When people go looking for “travel protection,” they run into a confusing pile of products that all sound alike but do very different things — and range in price from a one-time $450 to more than $5,000. Some cover a living patient’s ambulance ride. Some cover the cost of bringing you home if you die away from home. Some are trip insurance that expires the day your vacation ends. And a few are simply the same underlying plan, resold and marked up through a sales appointment.
This guide sorts them out, with real prices, and explains why the Death Away From Home Plan brought to you by DFS — as a one-time purchase at $450 for an individual, or $875 for a couple — is one of the most transparent and cost-effective options for the specific risk of a death that happens more than 75 miles from home.
If you want a broader, structural buyer’s guide to funeral travel plans, our sister publication US Funerals Online has one here. This article goes further into the players most guides won’t name.
“My husband and I travel so ensuring either one of us could be returned home if we passed while on a trip was of great concern… I found DFS Memorials in my search and spoke with Sara who was very helpful… Because of her and the help she provided, I now have decided what to do and have the peace of mind that my kids will not have to worry about what to do when I pass. Thank you Sara for your help. You made a big difference in my end of life planning experience!”
First, three different products get called “travel protection”
Before you compare prices, understand what you are actually buying. Three distinct products get lumped under the same phrase:
1. Repatriation-of-remains plans. These cover the cost and coordination of returning a deceased person to their home area when death occurs a set distance — almost always 75 miles or more — from home. They are one-time or prepaid, with no age limits and no health questions. The Death Away From Home Plan is this kind of plan, fulfilled by Inman Shipping Worldwide.
2. Emergency medical transport memberships (e.g., MASA). These help pay ambulance and air-ambulance bills for a living patient, and typically include a smaller reimbursement benefit for transporting remains. They are ongoing memberships priced monthly, annually, or as an expensive “lifetime.”
3. Trip travel insurance. Trip-based, expires when the trip ends, priced by age and health, and any repatriation benefit is usually capped and conditional.
And the two things most people assume will cover them — Medicare and credit-card travel perks — generally do not pay to transport remains home. We cover exactly why in this guide, so we won’t repeat it all here: the short version is that Medicare is for medical care while you are alive, and it stops at the U.S. border and at the moment of death.
The Away From Home Travel Protection Providers, Compared
Prices below are the best figures publicly available as of August 2026. Where a provider does not publish prices, we say so — because that lack of transparency is itself part of the story.
| Plan / provider | What it is | Price | Pricing transparency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Death Away From Home Plan | Repatriation of remains (Inman-fulfilled) | $450 individual / $875 couple, one-time lifetime | Published openly |
| Travel Plan by Inman (direct/trade) | Repatriation of remains | ~$450 | Sold through resellers/funeral homes |
| Neptune Society (SCI) | Prepaid cremation network; resells a travel add-on | Cremation memberships from ~$1,995; travel add-on reportedly ~$600 | Not published — quote only |
| MASA (MTS) | Emergency medical transport membership | $63/mo or $5,200 lifetime (single); $80/mo or $6,400 lifetime (family) | Published |
| Sepio Guard | Repatriation plan via funeral homes | ~$500 | Sold via funeral home |
| APASI Freedom To Go | Repatriation plan | ~$450–$525 | Reseller sets retail price |
| SafelyHome Protection (NorthStar) | Repatriation plan | Quote only | Not published |
| Treasured Memories | Repatriation plan | ~$250 wholesale | Funeral home sets retail |
The Neptune Society ‘Travel Plan’ Add-On
Neptune Society is one of the largest cremation brands in the country — and it is owned by Service Corporation International (SCI), the largest publicly traded death-care company in North America. Neptune sells prepaid cremation memberships (typically starting around $1,995) and, notably, does not publish its prices — you get a quote through a sales appointment.
Here is what prompted this article. A customer who recently enrolled with us had been offered a “travel protection” add-on through Neptune Society — and the salesperson named Inman as the provider. She was quoted roughly $600 for it, layered onto a cremation package.
That is the same Travel Plan by Inman we offer directly for $450, with the fulfiller named openly.
Two things are worth sitting with:
- It is a marked-up resale of a third-party plan. The underlying Inman plan retails around $450. Bundling it into a package at roughly $600, through an appointment, with no published pricing, means a consumer pays more and cannot easily compare.
