Editor Review of AmEx Insurance
The Good: With over 150 years of helping people travel, and decades in the travel insurance business, American Express certainly has experience under their belts. American Express offers bundled products that address all aspects of protecting your trips, including cancellation, medical, delays, accidents, evacuation and more for both domestic and international trips.
The Drawbacks: The American Express site can be difficult to use and travelers can become confused between the travel insurance policies and the credit card travel protection plans. None of their plans offer rental car coverage or coverage for high-risk activities like SCUBA diving, which many travelers are likely to do on a vacation trip.
The Bottom Line: American Express is a trusted name and they offer a brief but well-rounded set of travel insurance package plans with varying limits to meet the needs of nearly every type of traveler.
Company Information
Company Name | AMEX Assurance Company |
|---|---|
| US Travel Insurance Association Member | Yes |
| Refund Policy | 14-day Free Look Period (some plans can be refunded up to the day before departure) |
| Travel Insurance Plans | Package plans Global Travel Shield Classic Global Travel Shield Deluxe Gold Platinum |
| Company Contact Information | AMEX Assurance Company P.O. Box 53701 Phoenix, Arizona 85072 623-492-7675 623-492-3355 Fax |
| Policyholder Questions | 623-492-7675 |
| AMEX Assistance/Emergencies | Inside US/Canada:1-800-332-4899 (toll free) Outside US/Canada: call operator & connect to 303-373-6497 (no charge) |
More about American Express Travel Protection
American Express is a well-recognized name brand, and their AMEX Assurance Company is a trusted provider of travel insurance plans, all of which include coverage for foreign and domestic terrorism, hurricanes, financial default, mandatory evacuations, and more.
AMEX travel insurance plans come with pre-trip planning assistance to help with embassy information, weather forecasts for the insured’s destination, foreign exchange rates, visa and passport requirements as well as vaccination recommendations.
American Express offers four full-featured package plans with no age limits, but their website can be confusing to use partly because American Express Travel Insurance is not available to residents of all U.S. states but also because their plans come with trip length limits.
Optional Coverage Available in American Express Plans
- Cancel for business reasons is offered as an option in the Gold and Platinum plan levels.
Highlights of American Express Travel Insurance
- All AMEX travel insurance plans include coverage for pre-existing medical conditions (with short look-back periods) if the plan is purchased within 14 days of the initial trip deposit.
- All plans include coverage for trip cancellation due to foreign and domestic terrorism (with some conditions).
- All plans include trip cancellation for financial default with a short 7-day wait period.
- None of the AMEX plans offer ‘cancel for any reason’ or missed connection coverage.
- All plans have trip length limits of 31 or 60 days, depending on the plan.
- All plans include trip cancellation and trip interruption, so these are all travel insurance package plans (i.e., not a travel medical plan).
American Express Travel Insurance Plans
Global Travel Shield Classic
This is the plan when you just want basic protection for your trip without spending a lot
This is American Express’ budget plan, with good protection for trip cancellations. The medical coverage limit is not high, but it’s plenty for the standard traveler depending on your destination. This is a basic travel insurance plan to help travelers avoid high financial losses as long as you’re not traveling to a remote location or participating in risky activities.
Global Travel Shield Deluxe
Higher medical coverage without sacrificing the basics
This plan is an excellent blend between a basic plan and the higher priced premium plan, and it offers higher medical expense and evacuation coverage for trips where that’s important to you. The baggage loss limit is also relatively high when compared to other plans, so this plan will help a stranded or injured traveler very well.
Gold
Good travel insurance plan as long as you’re not traveling remotely or adventurously
None of the American Express plans cover risky, adventurous activities, but this is a good plan that will deliver the protection most travelers need. The medical coverage is not high, but it might be right depending on where you’re headed.
Platinum
Nice, well-rounded plan with high medical, evacuation, and delay coverage
This is American Express’ premier plan with high limits for nearly everything. It’s still missing coverage for rental cars and ‘cancel for any reason’ but it’s an affordable full-featured plan for everything the typical traveler needs.
Screenshots from the American Express Travel Protection website
