How Much Should Travel Insurance Cost? Your Definitive Guide to Travel Insurance Pricing in 2024

Are you planning a trip abroad and wondering how much your travel insurance policy should cost? Well, a lot goes into the cost of insurance premiums, and the final price tag varies dramatically based on your age, health, home country, destination, and other factors.

However, as we'll see, getting insured for your trip generally costs in the ballpark of 4% to 7% of the total cost of your trip (including flights, hotels, shopping, and everything else), so budgeting this amount would be sensible while planning ahead for your trip.

In this short guide, we highlight the factors that influence the final cost of your premium, breakdown the average prices, and reveal the best deals when shopping for travel insurance coverage on your next trip abroad!

What Influences the Cost of Travel Insurance?

The cost of travel insurance varies dramatically, and a lot goes into the final price tag you see on your quote.

From your travel insurer's perspective, the premium they charge you centres around how likely you are to file a claim during your policy period. From your perspective as a customer, this means that the cost is based on the coverage chosen, which includes many factors such as:

• Your age,
• Your home country,
• The length of your trip,
• Whether or not you suffer from pre-existing medical conditions,
• Your destination country or countries (note: travelling to or through the USA raises the cost of your premium substantially),
• Your preferred deductible and coverage limits,
• The specific coverage options you're looking for.

All of these factors and more are weighed up by your insurer before they offer you a quote (a document which details your coverage and gives a monthly premium that you need to pay to be insured).

How Much Does Travel Insurance Cost?

As we've seen, a lot goes into generating a quote for your travel insurance! For this reason, it can be tough to estimate what you can expect to pay in premiums, as the final number can vary so extensively and depend so heavily on your individual situation.

In general, young travellers with no health problems, high deductibles, and low maximum limits can expect to pay between $30 and $80 per month (provided they're not travelling to the US). Conversely, older travellers with low deductibles and high maximum limits probably won't expect to pay less than $200 per month, though the final amount can still be much higher.

Below, we provide the highlights of our pricing analysis of six of the top travel insurers on the market (including Allianz Travel, World Nomads, and others) in which we compared the average quotes for nine fictitious profiles for a policy period of one month (31 days). The numbers show that different ages, risk tolerances, and budgets can impact the final premium in a major way:

The average premiums shown in the chart above equate to a range of 4% to 7% of the total cost of the trip (a number closely in line with other industry analyses). The numbers also clearly show us that the following factors lead to higher premiums:

• Travelling to or through the US,
• Choosing a high maximum coverage limit,
• Choosing a low deductible.

If you're interested, here are a few more estimates of average health insurance costs from other sources:

• 5% to 6% of your total trip cost (Forbes Advisor)
• $271 per month (Nerdwallet)
• $248 per month (Business Insider)

How Much Should Travel Insurance Cost?

Sadly, there's no single specific amount that travel insurance should cost, because as we've seen, the final premium will always depend on the duration of your trip, your destination, your age and health, the level of coverage you need, and sometimes even your insurer and their pricing structure.

We recommend purchasing a travel insurance policy that gives you full coverage for your specific needs — even if it means paying a higher premium. After all, the cost of your insurance policy shouldn't be the only factor you consider: it's more important to ensure that your policy provides sufficient coverage for any unforeseen circumstances that may arise during your trip and to keep in mind the potential financial loss you may incur if you don't take out travel insurance at all.

It's also important to shop around and compare different travel insurance policies to ensure you get the best value. You can do this right on our website! Finally, be sure to read the policy details carefully and understand what is and what isn't covered.

Best Travel Insurance Deals

Without a doubt, some travel insurance providers are cheaper than others. According to our analysis of the pricing of all the top insurers on the market, we've found that Genki and VisitorsCoverage offer the most affordable policies all around. Take a look at their highlights below:

Genki

Genki is an insuretech startup with two one-size-fits-all insurance policies with very good health coverage (though limited travel coverage) at some of the most affordable premiums on the market. Though their standard plan isn't quite as cheap as some of VisitorsCoverage's plans, its low deductible and high maximum limits make it an extremely attractive option for cost-savvy travellers!

• Cost of basic policy (21-year-old): Approx. $38 /month
• Cost of basic policy (35-year-old): Approx. $55 /month
• Cost of basic policy (56-year-old): Not yet insurable
• Customisable deductible: Yes
• Maximum deductible on basic policy: $52.70
• Customisable maximum limit: Yes
• Maximum limit on basic policy: Unlimited

VisitorsCoverage

VisitorsCoverage is an online travel insurance marketplace offering a wide catalogue of affordable travel insurance plans, making it very easy for you to compare and purchase insurance based on your specific needs. Although some of its most affordable policies top Genki in terms of monthly price, be aware they come with very high deductibles.

• Cost of basic policy (21-year-old): Approx. $23 /month
• Cost of basic policy (35-year-old): Approx. $58 /month
• Cost of basic policy (56-year-old): Approx. $111 /month
• Customisable deductible: Yes
• Maximum deductible on basic policy: $5,000
• Customisable maximum limit: Yes
• Maximum limit on basic policy: $5,000,000 /person