The Top 5 Best Ways to Make Money While Traveling – World Nomads

Travelers need to be prepared for the unexpected, whether it’s a worldwide pandemic, inclement weather or flight troubles.

Whether you’re looking for an international travel insurance plan, emergency medical care or a policy that includes extreme sports, these are the best travel insurance providers to get you covered.

Not all policies are available in every state. You will need to input your destination, residence, trip dates and the number of travelers to get a quote and see coverages available to you.

We looked at quotes from various companies for a 10-day trip to Mexico in September 2025. The traveler was a 55-year-old woman from Florida who spent $3,000 total on the trip, including airfare.

On average, the price of each company’s most basic coverage plan was $127.18. The costs displayed below do not include optional add-ons, such as Cancel For Any Reason coverage or pre-existing medical condition coverage.

However, depending on the plan, you may be able to customize at an added cost.

Why we picked it: Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection plans provide numerous opportunities for travelers to customize coverage to their needs, including for cruise disruptions. Want something even cheaper? Travelers looking for inexpensive, less comprehensive protections might opt for a basic AirCare plan that includes fixed amounts for its flight-related coverage. For example, if your flight is canceled, you’ll only receive a $150 reimbursement, no matter how much the flight costs.

Basic plan cost: $136 for ExactCare Value, about $9 above average

Recommended for: Travelers looking for customizable and comprehensive coverage options

Why we picked it: Allianz Global Assistance is a reputable travel insurance company offering plans for over 25 years. Customers can choose from a variety of single-trip and annual policies to fit their needs. Domestic travelers may benefit from the more affordable OneTrip Cancellation Plus, which provides protections for trip cancellation, trip interruption and travel delay, but doesn’t include benefits like emergency medical or lost baggage.

If you’re looking for rental car protection, you can purchase OneTrip Rental Car Protector as an upgrade or a stand-alone plan. And those looking for additional peace of mind can select the Cancel Anytime upgrade on OneTrip Prime and Premier plans.

Basic plan cost: $149 for OneTrip Basic, about $22 above average

Recommended for: Economical travelers who want to be able to add on rental car protection

Why we picked it: Travel Guard by AIG offers a variety of plans and coverages to fit travelers’ needs, whether they’re going on a cruise or into adventure sports. If you have a pre-existing medical condition, an exclusion waiver is included on Essential, Preferred and Deluxe plans when the plan is purchased within 15 days of the initial trip payment. Last-minute travelers who don’t need cancellation benefits should consider the Pack N’ Go plan, while business travelers might be interested in an annual plan.

Basic plan cost: $123.27 for Essential, about $4 below average

Recommended for: Those traveling with pre-existing medical conditions and cruise goers

Why we picked it: Travel Insured International offers several customization options. For instance, those traveling with pets may want to add on the pet bundle. Even if you plan to leave your pets at home, this bundle adds pet-related issues as a covered reason and offers kennel fee reimbursement.

Basic plan cost: $120 for WorldWide Trip Protector Essential, about $7 below average

Recommended for: Pet owners and cruise goers

Why we picked it: Many travel insurance plans contain exclusions for adventure sports activities. If you plan to ski, bungee jump, windsurf or parasail, World Nomad’s entry-level Standard plan includes them all. While the most affordable, it provides less coverage than other plans. But it can be a good choice for travelers who are satisfied with trip cancellation and interruption coverage of $2,500 or less, do not need rental car damage protection, find the limits to be sufficient, and do not need coverage for certain more adventurous activities (the most-expensive Epic plan covers activities like motocross, free soloing and cliff diving).

Basic plan cost: $91.17 for Standard, about $36 below average

Recommended for: Thrill seekers

Why we picked it: Travelex’s plans focus heavily on providing protections that are personalized to your travel style and trip type. While the company does offer comprehensive plans that include medical benefits, you can also choose between cheaper plans that don’t provide cancellation coverage but do offer protections during your travels.

Basic plan cost: $120 for Essential, about $7 below average

Recommended for: Travelers who want top-notch medical coverage. Medical Coverage upgrade with $50,000 in medical expense coverage and $500,000 in medical evacuation coverage on top of what is already included.

Why we picked it: Each Seven Corners plan offers several optional add-ons. Among the more unique is Interruption for Any Reason, which allows you to interrupt a trip 48 hours after the scheduled departure date (for any reason) and receive a refund of up to 75% of your unused nonrefundable deposits.

And if you already have a credit card with travel insurance, you may not need a plan with all the bells and whistles. That’s where one of Seven Corners’ medical-only plans might come in handy.

