Generali Travel Insurance Review | 2024 (2024)

We gave Generali Global Assistance 4.5 out of 5.0 stars, with top marks for its emergency assistance features. Its trip interruption and travel delay coverages are generous, with up to 175% coverage for trip interruptions. Generali’s policies also offer to cover sporting equipment and baggage loss and delay, which is beneficial if you bring expensive equipment with you. All of Generali’s plans also include 24/7 multi-lingual support — a lifesaver if there’s an international emergency.

Generali’s travel insurance could be less valuable for you if you’re shopping for the most affordable coverage. In our review, we found that two people are likely to pay almost $300 on average for an international policy, which is less than budget options like Faye or Trawick. Generali’s CFAR reimbursem*nt option also only covers 60% of trip costs, which is disappointing compared to other insurers.

Generali’s travel insurance policies are significantly more inclusive compared to the specific inclusions found on competitors’ policies. Coverages are generous. For example, while providers like Trawick have trip interruption coverage of 100% of plan expenses, Generali’s plans cover more — up to 175% of costs. These policies also have standardized items like sporting equipment and rental car coverage, which are usually add-ons with other providers.

Let’s look at Generali’s three plans: Standard, Preferred and Premium.

Standard Plan

Generali Travel Insurance’s basic trip coverage option is its Standard Plan. It includes a range of policy inclusions despite its low price point. You’ll find these protections on the Standard Plan:

• 100% of trip cancellation costs
• 125% of trip interruption costs
• $50,000 worth of coverage for emergency medical and dental expenses
• $1,000 ($150 per day) to cover accommodations and other expenses caused by trip delays
• $250,000 for medical evacuation and repatriation
• $1,000 in baggage coverage
• $200 per person for baggage delay
• $50,000 worth of accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) coverage (flights only)

All Generali plans carry 24/7 travel concierge services, which help you access local medical care and emergency services. This inclusion is a major benefit if you visit a country where you cannot speak the primary language. It includes telemedicine, no out-of-pocket medical expenses and identity theft coverage, even the lowest-tier policy.

In addition to the Standard Plan, Generali offers two higher coverage tiers, which have extra and extended benefits.

Preferred Plan

The Preferred Plan is Generali’s middle-tier coverage and is useful for sports travelers because of its standard equipment coverage. The Preferred Plan includes all the benefits from the Standard Plan, plus these extra items or extensions:

• 150% of trip interruption costs
• $150,000 worth of coverage for emergency medical and dental expenses
• $1,000 ($200 per day) to cover accommodations and other expenses caused by trip delays
• $1,500 in baggage coverage
• $1,500 coverage for sporting equipment
• $300 for sporting equipment delays
• $300 per person for baggage delays
• $750 for missed connections
• $500,000 for medical evacuation and repatriation
• $75,000 worth of (flights only)
• $25,000 worth of standard non-flight AD&D coverage
• Coverage for financial insolvency of your tourism and travel vendors

Premium Plan

The Premium Plan is Generali’s most comprehensive travel insurance plan, promoting coverage for extended medical and baggage incidents. It includes all of the coverage ranges found on the Preferred Plan, plus the following extra benefits and extensions:

• 175% of trip interruption costs
• $250,000 worth of coverage for emergency medical and dental expenses
• $1,000 ($300 per day) to cover accommodations and other expenses caused by trip delays
• $2,000 in baggage coverage
• $2,000 coverage for sporting equipment
• $500 for sporting equipment delays
• $500 per person for baggage delay
• $1,000 for missed connections
• $1 million for medical evacuation and repatriation
• $100,000 worth of AD&D coverage (flights only)
• $50,000 worth of standard AD&D coverage
• $25,000 worth of rental car collision coverage

The premium plan is the only one of Generali’s travel insurance plans that covers pre-existing conditions and that allows you to add CFAR coverage.

Add-ons, also known as insurance riders, are optional benefits you can add to a travel insurance policy to increase your coverage. Generali Global Assistance has fewer travel plan add-ons than some other companies. You can add the following two coverages to your policy:

• Rental car damage: This add-on covers costs associated with rental car damages while traveling. You can add it to the Standard or Preferred plans, and it’s automatically included in the Premium Plan.
• CFAR coverage: Extends your trip cancellation benefits to cover situations outside your standard policy. Generali only allows you to add this coverage to its Premium policies.

The coverage tier you select plays a major role in your cost. Higher tiers of travel insurance include more expensive coverages and a wider selection of reimbursem*nts, which increases the insurer’s financial risk. So, higher levels of coverage are more costly than lower tiers.

In our travel insurance review, we found the average traveler can expect to pay between $70 and $751 for coverage. The price is a bit more expensive than competitors like Faye, which specializes in budget policies.

