Travel Insurance Estimator

What travel insurance actually covers

Travel insurance is usually three coverages bundled into one policy: trip cancellation/interruption, medical emergency coverage abroad, and baggage/personal property. The medical piece is by far the most valuable — a routine emergency-room visit in the US can cost $3,000–$10,000 for a non-resident, and emergency medical evacuation from a remote area can exceed $100,000. Most domestic health insurance plans provide little or no coverage outside the home country; many travel-insurance claims are filed for the medical coverage and almost none of those travellers expected to need it.

How premiums are calculated

• Trip cost — the cancellation/interruption portion is a fixed percentage of insured trip cost, typically 4–10%.
• Traveller age — premiums roughly double between ages 30 and 65, then rise sharply.
• Destination — US, Switzerland, and Japan are the most expensive regions to insure because medical costs are highest.
• Trip length — longer trips cost more, but not linearly. Annual multi-trip policies are cheaper than three single-trip policies for frequent travellers.
• Coverage tier — basic vs comprehensive vs cancel-for-any-reason. CFAR is typically 40–60% more expensive than comprehensive and only refunds 50–75% of trip cost.
• Pre-existing conditions — coverage requires a "look-back" waiver, available only if you purchase within 14–21 days of initial trip deposit.

When travel insurance pays off — and when it does not

1. Pays off — international trips with significant medical exposure (adventure activities, remote destinations, older travellers), non-refundable prepayments (cruises, package tours), cruise itineraries (evacuation from a ship is expensive).
2. Does not pay off — short domestic trips where existing health insurance covers medical, fully-refundable bookings, low-cost flights you would be willing to forfeit.
3. Often duplicates existing coverage — many premium credit cards (Chase Sapphire Reserve, Amex Platinum) include trip cancellation, baggage delay, and rental car CDW.

Reading the policy before you buy

• Covered reasons for cancellation — standard policies cover illness, injury, death of self or family, employer termination, jury duty. They generally do NOT cover changing your mind or work conflicts (that is the "any reason" upgrade).
• Medical limits — $50,000 minimum is usually too low for US travel; $100,000+ is the safer floor. Evacuation coverage of $250,000+ is standard for adventure and remote trips.
• Exclusions — intoxication, extreme sports, pre-existing conditions outside the waiver window, war/civil unrest in named regions, pandemics in some 2020-era policies (newer ones generally cover COVID-19).
• Claim documentation — original receipts, medical reports, police reports for theft. Without them, even legitimate claims get denied.

Sources & assumptions

Checked on 10 October 2026. A typical 10-day trip to Europe costing $3,000 for one 35-year-old comes out at about 6.4% of the trip cost here, inside the published ranges below.

• US Travel Insurance Association: FAQ — travel insurance generally costs 4–8% of the total trip cost, depending on trip length, destination and age.
• NAIC: travel insurance — policies usually cost 5–10% of the trip price; cancel-for-any-reason cover refunds 50–75% and adds close to 50% to the cost.
• USTIA market study (2025) — Americans spent $5.56 billion on travel protection in 2024.

Our assumptions: the daily medical rate and the destination, age, duration and activity multipliers are illustrative figures we chose, not an insurer’s rate table.