HTH Travel Insurance Review: Is It Worth the Cost?

HTH travel insurance provides plans for all types of travelers, including those going on a single trip, those looking for an annual policy, ship crew members, missionaries and students.

Combined with the ability to have your health care providers paid directly by your policy, this makes HTH travel insurance a good choice for many.

Founded in 1997, HTH travel insurance provides coverage to more than 700,000 customers a year. HTH has policies offering wide range of coverage to many types of travelers, so odds are you’ll find a plan that suits your needs.

HTH’s travel insurance policies are underwritten by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company scores a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (excellent) from credit rating firm AM Best.

Many specialized HTH travel insurance medical coverage plans exist, though HTH travel’s insurance coverage still provides limited trip protections.

Generally speaking, here’s what you can expect when you purchase an HTH travel insurance plan:

• HTH health insurance coverage: Covers doctor visits, inpatient visits, surgery and more, whether routine or an emergency. 

• Medical evacuation: Reimburses costs for when your medical care requires evacuation to another location. 

• Trip interruption: Covers costs for nonrefundable expenses as a result of your trip being interrupted. 

• Trip delay: Pays for costs incurred as a result of your travel being delayed. 

• Lost luggage: Reimburses you for loss, theft or damage to personal effects during a covered trip.

HTH’s policies have a broad array of inclusions. It offers five single-trip plans that fall into two main categories, medical and travel.

It also offers two annual travel insurance plans for specific kinds of travelers.

Medical

Some plans focus on medical care, whether or not you have a primary health insurance plan in the U.S. These provide high limits for medical care but limited and fixed benefits for trip protections.

1. Single Trip Option for Travelers with Primary Health Insurance.

2. Single Trip Option for Travelers Without Primary Health Insurance.

Travel

TripProtector plans, meanwhile, have a lower maximum on health costs and they cover only accidents or illnesses while you’re traveling, not routine care. At the same time, they provide more trip protections, which can be better for those on expensive vacations.

1. TripProtector Economy.

2. TripProtector Classic.

3. TripProtector Preferred.

Here's an overview of HTH's single-trip plan options and what is included.

Long-term travel insurance

HTH also offers long-term travel medical options for those who travel often or who are away for longer than six months.

HTH offers two types of annual plans:

• Plans for standard or corporate travelers, called the Xplorer plan.

• Plans for maritime crew members, missionaries and students, called the Navigator plan.

Both plans provide only medical coverage and don’t offer other trip protection benefits.

» Learn more: How does annual travel insurance work?

Add-on options

HTH doesn’t provide many options when it comes to add-ons. However, it's most expensive TripProtector Preferred plan allows you to purchase Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) insurance, which will reimburse you for up to 75% of expenses if you cancel your trip.

» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now

The coverage you’ll receive with an HTH plan will depend on which plan you’re purchasing. For example, TripProtector Preferred comes with rental car insurance, though none of the other available options do.

HTH’s medical-focused plans are also missing trip cancellation insurance, which is included on each of the TripProtector policies.

Whether you have pre-existing conditions included on your HTH plan is also going to depend on which plan you choose. TripProtector Economy and a Single Trip plan for those without health insurance do not have this option.

Beyond this, most travel insurance plans have specific exclusions to their coverage, including:

• Activities when you’re under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

• Extreme sports.

• Named storms. 

• Participation in athletic events. 

» Learn more: How to find the best travel insurance

On a 5-star scale, NerdWallet rated HTH 4.5 stars. Jump to see our methodology.

A sample trip for a 36-year-old traveler from Indiana to Canada for five days found that the cheapest HTH plan cost $146. If you were to spring for the premium plan, which increases your coverage limits, expect to pay $233.

When looking across multiple providers, the basic plan for the same sample trip ranges in cost from $10-$202. Note that price isn't the only differentiating factor. Coverage is not identical across plans; each company offers various levels of scope, limits and exclusions.

How much does HTH travel insurance cost? To find out the cost of various HTH travel insurance policies, we generated a sample quote for a 28-year-old from Nevada on a three-week vacation to Ireland, with a total trip cost of $4,700.

As you can see, HTH travel insurance costs much more when you add in greater trip protection benefits.

Purchasing an HTH travel insurance policy can be done online. To do so, you’ll first want to generate a quote on HTH’s website.

Before getting a quote, you’ll want to decide if you want more medical benefits or trip protections. Based on this, you can select Single Trip Medical or Trip Cancellation from the drop-down menu on the homepage.

Once you’ve put in all your travel information, HTH will generate quotes for each plan level. You can then select the one that suits your needs and check out with your new policy.

Consider comparison shopping

If you're not 100% sold on purchasing a plan from HTH, you can use a travel insurance aggregator to compare policies across multiple companies at once.

The HTH plan that best suits you will vary based on your needs. For example, if you anticipate having health needs while traveling abroad, you may want to opt for medical-focused plans.

But if you’re planning a more extended trip with many moving parts and want to be reimbursed for things like delayed luggage or missed connections, a TripProtector plan may be more appropriate.

Not everyone has the same needs when traveling, so not everyone should choose the same insurance policy. Here are some things to consider before purchasing a plan.

Look at coverage details

Scour your plan benefits to see what’s covered. If you won't need trip interruption insurance, don’t buy it. Similarly, depending on your health status, you may feel comfortable purchasing a less expensive plan with fewer medical benefits.

Think long term

How often do you travel? If you’re frequently out of the country, you’ll want to weigh the cost of purchasing multiple single-trip plans versus one annual plan. Do the math and see where you’d come out ahead.

Use existing coverage

Many travel credit cards offer travel insurance, though coverage levels will vary. To qualify for this complimentary insurance, you’ll need to pay for your trip using your eligible card. Common card benefits include trip interruption insurance, baggage delay reimbursement and emergency medical insurance.

» Learn more: How to find the best travel insurance

HTH offers 24/7 travel assistance on its TripProtector plans. The issues with which HTH can help you range from prescription replacements and passport replacements to lost luggage retrieval.

You can contact HTH at 877-865-5979, 610-254-8771 or via email at [email protected].

One of the best features of HTH travel insurance is its Direct Pay option. This allows your HTH policy to pay your medical costs directly to the provider, eliminating the need for a refund.

If you can't use a provider within HTH’s network and the one you choose won’t accept Direct Pay, it’s possible to submit a claim.

To do so, you’ll need to log in to your HTH account.

From there, you can fill out and submit the paperwork for your claim. This is also true of any trip protection claims you have, such as lost luggage or a trip delay.

Is HTH travel insurance good? You'll rarely find health care plans for travel abroad unless they’re just covering accidents and illnesses.

That’s what makes HTH’s medical policies stand out. The fact that HTH provides long-term policies for expats is another bonus, as many countries require that you provide independent medical coverage.

But its TripProtector plans are somewhat limited in scope compared with those from other insurance companies, plus they lack customization opportunities.

Overall, HTH may be a good option for you if you need to seek health care while traveling and don’t mind missing out on many trip protection benefits. Otherwise, you may want to look elsewhere.

HTH offers a few travel insurance plans depending on your needs, including options for single- and multi-trip policies. Before you buy a plan, be sure you’ve understood its coverage and costs, especially compared with other policies.