iTravelInsured Choice

$100,000 of medical that pays first, $500,000 of evacuation, the waiver available. Weather benefits start after a 6-hour delay and count a hurricane warning. Usually the lowest price of any plan that clears my minimums.

Wins the big trip and the family trip

Travel Insured FlexiPAX

Same minimums, a 12-hour weather trigger that counts a hurricane warning, $1,000 travel delay. When the trip cost is large or the group is big, it is the cheapest plan that still clears the bar.

How I pick

Three minimums first. A plan has to clear all three or I do not look at it.

$100,000 of emergency medical that pays first. Medicare and most health plans stop at the border.
$250,000 of medical evacuation. A flight home with a nurse can cost more than $100,000.
The pre-existing condition waiver has to be available. Buy within the window after your first trip payment and you get it.

Then I stop looking at coverage amounts. Once the minimums are met, $500,000 of medical is not better than $100,000 in any way that matters. The fine print is where plans really differ:

How fast the weather and delay benefits start, and whether a hurricane warning counts.
What travel delay pays.
What baggage pays.
Whether non-medical evacuation is included.
Whether you can add cancel for any reason.

Then price. The lowest price among the plans that come out ahead on the fine print.

Find the trip that looks like yours

Retired couple, twelve days in Italy

Ages 68 and 66 · $8,000 trip

My pickIMG iTravelInsured Choice

$445for both

$100,000 medical, pays first$500,000 evacuationWaiver available

Why: clears all three minimums, then wins on the fine print. Weather benefits start at 6 hours and cover a hurricane warning. $1,000 travel delay. $100,000 non-medical evacuation. You can add cancel or interrupt for any reason.

See this plan priced for my trip

Traveling alone at 70, twelve days in England

Age 70 · $5,300 trip

My pickIMG iTravelInsured Choice

$289for one

$100,000 medical, pays first$500,000 evacuationWaiver available

Why: same plan, same reasons, at about half the price of the plans with the big coverage numbers. For one traveler this is the sweet spot.

See this plan priced for my trip

Couple on a seven-night Caribbean cruise

Ages 68 and 66 · $6,000 trip

My pickIMG iTravelInsured Choice

$370for both

$100,000 medical, pays first$500,000 evacuationWaiver available

Why: on a cruise the weather clause matters most. This plan pays after a 6-hour delay and counts a hurricane warning. Most plans wait 24 or 48 hours and skip the warning. It also costs less than the cruise-branded plans.

See this plan priced for my trip

The big trip: three weeks in Europe

Ages 68 and 66 · $30,000 trip

My pickTravel Insured FlexiPAX

$1,778for both

$100,000 medical, pays first$500,000 evacuationWaiver available

Why: about 6% of the trip. All three minimums, a 12-hour weather trigger that counts a hurricane warning, $1,000 travel delay, $50,000 non-medical evacuation, and the any-reason upgrades are available. The cheaper plan at this size waits 24 hours on weather and skips the warning.

See this plan priced for my trip

Grandparents taking the family to Costa Rica

Six travelers, ages 68, 66, 44, 42, 12 and 9 · Seven days · $15,000 trip

My pickTravel Insured FlexiPAX

$536for all six

$100,000 medical, pays first$500,000 evacuationWaiver available

Why: everything above, for all six people, at the lowest price of any plan that clears the minimums. The plans under it are weaker on weather and on trip interruption.

See this plan priced for my trip

Couple in their fifties, ten days in Mexico

Ages 58 and 56 · $8,000 trip

My pickIMG iTravelInsured Choice

$357for both

$100,000 medical, pays first$500,000 evacuationWaiver available

Why: minimums met, 6-hour weather trigger, hurricane warning covered, $1,000 travel delay. The $320 plan below it waits 24 hours on weather, skips the warning, and pays less if the trip is cut short.

See this plan priced for my trip

What moved this month

The CoverTrip Price Index for November is 6.70% of trip cost, down from 6.85% in October.

Redion (formerly Generali) cut prices about 14%, WorldTrips about 10%, Berkshire Hathaway about 7%, Tin Leg about 2%. Nobody went up.

None of this month’s picks changed price from October. Tin Leg Gold, the plan with the biggest medical number, is not a pick: once the minimums are met it trails on weather, delay and baggage.

Your trip will not match one of these exactly

Your ages, your dates and your trip cost change the price, and now and then they change the pick. So run your own trip. Every plan comes back side by side in about a minute, and the two plans above will be near the top of the list.

See plans for my tripSame price as buying direct. Nothing to sign up for.

Prices quoted 1 November 2026 for the example trips, Texas residents, bought inside the waiver window. Your price depends on your ages, trip cost and state. This page is education, not a promise of coverage. Read the policy before you buy. If you buy through CoverTrip, I earn a commission as a licensed agent; the insurance company pays it and your price is the same as buying direct. Quotes powered by Squaremouth.

Also useful