Nationwide Travel Insurance Review: Is it Worth The Cost?

Nationwide's plans are thorough but pricey. Check to see what coverage you get from your travel cards first.
Carissa Rawson
By Carissa Rawson 
Updated
Edited by Meghan Coyle

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Are you considering purchasing travel insurance for your next vacation? It could be a good idea, especially in an era of overbooked flights, travel delays and lost luggage. Insurance company Nationwide can sell you travel insurance, which will cover you in the event that things stray from the plan. 

Let’s take a look at Nationwide travel insurance, the policies available and the benefits that they provide. 

What does Nationwide travel insurance cover?

Nationwide offers two different travel insurance plans for its customers: an Essential option and a Prime version. As the name implies, Prime provides more coverage and is more expensive. 

With the essential plan, you'll have benefits like trip cancellation or interruption, coverage for medical emergencies and a fixed fee for delayed/lost luggage. The prime plan includes missed connection reimbursement, and generally, a higher reimbursement amount per benefit.

What does Nationwide travel insurance cost?

To do a proper Nationwide travel insurance review, we input a search for a 28-year-old from Michigan traveling to France for three weeks on a $7,000 trip. 

Coverage

Essential plan

Prime plan

Trip cancellation

$7,000.

$7,000.

Trip interruption

125%.

200%.

Trip delay

$600 ($150 daily limit / minimum 6-hour delay required).

$2,000 ($250 daily limit / minimum 6-hour delay required).

Financial default

10 day wait, if insurance purchased within 10 days of initial trip payment.

10 day wait, if insurance purchased within 21 days of initial trip payment.

Missed connection

Not covered.

$500.

Itinerary change

Not covered.

$500.

Cancel for any reason (CFAR)

Not covered.

Up to 75% of nonrefundable trip cost.

Accident & sickness medical expense

$75,000.

$150,000.

24-hour accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D)

Add-on.

$50,000.

Emergency medical evacuation and repatriation

$250,000.

$1 million.

Emergency dental

$500 included in medical coverage.

$750 included in medical coverage.

Baggage & personal effects

$600 ($250 per article limit, $500 combined max for specific items).

$2,000 ($250 per article limit, $500 combined max for specific items).

Baggage delay

$100 after 12 hours.

$600 after 12 hours.

Repatriation of remains

$250,000.

$1 million.

Pre-existing conditions exclusion and waiver

60 day look back, 10 day waiver (certain conditions apply).

60 day look back, 21 day waiver (certain conditions apply).

Policy cost

$260.48.

$418.22.

% of trip cost

3.72%.

5.97%.

A quick Nationwide travel insurance review shows that you’ll see quite a few more benefits associated with the Prime plan, though neither option is especially cheap. Coverage areas that are missing from the Essential plan include missed connection reimbursement, itinerary change reimbursement and 24-hour AD&D insurance, though this last one can be added on. 

The Essential plan also sees significant drops in the monetary reimbursement you can expect when things go awry. Despite being only 38% cheaper than the Prime plan, coverage is significantly stripped down. You can especially see this with baggage delay ($100 versus $600), lost baggage ($600 versus $2,000) and trip delay ($600 versus $2,000). Trip cancellation is basically the only coverage area that remains the same — 100% no matter which plan you choose.

Additional options and add-ons

No review of Nationwide travel insurance would be complete without mentioning add-ons. Your available options will differ based on the plan you choose.

Essential plan

Prime plan

Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR)

Not available.

75% of nonrefundable trip cost (purchase within 21 days. Certain conditions apply. +$338.10 for this quote).

24-hour Accidental death and dismemberment

  • $5,000 plus $100,000 flight only (+$12 for this quote).

  • $10,000 plus $250,000 flight only (+$28).

  • $25,000 plus $500,000 flight only (+$58).

$50,000 included.

Accidental death and dismemberment (flight only)

Included with 24-hour AD&D add-on.

  • $100,000 (+$13 for this quote).

  • $250,000 (+$34).

