Tin Leg Travel Insurance: An In-Depth Review

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Before finalizing your travel plans, look into various insurance policies to safeguard yourself against potential risks. Travel insurance is an invaluable resource that can protect you from many unforeseen issues, but not all companies provide the same level of coverage. And some companies’ policies may cost more than others.

That’s where Tin Leg Travel Insurance comes in. Created by travel agency Squaremouth, Tin Leg offers eight different plans with varying coverage levels and benefits, with the option to add Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) coverage to select plans. Keep reading to see if Tin Leg is the right travel insurance for you.

Overview of Tin Leg Travel Insurance

Tin Leg is a travel insurance provider founded in 2014 by travel insurance aggregator SquareMouth. With eight different plans, Tin Leg is one of the providers listed in our guide on the best travel insurance companies, specifically for travelers with pre-existing conditions. We chose Tin Leg because seven of its eight plans offer pre-existing condition waivers, with a 15-day purchase window and no extra cost.

That said, Tin Leg has other coverages that are noteworthy. Its coverage limits for emergency evacuation go up to $1 million, which is great particularly if you have nautical travel plans as water-to-land rescues can be costly.

Additionally, sports equipment loss is included with seven of Tin Leg’s eight plans. However, you will need to call for more information on adventure sports, as Tin Leg doesn’t guarantee coverage.

Tin Leg’s Travel Insurance Plans

Tin Leg travel insurance offers eight travel insurance plans: Economy, Basic, Standard, Luxury, Adventure, Silver, Platinum, and Gold. Each plan offers varying levels of protection that correspond to the premium costs.

Here’s a look at what you’ll get with each plan. We’ve split the eight plans into two tables to make things easier to follow.

Here’s how the Adventure, Silver, Platinum, and Gold plans compare:

Additional Coverage Options

Tin Leg travel insurance offers additional coverage options, but they’re only available on specific plans.

You can add rental car damage coverage to the Luxury plan for an additional fee. And both the Gold and Silver plans allow you to add on CFAR (cancel for any reason) coverage. With CFAR coverage travel insurance, you can cancel for any reason not listed in the base policy and be reimbursed — in the case of Tin Leg, for 75% of your trip costs.

How to Purchase and Manage Your Tin Leg Policy

Tin Leg Travel Insurance Cost

Travel insurance coverage varies greatly, and the amount you pay reflects the range of protection. However, since travel insurance protects your financial investment, it’s typically worth spending a few extra dollars for higher coverage maximums, especially for medical insurance and evacuation expenses.

Getting a quote from Tin Leg travel insurance is an easy process. You can do so from their website or an insurance aggregator like SquareMouth. You should be prepared to provide the following information:

• Number of travelers
• Age of traveler(s)
• Duration of trip
• Whether you want trip cancellation coverage
• Trip cost
• Date of booking
• If you have any trip payments left to make
• One country you’re traveling to
• Country of residence/citizenship

After inputting some personal information, such as your age and state of residence, along with your trip details, like travel dates, destination, and trip costs, you’ll get an instant quote for the plans available for your trip. And from there, it’s easy to compare each option based on your coverage needs and budget.

Now let’s look at a few examples to estimate Tin Leg’s coverage costs.

As of April 2024, a 23-year-old from Illinois taking a week-long, $3,000 budget trip to Italy would have the following  Tin Leg travel insurance quotes:

Premiums for Tin Leg plans are between 1.8% and 3.9% of the trip’s cost, well below the average cost of travel insurance. It’s also relatively cheap compared to many of its competitors

Tin Leg provides the following quotes for a 30-year-old traveler from California heading to Japan for two weeks on a $4,000 trip:

Once again, premiums for Tin Leg plans are between 3.4% and 5.2%, below the average cost for travel insurance.

A 65-year-old couple looking to escape New Jersey for Mexico for two weeks with a trip cost of $6,000 would have the following Tin Leg quotes:

Premiums for Tin Leg plans are between 6.9% and 9.4%, which is roughly in line with the average cost for travel insurance. This is to be expected, as travel insurance is often more expensive for older travelers.

How to File a Claim with Tin Leg Travel Insurance

One exceptionally nice aspect of Tin Leg is that you can report a claim online or over the phone. You can contact Tin Leg’s claims department at 844-240-1233 or by email at claims@tinleg.com. It’s available on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET.

