Welcome to Ask Clark, a column designed to answer your financial questions, by money expert Clark Howard.
Should I Buy Travel Insurance Through Costco?
Shawn from Georgia asks: “I read your article on travel insurance, and I have a question: We are purchasing a cruise through Costco Travel.
“They offer travel insurance on their website, yet you suggest going to a third party to purchase insurance. Is Costco a trusted vendor for travel insurance, or should I go to that third party?”
Clark’s Take on Whether You Should Buy Travel Insurance Through Costco
Clark says: “The cost of trip insurance with Costco, from what I’ve been able to see, is another benefit for Costco members.”
“The insurance is meaningfully cheaper buying through Costco.com than it is in the third-party travel insurance websites I normally recommend,” Clark says.
Clark usually recommends InsureMyTrip.com for travel insurance because the site lets you compare multiple policies. But because Costco Travel allows members to save 10% on their entire trip, he thinks its travel insurance options are worth a look.
Costco travel insurance is actually administered by Cover-More, a partner site that writes policies underwritten by the Zurich American Insurance Co.
What Does Costco Travel Insurance Cover?
To see what Costco travel insurance covers on a typical international trip, I entered information about a seven-day stay in Puerto Rico from Atlanta. Here’s what the International Travel Protection Plan covered:
The cost of this travel insurance policy was $71.80 in December 2021.
For an additional $28.78, you could get these two add-ons:
- Cancel for Any Reason coverage: You can cancel at least three days before your scheduled departure date and recover up to 50% of insured trip cost (max trip cost $10,000).
- Rental Car Damage upgrade: It covers up to $50,000 per plan for collision damage, vandalism, windstorm, hail, fire or flood to a rental car.
With the addition of the two upgrades, the travel insurance policy came in at $100.58.
How To Get the Best Price on Travel Insurance
Clark says the best way to get travel insurance for a low price is to shop around.
“You can also even compare the same issuer on a third-party site of their own versus what they sell the policy for on Costco Travel.com,” he adds.
Here’s what to know about Costco Travel.
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