AXA Travel Insurance Review: Is it Worth The Cost?

AXA Assistance USA travel insurance offers three comprehensive plans with a wide variety of customizations. Although plans are on the expensive side, the benefits that they offer allow for complete peace of mind while traveling, no matter what you’re doing.

AXA offers travel insurance in more than 30 countries. With over 20 years of experience, AXA is well-regarded and features generally favorable reviews. It boasts an A+ Financial Strength Rating (FSR) from AM Best, which ranks companies in the insurance industry. This is the second-highest score available and marks AXA as superior.

AXA travel insurance coverage is pretty comprehensive. Although its less expensive plans offer fewer features, in general you can expect AXA travel insurance medical coverage as well as a range of travel protections.

• AXA health insurance coverage: Provides either primary or secondary emergency medical care, depending on which plan you choose. 

• Trip cancellation and trip interruption: Reimburses you for nonrefundable expenses incurred when your trip is canceled or interrupted for a covered reason. 

• Emergency evacuation: Covers you for costs incurred as a result of an evacuation for a medical emergency. 

• Baggage protection: Reimburses you for lost luggage or the cost of buying new items in the event your luggage is delayed. 

• Missed connection: Offers coverage for expenses incurred as a result of missing your connection. 

Note that the more expensive your plan, the more inclusions you have. This includes unusual coverages, such as reimbursement for sports equipment rentals, lost golf rounds and pet boarding fees.

Add-on options

AXA offers just two options for add-ons, and they’re pretty limited. The Gold and Platinum plans allow you to opt in to rental car insurance. The Platinum plan also includes the ability to purchase Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) insurance.

» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now

AXA’s travel insurance protections are fairly broad, but there are some things that AXA won’t cover. For example, the Silver plan doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, while the higher-tier plans do. This can be important for those with illnesses or injuries that may flare up during their vacation.

Other exemptions will generally include:

• Epidemics. 

• Adventure activities (unless specifically included with your plan).

• Storms after they’ve been named. 

• Anything that happens while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 

On a 5-star scale, NerdWallet rated AXA 1.5 stars.

A sample trip for a 36-year old traveler from Indiana to Canada for 5 days found that the cheapest AXA plan cost $168. If you were to spring for the premium plan, which increases your coverage limits, expect to pay $235.

When looking across multiple providers, 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 AXA Assistance USA travel insurance cost? The cost is going to depend on a few factors, including where you’re going, the cost of your trip, your age, where you live and how long your vacation will be.

To test the waters, we created a sample trip for a 53-year-old from Arizona traveling to Cyprus for two weeks. The total trip cost was $3,200.

There’s not a huge difference in cost between the Silver plan and the Platinum plan, though they’re both fairly expensive. That being said, the Platinum plan comes with all kinds of inclusions that the Silver plan is missing.

Purchasing an AXA policy is simple and can be done online or via the phone. To do so over the phone, call 855-327-1441.

Online, you’ll simply need to navigate to AXA’s homepage. From there, you can generate a quote using your trip information, including:

• State of residence.

• Destination.

• Departure and return dates.

• Date you made your first deposit.

• Age.

• Trip cost.

• Number of travelers.

AXA will then pop out a quote for all three of its plans. From there, you can select the one you like and go through the checkout process.

Consider comparison shopping

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

The plan that best suits your needs is going to depend on your travel habits. If you’re planning a more expensive vacation with a lot of moving parts, the higher-end Platinum plan may be a good fit. This is especially true if you’re looking to rent sports equipment, want to add on CFAR insurance or have a pet.

If you are in relatively good health and are really looking for trip protections for your vacation, the Silver plan is less expensive but still offers a broad array of coverages.

Yes, AXA offers 24/7 travel services:

• Within the United States: 855-327-1442.

• Outside the United States: 312-935-1719.

• Via email: [email protected].

You can file a claim online via the self-service site. Otherwise, you can call 888-957-5015.

Is AXA Assistance USA travel insurance good? Overall, yes, the plans that it offers provide coverages on par with other insurance companies. Its Platinum plan in particular offers options that you won’t generally find elsewhere.

To decide whether an AXA travel insurance policy is good for you, you’ll want to crunch some numbers and generate a quote. If your peace of mind is valuable to you, purchasing a policy may be a good idea.

Be aware that many credit cards come with complimentary travel insurance, so before you purchase a plan, it’s a good idea to check if this is offered by your card.