You’ll be asked to fill out a claims form that asks about your trip details and the issue you faced. Tin Leg will then ask you to file supporting documents related to your claim. If you’re filing a claim because you canceled a flight due to an illness, they’ll likely require medical documentation that supports this claim. 

Tin Leg Customer Service and Support Experience

Tin Leg is well reviewed, receiving an average of 4.6 stars out of five on SquareMouth across nearly 3,800 reviews. Reviews on its Better Business Bureau are consistent with its SquareMouth score, also averaging 4.6 stars across over 110 reviews, admittedly a limited sample size. Additionally, Tin Leg is not certified with the BBB.

While most customers reported a smooth and speedy claims service, some noted that communication from Tin Leg during the process can be spotty. Additionally, customers complained about their claims being denied due to requirements they were unaware of when purchasing coverage. One customer wrote about how they had to cancel a trip because of work, but hadn’t been working at their company long enough to qualify for trip cancellation coverage.

Compare Tin Leg Travel Insurance

See how Tin Leg travel insurance stacks up against the competition. 

Tin Leg Travel Insurance vs. AIG Travel Guard

To compare Tin Leg travel insurance to Travel Guard, we’ll consider the coverage limits from their highest-rated, Gold and Travel Guard Deluxe plans, respectively.

With AIG Travel Guard’s Deluxe plan, you’ll get:

• Trip cancellation coverage up to $150,000
• Trip interruption coverage up to $225,000
• Emergency medical coverage of $100,000
• Coverage for baggage loss, theft, or damage up to $2,500
• Travel delay coverage of up to $1,000

Comparing those coverages with Tin Leg’s Gold plan, you’ll see that AIG’s coverages are better than Tin Leg’s in all areas except one – emergency medical. While AIG offers emergency medical coverage of $100,000, Tin Leg’s coverage limit is $500,000 (in primary coverage).

If the medical coverage piece is what’s most important to you, Tin Leg would be the right choice in this scenario. That said, having $100,000 in emergency medical coverage is nothing to scoff at, so it may come down to comparing premium costs.

Remember that the premium costs will depend on the traveler’s age, trip destination, and trip cost. So you’ll need to compare these two insurers using your trip-specific information to get a solid idea of the costs associated with each plan.

Read our AIG Travel Guard insurance review here.

Tin Leg Travel Insurance vs. Allianz Travel Insurance

Both Allianz Travel Insurance and Tin Leg travel insurance offer a variety of travel insurance plans designed for different types of travelers with varying types and degrees of coverage.

In this comparison, we’ll look at Allianz Travel Insurance’s most popular single-trip plan, the OneTrip Prime plan, compared to Tin Leg’s Basic plan.

With Allianz Travel Insurance’s most popular single-trip OneTrip Prime plan, you’ll get:

• Up to $100,000 in trip cancellation coverage
• Up to $150,000 in trip interruption coverage
• $50,000 in emergency medical coverage
• Up to $1,000 in coverage for baggage loss, theft, or damage
• Up to $800 in travel delay coverage

In looking at Tin Leg’s basic plan, you’ll find that these two policies offer the same $50,000 coverage limit for emergency medical. Still, Allianz Travel Insurance’s plan exceeds Tin Leg’s in the other coverage limits. That said, you’ll have to quote both of these policies using your personal trip information to make an informed decision, especially if cost is the most important factor to you.

Read our Allianz travel insurance review here.

Tin Leg Travel Insurance vs. Credit Card Travel Insurance

Do you have a travel credit card? If so, consider the type of insurance coverage it may (or may not) offer. Some basic coverages, like primary rental car insurance, are provided through your credit card’s travel protection. And if you don’t need medical coverage or don’t have a lot of non-refundable trip expenses, the coverage offered by your credit card could suffice.

That said, don’t forget that credit card coverage is sometimes considered secondary coverage. That means you’ll have to file a claim with any other applicable insurer before filing a claim with your credit card company.

Read our guide on the best credit cards with travel insurance here.

Tin Leg Travel Insurance FAQs

Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Tin Leg

To review Tin Leg travel insurance, we looked at several different factors. These included premium costs, coverage categories, and claim limits. In addition, we compared the policies and premiums available through Tin Leg to those from the best travel insurance providers to see how they stack up — and also considered any additional add-on coverages available and the ease of getting a quote and filing a claim.

In the end, the best policy for you will be the one that provides the coverage you need and limits you’re comfortable with while also staying within budget.

Read more about how Business Insider rates insurance products here.