Basic plan cost: $124 for Trip Protection Basic, about $3 below average

Recommended for: Traveling athletes and those attending events with expensive tickets

Why we picked it: While some travel insurance companies offer just a handful of plans, with IMG, you’ll really have your pick. Though this requires a bit more research, it allows you to search for coverage that fits your travel needs.

While it’s not the cheapest option, IMG’s iTravelInsured Lite plan is worth considering for long-term budget travelers. It covers trips up to 180 days and offers 100% trip cancellation coverage and 125% trip interruption coverage.

Basic plan cost: $115.66 for iTravelInsured Choice, about $12 below average

Recommended for: Long-term budget travelers

Why we picked it: Tin Leg’s Economy plan came in at $134 for our sample trip, adding about $7 onto the average basic policy cost. Note that you’ll pay a lot more if you shop for the most comprehensive coverage, and there are eight plans to choose from for trips abroad. The multitude of plans can help you find coverage that fits your needs, but with so many to choose from, deciding can be daunting. But if your work is unpredictable, you may want to consider a more expensive plan that allows adding on cancel for work reasons coverage, which covers 100% of trip costs.

Basic plan cost: $134 for Tin Leg Economy, about $7 above average

Recommended for: Those who have a lot of time on their hands to compare policies and look for bargains

Why we picked it: Even TravelSafe’s Basic plan comes with a frequent traveler reward benefit, reimbursing up to $150 in points and miles redeposit fees if you need to cancel your award reservations. The more expensive Classic plan bumps that up to $300.

TravelSafe’s website makes it easy to visualize how optional add-on elements — including rental car damage coverage — influence the total cost, displaying the final price as soon as you click the coverage. Those looking for Cancel For Any Reason coverage are able to add it on to the Classic plan.

Basic plan cost: $145 for Basic, about $18 above average

Recommended for: Those booking with points and miles

Why we picked it: HTH offers single-trip and multitrip medical insurance coverage as well as trip protection plans.

You can choose to insure group trips for educators, crew, religious missionaries and corporate travelers. A group rate of 10% off standard rates is available for parties of 5 or more.

Basic plan cost: $140.91 for Trip Protector Economy, about $14 above average

Recommended for: Travelers searching for group trip coverage, including missionaries and crew

Most travel insurance plans cover many trip protections that can help you be prepared for unexpected travel disruptions and expenses.

These coverages are generally aimed at protecting the money you put into your trip, expenses you incur because of travel trouble and costs incurred if you have a medical emergency overseas.

On top of core coverages like trip cancellation and interruption and travel medical coverage, some plans offer add-on options like waivers for pre-existing conditions, rental car collision damage waivers or adventure sports riders. These usually cost extra or must be added within a specified timeframe.

As you shop for travel insurance, you’ll notice that many of the plans include the same coverage categories. Here’s what they are and what they include:

Plan benefits can vary a lot, so you’ll want to consider your needs when picking the best policy for you. For example, most plans exclude extreme sports activities, so if you’re a thrill-seeker, you will likely need a plan with specific coverage for adventure activities.

You’ll also want to consider which reasons are excluded for making a claim. For many plans, that includes fear of travel, medical tourism or pregnancies (unless you booked a trip and bought insurance before you became pregnant or there are complications with the pregnancy). This is where a Cancel For Any Reason add-on to your coverage can be helpful.

Selecting the best travel insurance policy comes down to your needs, concerns, preferences and budget.

As you book, take a few minutes to consider what most concerns you. Is it getting stranded because of flight trouble or needing the ability to cancel for any reason without losing money? Maybe you’re worried about getting sick or injured right before departure and needing to postpone the trip, or even injuring yourself or falling ill while overseas.

Ultimately, you want a plan that protects you, your money and the large investment in your trip — but doesn’t cost too much, either. Here are some common reasons why people buy travel insurance and the policy types they should consider:

• Medical coverage. If your priority is having adequate medical coverage abroad, you might want to look for plans with high limits for medical emergencies and medical evacuation.

• Complex travel itinerary. If your itinerary has lots of flight connections, prepaid hotels and deposits for activities you can’t get back, prioritizing a plan with the best coverage for trip cancellations or interruptions may land at the top of your list.

• Travel uncertainty. If you’re on the fence about a trip and have nonrefundable reservations, you may want to select a plan with a Cancel For Any Reason coverage option, which can help you recoup about 50% to 75% of the costs. This helps provide peace of mind, placing the decision on whether to travel entirely in your hands.