Do Families Need Travel Insurance for Banff?
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All photos in this post were taken by me during our trip. I love capturing real experiences to give you an authentic look at what to expect.
The short answer is no, travel insurance is not required for families to travel to Banff from the US. But after spending a night in the ER with our son, we would 100% recommend it.
Our son had a minor snowboarding accident in Banff last spring, and we were so thankful to have travel insurance because our medical insurance doesn’t provide benefits outside of the US.
He ended up with a broken shoulder and needed imaging and treatment. The craziest part was that we were reimbursed 100% of our hospital costs from the travel insurance after we filed a claim.
It was such a relief to be able to get our son the care he needed and to know we weren’t going to have to cover the costs out of pocket.
Hospitals and emergency rooms don’t usually make the itinerary, but as a mom I always make sure we have the ability to visit one no matter where we’re traveling.
Let’s go over why travel insurance is important, how to purchase insurance, how to file a claim, and a few situations where purchasing travel insurance might not make sense.
Why Families Need Travel Insurance for Banff Trips
Medical Benefits
Like we said earlier, travel insurance is not required to travel to Banff, but it is essential if your medical insurance doesn’t cover medical costs in Canada. No one plans to get hurt, but it’s such a huge cost risk and one that can easily be avoided.
Banff is definitely a family-friendly destination, but it is filled with adventurous things to do where you can easily get injured. In winter you can ice skate, ski, snowboard, snowshoe, sled, hike up snowy mountains or on icy trails, drive on snowy and icy roads – you get the idea – a lot of wintery conditions.
All of these are really fun adventures that you should absolutely do as long as you respect the danger and make sure you have medical coverage. We were fortunate that our son’s injury was minor.
There was another tourist at the ER with us who broke their leg on an icy trail, and it required emergency surgery. The staff were trying to help them figure out if they had insurance through any of the cards they used to book the trip.
Moral of the story – always hike icy trails with ice spikes and make sure you have travel insurance.
Don’t risk thousands in hospital bills — compare family travel insurance plans before you head to Banff.
Rental Car Insurance for Banff
If you plan to rent a car in Banff, you’ll need rental car insurance. Some US car insurance companies have this included in their policies, so be sure to call and ask! Our policy includes rental car coverage in the US but not internationally.
Many travel credit cards include rental car coverage as part of their benefits. You can always reach out to customer support and make sure your destination is covered.
In order to access the benefits, your rental car needs to be booked using the travel credit card. We used the Venture X card to book our rental car and car insurance was included!
Booking third-party with a site like Expedia is also a good option. They allow you to add coverage at the time of booking, and it is often much less than through the rental companies.
If you aren’t able to take advantage of any of these options, you can purchase it directly through the rental car company but it is often a pricier option!
Booking your rental car through Expedia? Add travel insurance coverage at checkout to ensure you’re protected.
Should You Get Trip Cancellation Insurance for a Banff Vacation?
Another piece to consider is how often plans change when you have kids. We also joke that they’re little germ factories. We’ve had to cancel trips before for broken bones, catching viruses, and required school events we didn’t know about ahead of time.
If your plane tickets, hotel stays, and excursions are non-refundable, then purchasing trip insurance with a cancellation policy is a great idea!
How to Buy Family Travel Insurance for Banff
There are a few ways you can get travel insurance for your trip. The best choice depends on how you’re booking and what kind of coverage you need. Policies vary so be sure to read the terms and conditions before purchasing the policy to make sure it includes the benefits that you need!
Not sure which insurance option makes the most sense for your family? Here’s a quick comparison to help you choose:
| Option | What It Covers | Best For | Try It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Card Travel Insurance (e.g., Capital One Venture X) | Trip delays, rental car coverage, some medical | Frequent travelers using points or miles | 👉 Get the Venture X Card |
| Booking Site Add-On (e.g., Expedia) | Flight + hotel + trip cancellation | Budget-friendly, one-time trips | 👉 Add Travel Insurance via Expedia |
| Standalone Policy (e.g., Generali) | Emergency medical, trip cancellation, 24/7 support | High-adventure trips or minimal coverage elsewhere | 👉 Compare Family Plans with Generali |
Included with Travel Credit Cards
Several of the major bank travel credit cards include travel insurance as part of their card benefits. When you put your travel purchases on the credit card, all of those purchases fall under their travel insurance policy.
