Trawick International Insurance Review & Complaints: Travel Insurance (2023)

Originally focused on student travel, Trawick International today covers all the travel insurance bases. That includes trip protection and medical coverage for U.S. travelers abroad as well as insurance options for visitors to the States.

About Trawick International

Founded in 1998, Trawick’s first decade in business was focused on providing travel medical insurance for students, both outbound and inbound to the U.S. They eventually expanded to offer insurance to other markets, and today they write travel insurance coverage for individuals and families, business travelers, expats, and more.

Trawick’s policy categories include travel medical, trip protection, inbound to the U.S. medical plans, missionary, and adventure sports, among others. Headquartered in Fairhope, Alabama, Trawick writes coverage for the U.S residents across the country and for non-U.S. residents around the world. Policies are sold online as well as through travel agencies and other travel planning services.

Trawick’s policies are underwritten and serviced by two different companies, GBG Insurance and Nationwide Insurance, depending on the type of coverage and where the policyholder resides.

What Trawick products are offered?

Trawick International writes a range of travel products for specific needs, including primary medical coverage, trip cancellation and interruption, medical for visitors to the U.S., and longer-term medical coverage for study or work abroad.

Travel Medical plans

There are two options for travel medical that are focused on health coverage and not on trip protection. Trip coverage is limited under these travel insurance plans.

Safe Travels International is a travel medical plan for travelers visiting any country other than the U.S., with comprehensive medical coverage starting at $50,000 and available for up to $1,000,000. Deductible options range from $0 up to $5,000.

This plan is primary and covers a range of medical services including doctor visits, surgery, tests and procedures, and more. Emergency evacuations of up to $2,000,000 is available. This plan has no trip protection other than up to $7,500 to cover the cost of a ticket home in the event of an emergency.

Safe Travels International Cost Saver is a budget option that acts in a secondary position to a major medical plan. It covers excess costs not otherwise paid for by the primary coverage. Coverage options are the same, with the difference being the lower insurance premiums due to the secondary nature of the plan.

Trip Protection Plans

There are several options for trip protection packages, for both U.S. residents and foreign nationals. These plans can include domestic travel, international travel, or both.

Safe Travels 3-in-1 is a trip protection plan that covers 100% coverage for trip cancellation and interruption, as well as trip delay, missed connection, and baggage coverage. This plan is mainly focused on trip protection but does offer $50,000 of medical evacuation coverage and $25,000 of air accidental death and dismemberment coverage. The plan does not appear to include any emergency medical coverage but can be purchased in combination with a medical plan.

Safe Travels Vacationer is a trip protection package plan that does include medical. Trip cancellation is covered at 100% and trip interruption at 150%. Emergency medical is set at $25,000 and evacuation at $500,000, although both of these can be optionally increased. This plan allows the addition of children for a flat rate.

Safe Travels Single Trip is a package plan that includes $30,000 in trip cancellation and 150% trip interruption coverage along with all the basics of trip protection. This plan has $75,000 in emergency medical and $350,000 in emergency evacuation coverage.

Safe Travels First Class is the top-end plan, with $50,000 in trip cancellation coverage and 150% of the trip cost for an interruption. Emergency medical is kicked up to $150,000, and evacuation coverage up to $1,000,000. Cancel for Any Reason can be added to this plan for an added premium; this is the only Trawick package with this option available.

Safe Travels Multinational is designed for non-U.S. residents who are traveling outside their home country but not visiting the U.S. This plan includes basic trip protection, but does not have as many bells and whistles as some other plans; there is no baggage coverage, for example. This plan does include medical coverage with amounts ranging from $50,000 up to $1,000,000 and no deductible.

Inbound to U.S. Plans

Trawick has several plans that are designed for non-U.S. residents visiting the U.S. either as a primary destination or as part of a list of destinations.

Safe Travels USA is a plan designed for people traveling to the U.S. or on a trip that includes the U.S. as a destination. It includes 100% trip cancellation and 150% interruption coverage as well as trip delay, baggage, and more. This plan also includes primary medical coverage, including emergency and non-emergency care. Benefit options are similar to other medical plans.

Safe Travels USA Trip Protection is a similar plan, featuring trip cancellation at 100% for a trip cost from $250 to $25,000, and interruption at 150% from $376 to $37,500. It includes most of the common trip protection benefits. This plan has a range of primary medical coverage limits and a $0 deductible.