Generali Domestic Travel Insurance

Generali also offers travel insurance coverage on U.S. domestic trips. Our table summarizes what a 30-year-old couple could expect to pay for each of Generali’s plans on a $5,000 trip to New York.

Generali travel insurance holds 3.5 out of 5 stars from almost 250 customer reviews on Trustpilot. Many satisfied customers report that the process of getting an insurance policy is simple and the coverage is comprehensive. Unsatisfied customers mentioned how the claims process is complicated and can take months to resolve. However, in a number of cases, customers who initially left negative reviews about a lack of communication following claims noted swift resolution after leaving a review.

Below are some examples of positive and negative company reviews on Trustpilot.

“Very competitive plans at decent prices. Hard to say for sure how good it is until I make a claim, but the purchase experience was smooth. One problem with travel insurance is it is not always easy to determine what will be covered. Recently, I have come to believe that the most important feature of any travel insurance is coverage for an enormous loss, such as medical evacuation from a remote location (like a cruise ship). Even the basic Generali plan offers very good coverage in that area.” — Joe B. via Trustpilot

“I've used Generali in the past. If I had a claim it was fulfilled in a timely manner. Once my trip was canceled and though there was some confusion about my policy, [Generali] stuck with it and I was refunded my entire amount. [Generali is] good to work with.” — Dennis S. via Trustpilot

“I travel up to three times a year and always use Generali. I usually do not submit a claim but have for a skiing accident. I submitted the claim over a month ago and upon checking in with a live agent over chat, was told that in those 33 days, nobody has picked up the claim and there is nothing she can do about escalating it … But immediate action was taken after I left this review. The check is in the mail.” — Anteres N. via Trustpilot

"In December we visited a sick relative who subsequently passed away. At the same time, both me and my partner got sick and could not travel. Almost two months later, we have not received the claim money from the trip. It seems our claim has not yet been assigned a rep. I realize there have been some airline meltdowns and [Generali is] busy but the communication is terrible. We are so frustrated … the whole time we've dealt with it has been horrible and extremely stressful — what you don't need when traveling!” — Carol S. vis Trustpilot

Generali offers a three-step process for filing a travel insurance claim:

1. Visit Generali’s website and log into your eClaims portal to access the claims form. If you’re in an area where you can’t file a claim online, call 800-541-3522.
2. Upload supporting documentation to your account or email it to a representative according to Generali’s requests. Examples of documents you might need include hospital reports and flight cancellation confirmations.
3. After submitting your claims package, Generali will assign your case a number and a representative. You’ll hear from your representative, who will help guide you through the next steps.

Keep your documentation — in either digital or physical form — as you travel in case you need to use emergency assistance services.

Select your destination to find a travel insurance provider:

While Generali’s policies include generous trip coverage and medical insurance, they don’t cover everything. The following are a few exclusions you’ll find on Generali’s coverages — and where you can find these inclusions if they’re important to you.

• Business equipment: While Generali’s policies have options to cover sporting equipment, coverage does not extend to business equipment and technology. If you plan to travel with more expensive business luggage, consider a provider like Travelex that offers protection for these items.
• Extreme sports: Medical insurance for travel policies doesn’t usually extend to injuries sustained while participating in extreme sports. If you’re planning on hiking, scuba diving, mountain biking or performing other serious physical activities abroad, consider a provider like IMG Travel Insurance or Travelex. While Generali doesn’t allow you to extend medical coverage to include these circ*mstances, other insurers offer an extreme-sports add-on.
• Non-medical emergency evacuations: Generali’s travel insurance plans include coverage for medical evacuations only. If you believe you might need emergency political or environmental evacuation resources, consider a provider like AXA, which has this option.

The choice of travel insurance provider usually comes down to your individual needs. If you’re traveling to an area where you can’t speak the primary language, Generali’s around-the-clock concierge emergency service could provide peace of mind. But if you’re looking for political evacuation assistance and reimbursem*nts or more expansive CFAR coverage, Generali might not be the best choice.

• TravelSafe Travel Insurance Review
• Nationwide Travel Insurance Review
• World Nomads Travel Insurance Review
• Faye Travel Insurance Review
• Tin Leg Travel Insurance Review
• Travelers Travel Insurance Review
• Allianz Travel Insurance Review
• WorldTrips Travel Insurance Review

Joseph Reaney is an experienced writer for travel brands, including Lonely Planet, Fodor’s, DK Eyewitness and National Geographic. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the travel specialist content writing agency World Words. When he isn’t busy traveling or writing about it, you’ll find him at the local comedy club.

Tori Addison is an editor who has worked in the digital marketing industry for over five years. Her experience includes communications and marketing work in the nonprofit, governmental and academic sectors. A journalist by trade, she started her career covering politics and news in New York's Hudson Valley. Her work included coverage of local and state budgets, federal financial regulations and health care legislation.