Capital One and Chase have several cards that offer robust travel insurance policies with their travel cards! The Capital One Venture X is our favorite card that comes with this perk!
We booked our rental car with the Capital One Venture X — it came with rental insurance included, and saved us hundreds in fees.
Add on to Travel Purchases
This is the method we used to get travel insurance for our family for our Banff trip. It cost us $56 to add trip insurance to our flights when we booked with points through the Delta website. This policy covered over $1k of emergency room costs that we would have otherwise had to pay out of pocket for!
Most major airlines, hotels, and third-party booking websites like Expedia offer an option to add trip insurance to your purchase at checkout.
Book Directly with a Travel Insurance Company
A few times we have booked a full travel policy directly with a company. This is especially useful when staying at small boutiques or family run hotels where adding on insurance isn’t an option.
If you are frequently booking last minute spontaneous trips, it can be great to have an annual policy that covers all trip expenses for the year. This is something we’re considering in 2026 to have a blanket policy to cover all of our travels!
How to File a Claim
We’ve had to file claims at least 3 times now, and it has been incredibly easy. When you buy or add on a travel insurance policy, you get an email with the documentation for your trip insurance. There’s usually a link inside to reach out to the travel insurance company or file a claim.
Or you can go directly to the website and click the ‘File a Claim’ button. It will ask several questions and ask you to attach the appropriate documentation (doctor’s notes, hospital bills, booking details).
Typically the claim then goes into review. We’ve heard back typically within 2 weeks if our claim was approved, denied, or they needed more information. Once the claim is approved, you’ll be asked to submit payment details.
We received our payout through Zelle within minutes of our claim being approved after we set up our payment credentials. It was wild! The entire process was really smooth.
If you are needing medical care while on a trip, be sure to ask for the paperwork needed to file an insurance claim. The Banff hospital had a packet already prepared for us when we were discharged. Being an adventurous destination I guess they see tourist injuries a lot!
Tips for Using Travel Insurance
This most important part of choosing a travel insurance policy is knowing what’s covered. Be sure to read the fine print to know who and what is covered during your trip.
There are often strict cancellation policies, rental car restrictions, and medical cost limits. So just make sure to read through it and know what you can file for and what you can’t.
I like to take screenshots of the policy information so I have quick access to it on our trip, even if I don’t have service! I also usually have a note in my Notes app with all of the policy numbers and the customer service number in case I need to call.
When Families Might Not Need Travel Insurance in Banff
We almost always add travel insurance to our trips, but there are a few scenarios where it doesn’t make sense. Check your current insurance policies and travel cards to see if any of these situations apply to you.
I wouldn’t recommend purchasing additional travel insurance if:
- Your travel credit card already includes a robust policy
- Your medical insurance covers medical costs at your destination
- Your stay and flights already have free cancelation
If all of the above are true, an additional travel insurance policy wouldn’t be needed.
Protect Your Family on Your Banff Adventure
Planning ahead and protecting our family with travel insurance did save us over $1,000 in medical costs, but having the peace of mind knowing our family was covered was priceless to me!
Want peace of mind while adventuring in Banff? Get covered now with our go-to family travel insurance provider.
We booked our Delta flights with points we earned from our Delta Gold Card directly on the Delta website. We then had access to super affordable travel insurance during checkout!
We booked our rental car through Expedia on our Venture X card, so rental coverage was included, and we didn’t have to pay the premium through the rental agency.
Points and miles are a great way to save on costs when you travel and get bonus perks like travel insurance! Hop over to our Banff on a Budget post to see how we budgeted for our Banff trip, or to our Banff on Points + Miles post if you want to see the travel cards we used to book Banff!