Safe Travels USA Cost Saver is an excess insurance plan, so it pays only the amounts not covered by a primary insurance plan. This is not a trip protection plan and is medical only, with the same coverage and deductible options as the main Safe Travels USA plan.

Safe Travels Comprehensive is the final inbound plan and is similar to the Cost Saver in that it is medical focused. Coverage is similar; it is available within the U.S. and internationally.

Student Insurance

The Collegiate Care line of products is designed for students. There are several levels of plan available, providing comprehensive medical coverage. These plans are only available to students visiting the USA; they are not for U.S. students abroad.

Standard, Preferred, Silver, and Gold are all medical plans with increasing levels of benefits and coverage. There is also a medical evacuation and repatriation plan that does not include medical coverage, but can be added on to a medical plan.

Adventure Plans

Trawick does not write adventure travel plans directly, but partners with London-based company DogTag to offer these policies. These are designed for those traveling for a variety of sport and adventure purposes and cover items regular travel insurance does not.

There are four levels of DogTag policy, each with increasing benefits and coverage.

COVID-19 Pandemic

U.S. citizens and US residents while traveling within the USA or abroad. COVID-19 Coverage provides Trip Cancellation reimbursement for the unused, non-refundable insured trip cost if you are prevented from taking your trip if you or your traveling companion become sick with COVID-19 before your trip is to start, and a doctor states you cannot travel.

How to get rates

We ran a quote for a trip protection package policy, with our sample of a 30-year-old traveler from California, taking a 7-day trip to the U.K. at a cost of $5,000.

The least expensive plan offered to the vacationer was at a rate of $111. That is a good price. However, the medical coverage on this plan is secondary, which is an important distinction. For primary coverage, the lowest price was for the 3-in-1, at $250. This is the one package trip protection plan, however, that does not appear to include emergency medical coverage, and would need to be combined with a medical plan.

Using our same sample, we quoted the medical-only plans. The International Cost Saver plan was quoted at $7.52 for secondary coverage, while the primary plan came in at $8.80. With the Cost Saver saving really only about a dollar, it would be well worth it to upgrade.

Combining these options, Trawick’s best price for trip protection along with primary medical coverage would be the 3-in-1 with the International medical plan, coming out to $258.80. That’s a fairly reasonable rate for all the coverage included, but we have seen package policies with higher medical limits for less.

How to file claims

Trawick’s claims appear to be handled by the two companies that underwrite the policies, and the Trawick site offers claims forms for each. There does not appear to be any way to submit a claim directly to the website.

Trawick does offer claims support via phone, email, or an online chat service, and as with all travel insurance companies, they have a 24-hour emergency line available for assistance while traveling.

Overall, the claims information on the site is minimal and not particularly informative.

What are the ratings and consumer reviews?

Trawick International is Better Business Bureau (BBB) accredited with an A+ rating and only one complaint on file in the past three years.

We found 25 reviews of Trawick on consumer site TrustPilot, with mixed comments. The insurance company has an overall 2-star rating on the site, earning them a “poor” ranking, although 36% of reviews were 5-star and 48% 1-star, with the rest in between. Customers commented on polite service but were upset by the many exclusions on the policy that resulted in claims being denied.

The complaint volume for this company is not very high, and the content of the complaints does not raise any red flags.

Do you need travel insurance?

If you cancel the trip, you could end up losing a lot of money in unrefundable deposits. Trip cancellation insurance is the coverage you need. As long as you cancel for one of the reasons outlined in the policy, you’ll be covered for 100% of the pre­paid money you’ll lose. Many health plans lack robust global coverage, or impose high out-of-network deductibles for medical care outside the U.S. Check your health plan details to see what it provides. Travel medical insurance fills the gap.

You’re going to a remote area. If you won’t be near any quality medical facilities, even a small injury could turn into a major medical event. Medical evacuation coverage will pay to medevac you to an adequate facility.

Trawick’s  coverage is good for medical expenses, evacuation, and repatriation.

What’s the bottom line?

Trawick International has a wide range of insurance policies, many of which are very similar in terms of coverage; this is likely to result in confusion for the insurance shopper. The only way to get both primary medical and comprehensive trip protection is to buy two separate policies, which will again cause confusion and likely frustration. While there is not anything negative to report about this company, a more streamlined experience will likely be found elsewhere for anyone seeking comprehensive travel protection. It is worth a final note that Trawick’s medical coverage is quite affordable, as always, though, reading the exclusions in the fine print is a must.

Trawick International is a travel insurance company that offers multiple plans suited to a variety of needs.