Family Trip Insurance Takes to the Road

When most of us think “travel insurance,” we’re apt to see airplanes and cruise ships and exotic locations. But a new plan that made its debut this month covers something more modest: the family road trip.

Travel Guard International, a Wisconsin-based company that claims to be the largest travel insurer in the U.S., offers a “Travel America Plan” that adds roadside assistance to the usual menu of coverages, such as trip cancellation and interruption, medical expenses and emergency medical evacuation and hotel overbooking.

Unlike traditional plans, which are usually priced per person and vary by the age of the insured and trip cost, the Travel America Plan is $65 for one or two people (regardless of age), $109 for three or four and $17 extra for each additional person. It covers trips up to 14 days within the U.S. and Canada only and limits payouts for trip cancellation to $1,000, said company spokeswoman Carol Mueller. (800) 826-1300, www.travelguard.com.