How much does travel insurance cost?
Read the guide: Cheap Travel Insurance: How to Pay Less Without Losing Coverage
The working rule: 4 to 8 percent of the trip cost
A package plan, the kind that covers cancellation, medical care abroad and the flight home, usually costs 4 to 8 percent of the money you have prepaid for the trip. A basic plan with low medical limits can come in under 4 percent. A top plan with high limits and the Cancel For Any Reason upgrade can pass 10 percent. Here is what that looks like in dollars.
| Prepaid trip cost | Basic plan (under 4%) | Mid-range plan (4 to 8%) | Top plan with Cancel For Any Reason (can pass 10%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000 | Under $80 | $80 to $160 | $200 or more |
| $5,000 | Under $200 | $200 to $400 | $500 or more |
| $10,000 | Under $400 | $400 to $800 | $1,000 or more |
| $20,000 | Under $800 | $800 to $1,600 | $2,000 or more |
Those are ranges, not quotes. The price for your trip depends on three things, and the only way to see it is to enter the trip once and let every plan price it.
What sets the price
| What sets the price | Which way it pushes | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Trip cost | Up with the cost | Cancellation pays back 100 percent of what you insured, so a bigger trip is a bigger promise. |
| Ages of the travelers | Up with age, in steps | Older travelers file more medical and cancellation claims. Children are free on some plans (Travel Guard, Travel Insured, Travelex, Allianz). |
| Length of the trip | Up with the days | More days abroad means more days the medical and evacuation benefits are on the hook. |
| Medical and evacuation limits | Up with the limits | A plan with $500,000 of medical costs more than one with $50,000. This is the difference between a basic plan and a top one. |
| Cancel For Any Reason | Up, noticeably | The upgrade refunds 75 percent for reasons no policy lists, and it is priced on top of the plan. |
| Where you are going | Little, on most plans | The plans we compare price on the three things above; the destination mostly decides which plans are offered. |
Notice what is not on that list. Your health does not change the price: plans do not ask medical questions, and a pre-existing condition is handled by the waiver rule, not by a higher premium. Whether you have had claims before does not change it either.
Why two plans on the same trip can be $100 apart
The cancellation benefit is nearly the same on every plan: 100 percent of the insured trip cost for a listed reason. What you are paying for as the price climbs is the medical and evacuation limits, which run from $10,000 to $500,000 for medical and $50,000 to $1,000,000 for evacuation across the plans we compare, plus extras like primary medical coverage, higher baggage and delay limits, and children travelling free.
So the cheapest plan on the list is not a bargain if it carries $10,000 of medical and you are leaving the country; a hospital week abroad can pass $100,000. Set the medical limit you need first ($100,000 abroad, $250,000 or more for a cruise or a traveler over 65), then take the cheapest plan that clears it. The cheap travel insurance guide shows where the real savings are.
See every top plan priced for your trip
Enter your trip once and every top plan comes back side by side, priced for your dates. Same price as buying direct.
See plans & pricesAbout 60 seconds. Nothing to sign up for.Ways to pay less without losing coverage
Insure only money you cannot get back: refundable flights and hotels do not go on the policy. Pick a plan whose children-free rule fits your family. Skip Cancel For Any Reason if every reason you might cancel for is already on the policy’s list. Do not buy the cruise line’s or the airline’s plan without pricing it against the comparison, since the same money often buys higher limits elsewhere. And use the free look period, usually 10 to 15 days, to return a plan you bought in a hurry.
What the plans say
Every one of the 54 plans on the comparison is priced from the trip cost, the ages of the travelers and the trip length, and the quote shows the price of every plan side by side for the same trip, at the same price as buying from the insurer directly. Adding Cancel For Any Reason changes the price on the quote before you buy, so you can see the difference for your own trip. Every plan has a free look period of 10 to 15 days when you can return it for a full refund if you have not left or filed a claim.
Questions people also ask
What is the average cost of travel insurance?
There is no useful average, because the price is set by your trip cost, your age and your trip length. The working rule is 4 to 8 percent of the prepaid trip cost for a package plan: $200 to $400 on a $5,000 trip. Run the comparison for your own trip and the range is there in about 60 seconds.
How much does annual travel insurance cost?
A flat price per person for a year of trips. Travel Insured’s Annual Multi-Trip Protector is $94 an adult and $64 a child, for example, and other annual plans are in the same region. They are built around medical and evacuation and mostly do not cover cancellation, which is why they are cheap. The annual travel insurance guide compares them.
How much does travel medical insurance cost?
A standalone travel medical plan is priced by the day, the medical limit you choose, the deductible and your age, and it is often a few dollars a day, because it carries no cancellation coverage. Inside a package plan the medical benefit is included in the price.
Related answers: Do I need travel insurance? · Do I have to insure the full cost of my trip? · Cancel For Any Reason guide
Sources: the 54 plans on the CoverTrip comparison and the insurers’ plan pages, checked 12 and 13 September 2026; Travel Insured International, Annual Multi-Trip Protector pricing.
See every top plan priced for your trip
Enter your trip once and every top plan comes back side by side, priced for your dates. Same price as buying direct.
See plans & pricesAbout 60 seconds. Nothing to sign up for.Related
Damian TysdalDamian Tysdal is the founder of CoverTrip, and is a licensed agent for travel insurance (MA 1883287). He believes travel insurance should be easier to understand, and started the first travel insurance blog in 2006. About CoverTrip.