- A national cremation network arguably should not need to. This is our view, and we will say it plainly: SCI’s brands operate one of the largest funeral and cremation networks in the country. For a domestic traveler, that network could, in principle, coordinate a return directly. Reselling a third-party repatriation plan at a markup — rather than fulfilling through its own network — is hard to justify on the consumer’s behalf.
As a matter of public record, we would also note that SCI’s Neptune and Trident brands were sued by the California Attorney General in 2019 over the handling of prepaid cremation funds, with the state alleging roughly $100 million was improperly taken from prepaid customers. We mention it not to sensationalize but because how prepaid money is held, and whether prices are disclosed, are exactly the questions a buyer should ask before folding any add-on into a preneed package.
MASA: useful, but a different travel protection product at a very different price
MASA (MASA MTS) is the biggest name in emergency medical transportation memberships, and it is a genuinely useful product. It helps pay ambulance and air-ambulance bills for a living member, and its membership does include a reimbursement benefit for transporting a member’s remains if death occurs more than 100 miles from home.
But look at the price structure, from MASA’s own published rates: an Emergency Shield Plus membership is $63 a month for an individual — about $756 every year, for life — or $5,200 as a one-time “lifetime” single membership ($6,400 for a family). And MASA pays by reimbursement: your family fronts costs and files for eligible expenses.
For the specific risk of a death away from home, a dedicated repatriation plan does that one job completely — full coordination, no reimbursement paperwork for your family — for a one-time $450. Many travelers will sensibly want MASA or travel insurance for medical emergencies while alive and a repatriation plan for the worst case. They solve different problems. But if your concern is “will my family be able to get me home,” you do not need to spend $5,200 to answer it.
Why $450 once is a genuinely sound long-term plan for anyone who travels
The math is the point.
- It is one-time. No renewals, no monthly drain, no age-based increases — ever.
- Compare the alternatives over a retirement of travel. MASA’s lifetime single membership is $5,200; its monthly option is roughly $756 a year, indefinitely. Travel insurance is repurchased every trip and priced higher every year as you age, and it lapses the moment you forget to renew before a trip.
- Over ten or twenty years of snowbirding, cruising and visiting family, a single $450 payment versus recurring memberships or per-trip premiums is not a close call.
- It cannot lapse at the wrong moment. Coverage is in force for life from the day you enroll.
What makes the Death Away From Home Plan different
- Direct-to-consumer. Enroll online in minutes — no funeral-home appointment, no preneed sales meeting.
- A transparent, published price. $450 individual, $875 couple. To our knowledge, among the resellers of the Inman plan, we are the only one that publishes a fixed price this openly and names Inman as the fulfiller.
- Real fulfillment behind it. The plan is carried out by Inman Shipping Worldwide, a mortuary repatriation specialist operating since 1978, and plan obligations are backed by a contractual liability insurance policy.
- Sensible terms. Coverage activates 75+ miles from home, worldwide, with no age limit and no medical questions.
You can read more about who fulfills the plan and why we sell it directly on our About page, and see real funeral shipping cost examples here.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same plan Neptune Society or a funeral home would sell me?
The repatriation benefit is the Travel Plan by Inman — the same underlying plan. The difference is that we offer it directly, at a published $450, and tell you plainly that Inman fulfills it.
Does MASA or travel insurance make this unnecessary?
No — they are different products. MASA and travel insurance focus on medical transport and trip costs while you are alive. A repatriation plan handles the specific, expensive job of bringing you home if you die away from home. Many travelers keep both.
Will Medicare pay to bring me home?
No. Medicare covers medical care while you are alive and largely stops at the U.S. border; it does not pay to transport remains.
Protect your family for a one-time $450. Enroll in the Death Away From Home Plan, or call us with any questions at (646) 466-8877.
I have been researching and writing about the death care industry for the past fifteen years. End-of-life services and experiences are topics most people avoid thinking about until they must face them. My work provides comprehensive and independent resources for families, explaining the workings of the funeral industry, the laws governing funeral practices, and the death care trends that impact consumers. With a BA in Cultural Studies, I bring a unique perspective to analyzing cultural death care rituals, complemented by a career background in Business Management. The death care industry is undergoing significant changes, which I find fascinating. The shift towards cremation services and the emergence of sustainable alternatives like aquamation and human composting are of particular interest. I am also intrigued by how technology is reshaping the funeral planning process and experience. I write for US Funerals Online and DFS Memorials LLC, and contribute to various forums and publications within the death care industry.
