Planning a road trip in the US: Are you properly insured? (2024)

FAQs

Am I insured to drive in the US? ›

Most auto insurance policies cover travel to the States, but may be subject to some restrictions. For example, the duration of coverage may be limited to a certain number of months. Even if your policy doesn't specify the maximum period, claims for stays longer than six months are assessed on an individual basis.

Many drivers don't think of travel insurance for trips by road, but it's wise to have protection against travel-related financial losses. Whether you're in your own car or camper or have rented a vehicle, road trip travel insurance can cover a variety of travel-related incidents.

However, travelling to the United States can also pose a few risks, including costly medical care, travel disruptions, pickpocketing and violent crime. Comprehensive travel insurance for the USA can provide cover for many of the most common risks that travellers to the USA may face.

Generally, auto insurance will follow the vehicle rather than the driver, but some coverage types follow the driver too. The variables that determine if coverage will follow the driver or the vehicle depend on the insurance laws of the state, the policy type, and the coverage within the policy.

If you want to drive a car in the United States, you will need to take out liability cover as part of your car insurance (or auto insurances as the Americans say). This cover is mandatory in all states except Virginia and New Hampshire, to allow you to drive your car on the road.

Do I Have to Insure My Entire Trip? The short answer is: no. The long answer is: Yes, if you want certain benefits. You may cherry-pick from your list of non-refundable, prepaid trip costs to create your travel insurance policy.

How much travel medical insurance do you need? Squaremouth, a travel insurance comparison site, recommends buying at least $50,000 in emergency medical coverage for international travel. For travelers going on a cruise or to a remote destination, the site recommends at least $100,000 in coverage.

Baggage Loss/Delay: This covers your belongings if they are lost or delayed during your trip. Emergency Medical Coverage: This provides coverage if you need medical attention while on your trip. Lost or stolen baggage: This provides cover for your baggage if it is lost or stolen while you are traveling.

Even if you travel within the United States, your policy may not provide coverage out of network. Travel medical insurance can help fill in the gaps while also providing additional coverage to help keep you safe and healthy on your trip.

What does travel insurance not cover? ›

Travelling against medical advice or to get medical treatment. If your doctor says it's not safe for you to travel, then you won't be covered. Similarly, if you go abroad to get planned treatment, sometimes called 'medical tourism', a standard policy will not cover this – you'll need specialist insurance instead.

Assuming you're willing to put in 8 hours a day behind the wheel, it takes 4 to 6 days to drive across America. Let's say 5 hours, on average. At a rock-bottom $30 per day on food, that's a total food cost of $150 per person. As you may recall, $75 per night is a fair average amount to budget for lodging.

This depends on how much time you have and how much you want to see along the way. The shortest amount of time to drive from the West Coast to the East Coast (or vice versa) is between four and six days. This kind of road trip requires eight to 10 hours of driving each day — leaving you little time to make pit stops.

Car Insurance Generally Follows the Car, Not the Driver.

As long as you've got Jessica's permission, it's usually legal to get behind the wheel of her car, even though you're not insured. Why? Because auto insurance generally follows the car, not the driver.

In general, your U.S. car insurance will not cover you while you are abroad (but, some policies may cover you if you are traveling to Canada or Mexico).

Even if someone isn't listed on the policy, they can operate your vehicle. If you explicitly name someone as an excluded driver in your policy, however, none of this applies to them.