  • $500,000 (+$67).

Rental car insurance

$25,000 (+$207 for this quote).

$35,000 (+$276).

As you can see, the available options and their costs can range quite a bit. If you’re looking for maximum coverage, it’s easy to more than double the cost of your original quote. 

The most expensive add-on is only available to Prime policyholders. Cancel For Any Reason insurance allows the ultimate in flexibility as it’ll refund you up to 75% in trip costs in the event you want to cancel your trip. 

Those opting for an Essential plan can also choose to purchase 24-hour AD&D coverage, which comes included with the Prime policy. Doing so includes flight-only coverage for Essential plans, though strangely that’s considered an add-on for Prime. 

Finally, rental car insurance is available regardless of which plan you pick, though you can receive more coverage with the higher-tier Prime policy. 

🤓Nerdy Tip

Many different travel credit cards provide complimentary trip insurance when you use your card to pay. Check these before purchasing travel insurance. 

What isn’t covered by Nationwide travel insurance?

As nice as it would be to purchase fully comprehensive travel insurance, the truth is that nearly all policies have exclusions of some kind. This may mean that your policy won’t cover instances of COVID-19 or the decision to jump out of a plane. 

Here are some general exclusions you can expect:

  • Accidental injury or sickness when traveling against the advice of a physician.

  • Participation in canyoning or canyoneering, extreme sports or bodily contact sports.

  • War or any act of war whether declared or not.

Exclusions vary based on the policy and where you live, so you’ll want to read your guide to benefits carefully to see what coverages apply to your policy. 

Can you buy a Nationwide plan online?

If this Nationwide essential travel insurance review has spurred you to make a decision, it’s simple to find a quote for yourself. You’ll need to navigate to Nationwide’s travel insurance page, where you’ll find a form asking for your personal information. 

In addition to single-trip coverage, Nationwide also provides multi-trip plans and plans focused on cruises.

Frequently asked questions

Nationwide has been in operation since 1925 and is a well-established insurance provider. They offer a range of insurance policies including car, motorcycle, homeowners, pet, farm, life and travel insurance. Nationwide's travel insurance policies can be purchased for cruises, single trips or multi-trips.

Nationwide travel insurance plans have various benefits including trip cancellation, interruption or delay, financial default, missed connection, itinerary change, Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR), medical emergencies, 24-hour accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D), pre-existing conditions exclusion and waiver, and baggage delay. Each policy is different, so you'll want to ensure you read the fine print to know your coverage.

Nationwide's essential plan does not cover Cancel For Any Reason. However, for an additional cost, you can add CFAR to Nationwide's Prime plan. With that coverage, you will be eligible for reimbursement of up to 75% of nonrefundable trip costs. Note that this must be added on within 21 days of your first trip payment.

If you need to submit a claim, you'll first call the CBP Claims Department at 888-490-7606. A representative will provide a claim form and a list of documents to submit. Claims can then be submitted via U.S. mail, fax or through email. Assuming your claim is reimbursable, you'll receive payment via direct deposit or a check.

Is Nationwide travel insurance worth it?

Are you looking for strong coverage over a wide range of incidents? Nationwide could be a good travel insurance option for you, but only if you’re willing to shell out for its more expensive policy. 

That being said, if you hold a travel credit card, odds are that you already have some form of complimentary travel insurance. You’ll want to check this first to see if those benefits are enough for your trip — if not, a Nationwide insurance policy could offer the coverage that you need. 


How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024, including those best for:

Cards for Travel Insurance from our Partners
Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card

on Chase's website

Chase Sapphire Reserve®
5.0
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

1x-10x

Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

Points

Intro offer

60,000

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

Points
Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card

on Chase's website

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
5.0
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

1x-5x

5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

Points

Intro offer

60,000

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Points
Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

on Chase's website

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
4.2
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

1x-2x

Earn 2X points on Southwest® purchases. Earn 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare. Earn 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming. Earn 1X points on all other purchases.

Points

Intro offer

50,000

Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Points
See more cards
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