How Much Is Travel Insurance? (2025)
Travel insurance typically costs between 4% and 8% of your total trip. Several factors affect how much you’ll pay for a travel policy.
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If you’re planning a big trip or overseas vacation, purchasing travel insurance ahead of time can bring some peace of mind. This type of insurance can protect you from unforeseen travel mishaps, such as lost luggage, trip delays, and medical expenses.
You’ll generally pay between 4% and 8% of your total trip costs for a travel insurance policy.1 Many different factors affect travel insurance costs, so it’s important to get quotes from several companies before you buy a policy.
How much is travel insurance?
The cost of travel insurance depends on your destination, trip length, coverage amount, and age. The cost generally falls between 4% and 8% of the total trip expense. Knowing the cost of the trip helps the travel insurance company determine how much a claim might be if something went wrong.
For example, if your trip costs $3,000, your travel insurance will cost between $120 and $240. A trip that costs $10,000 will have insurance costs between $400 and $800.
Shopping around and comparing multiple policies from different insurers is the best way to secure a good deal on coverage and make sure you’re getting a reasonable rate.2 Make sure to understand the coverage details and read the fine print before you purchase a policy.
Types of travel insurance
Travel insurance protects against unforeseen cancellations, delays, medical treatment, and other events that can occur during travel, including some natural disasters. For example, if you spend $4,000 on a cruise but end up canceling due to sickness, travel insurance can help pay for some or all of the travel costs so you can get some of your money back.
What travel insurance covers can vary dramatically depending on your policy type, your coverage limits, and the cost of your trip, but comprehensive policies are the most common. Comprehensive policies typically include coverage for trip cancellations or delays, baggage loss, medical insurance, and a 24-hour phone line for assistance.
Here’s what each type of travel insurance policy covers, including the different aspects of comprehensive coverage.
Factors that affect the cost of travel insurance
Many different factors affect the overall cost of a travel policy, which is a percentage of your total trip cost.
Length of trip
The length of your trip affects how much you pay for travel insurance. Longer trips are typically more expensive to insure because a longer trip means there’s an increased likelihood that something will go wrong.
Destination
Your trip destination is another factor that influences the cost of travel insurance. Where you’re spending time throughout your trip affects how much it might cost for an insurance company to cover a claim. For example, coverage might be more expensive if you’re traveling to a remote site without access to medical care since you may need a policy with medical evacuation coverage. But you might pay less if your destination is a populated area located in the country where you live.
Age of policyholder
Older travelers typically pay more for travel insurance due to an increased likelihood that they’ll file a claim for medical care or cancel a trip due to medical conditions. Insurance companies try to minimize claims, and age is one factor that companies consider since it might indicate certain health conditions. Younger travelers tend to pay less, but that might not always be true since age is only one of many factors that insurers consider.
Add-ons
Most travel insurance companies offer optional coverages that you can add to a standard policy, like a pre-existing condition waiver that covers certain pre-existing health conditions. The more add-ons you choose, the more you’ll pay for a travel policy.
How to find cheap travel insurance
The most effective way to save money on travel insurance is to compare quotes from multiple insurers, as coverage costs range from 4% to 8% of your travel expense.
For example, imagine you have a trip that costs $2,000, and your first insurance quote is $160, or 8% of the total costs. You may be able to halve the coverage price if you keep shopping and secure coverage for $80, or 4% of the total cost.
Booking early could also make you eligible for certain add-on coverages. For example, in order to qualify for coverage for pre-existing medical conditions a travel company may require you to buy your policy within 14 or 15 days of making your first trip payment.3
Here are a couple of other steps you can take to get the best deal on travel insurance:
Find the right coverage amount. Having adequate travel insurance is essential, but you want to find a balance between too much and too little coverage. For example, you may find that you don’t need 24-hour phone assistance and feel comfortable researching information independently. If that’s the case, skip the coverage and save money.
Check your current coverage. Certain credit cards offer travel protection for flights, hotels, and other expenses you pay for with the card. The coverage is often more limited than what you can find with an insurance policy. But if some aspects are covered, it can help lower your policy costs.
Do you need travel insurance?
Travel insurance makes sense in some circumstances. One of the most important factors is whether or not cancellations, medical care, and other unforeseen travel expenses would cause you financial hardship. If so, it’s usually best to opt for travel insurance to protect your finances. But if not, you might be okay to skip the coverage. The only catch is that if you skip it, you must be comfortable paying out of pocket for expenses.
Here are a few examples of when travel insurance might make sense:
You can’t afford airfare home. If you need to shorten your trip due to unexpected medical treatment or another emergency, travel insurance can help pay for the new flight with no additional cost.
Your health insurance won’t provide coverage. Many health plans don’t extend to international travel. If that’s true for you, travel insurance can help fill the gap and ensure you can access medical facilities while traveling in a foreign country.
You can’t pay to replace items in your luggage. If your bag is lost or stolen, travel insurance can help cover the cost of replacing your items.