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Licensed Realtor with 10+ years in personal finance content
Contributor to Nasdaq and USA Today
Daria is a licensed Realtor and resort property manager specializing in personal finance, real estate, and insurance topics. In her spare time, she practices photography.
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Licensed auto and home insurance agent
3+ years experience in insurance and personal finance editing
NPN: 20564519
Katie uses her knowledge and expertise as a licensed property and casualty agent in Massachusetts to help readers understand the complexities of insurance shopping.
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International travel insurance can protect you against losses from unexpected mishaps before and during your trip. You’ll have to buy it if you’re traveling on a Schengen visa in Europe. Several countries outside of Europe also require visitors to have international travel insurance.[1]
Regardless of your trip’s destination, travel insurance can save you from major out-of-pocket expenses for medical care, missing baggage, and trip cancellation or interruption.
Here’s what you should know about international travel insurance, including types of coverage, average costs, and tips for choosing the right plan.
Standard travel insurance policies exclude pre-existing medical conditions, risky activities, and epidemic-related travel concerns.
International travel insurance generally costs 5%–10% of your trip’s total price.
You can save money on travel insurance by using credit card benefits, selecting a higher deductible, and avoiding unnecessary coverage.
International travel insurance reimburses you for covered travel expenses not refunded by travel providers. It can kick in if you have to delay, interrupt, or cancel your trip because of an emergency. It can also take effect if you have a mishap while traveling.
In addition, it may cover emergency medical expenses you incur overseas — expenses Medicare and Medicaid won’t cover.[2] Private insurers also might limit coverage for care you receive while traveling abroad.[3]
With healthcare, hotel, and airfare costs on the rise, an international travel insurance policy can save you thousands of dollars by covering forfeited bookings and medical expenses you’d otherwise have to pay for out of pocket.
Delaying, interrupting, or canceling your trip could mean forfeiting expensive travel you’ve already paid for. And if you suffer a mishap during your trip, you might face significant out-of-pocket costs.
For example, travel insurance can help you avoid out-of-pocket costs if you incur an injury during your stay. If you need to return to the U.S. for treatment, travel insurance can help you avoid out-of-pocket costs for emergency evacuation and the cost of your unused hotel stay.
Here are some other reasons you might need travel insurance:
Emergency medical treatment
Emergency evacuation or repatriation
Trip delay, interruption, or cancellation
Lost or delayed baggage
Lost passport
Find a plan to fit your trip and travel style
Coverage varies between travel insurance types and plans, but your coverage may include the following:
Trip delay, interruption, and cancellation: Trip delay insurance and trip cancellation insurance protect against emergencies that happen before you leave. Trip interruption insurance can cover mishaps while you’re on the trip.
Emergency medical care: Travel insurance pays for emergency care your insurance doesn’t cover.
Emergency medical evacuation: If you need transportation to an adequate medical facility, emergency medical evacuation coverage pays the cost.
Non-medical evacuation: This protects you if you have to leave your travel location because of political or security threats.
Baggage protection: Baggage benefits cover lost luggage and the cost of necessary personal items in the event of baggage delay.
24/7 assistance: This gives you 24/7 customer service for help with just about any emergency.
As you shop for insurance, compare policy deductibles, coverage limits, and premiums from a few different insurers.
Travel insurance usually excludes certain situations. Here are common ones:
Pre-existing medical conditions: Travel medical insurance usually excludes pre-existing conditions, but some plans offer optional waivers.
Risky activities: Most policies exclude high-risk activities, except perhaps as an add-on.[4]
Epidemics and pandemics: Travel insurance might cover the illness, but it won’t cover travel concerns, even if the State Department issues an advisory.
War: Travel insurance usually excludes declared and undeclared war activities.
Intentional, illegal, and negligent acts: Most policies exclude coverage for willful, negligent, or illegal acts.
You should always read a plan’s exclusions and coverages before you buy it.
Travel insurance typically ranges from 5% to 10% of your total trip cost.[5] Premiums for international coverage are often higher than domestic plans because of costly services abroad. Several other factors affect how much you pay for international travel insurance, including the following:
Home state
Age
Destination
Duration of stay
Coverage limits
Add-ons, such as pre-existing-condition waivers and cancel-for-any-reason (CFAR) coverage
Choosing the right international travel insurance requires some research to make sure you get the right balance of cost and coverage. The following steps walk you through the process:
Determine your coverage needs. If your credit card covers delays, interruptions, and cancellations, travel medical insurance might be all you need.
Read through plans. Look into top travel insurance providers, such as Allianz, Travelex, and World Nomads. Each offers several levels of coverage.
Review policy limits and exclusions. Think through what coverage you need and make sure the plan you’re considering includes it.
Consider add-ons. Decide whether to add 24/7 assistance, waivers for pre-existing medical conditions, CFAR insurance, or other optional coverages.
Compare quotes. Request quotes from the insurers with the plans that best meet your needs, then compare prices and coverages.
Purchase coverage. Buy the insurance as soon as possible after booking your travel to maximize pre-departure benefits, such as trip delay coverage.
Customize your coverage and find affordable trip insurance
Thanks to the variety of plans international travel insurance providers offer, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get good coverage. The following tips can help you save money on your policy:
Compare price quotes and coverages from multiple insurers to find the best value on the coverages you need most.
If you travel frequently, consider whether an annual travel insurance plan might be more cost-effective than purchasing multiple single-trip plans.
Book your trips with a credit card that provides travel benefits, then avoid duplicating those benefits when you buy your insurance.
Consider selecting higher deductibles to reduce your travel insurance premiums.
Avoid buying more coverage than you need. For example, CFAR coverage might be unnecessary if your trip is inexpensive or allows for refunds if you cancel.
The following information can help answer your remaining questions about international travel insurance.
Sometimes. You legally have to buy it to get a Schengen visa. Several non-Schengen countries also require some level of coverage. You can search your destination’s insurance requirements on the U.S. Department of State website.[6]
Medicare and Medicaid cover only care received in the U.S. Private insurers might cover emergency treatment, but they typically won’t cover emergency medical evacuation abroad.
Possibly. Most policies base eligibility on how long after booking your trip you purchase your travel insurance and how long after purchasing travel insurance you request the waiver. Also, you must be medically fit to travel.
Cancel-for-any-reason coverage partially reimburses trip cancellations for reasons not otherwise covered. It has limits and restrictions on when you can cancel, so read the details carefully.
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Daria Uhlig is a freelance writer and editor with over a decade of experience creating personal finance content. Her work appears on USA Today, Nasdaq, MSN, Yahoo Finance, Fox Business, GOBankingRates and AOL. As a licensed Realtor and resort property manager, she specializes in real estate topics, including landlord, homeowners and renters insurance. In her spare time, Daria can be found photographing people and places on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
Daria has been a contributor at Insurify since October 2022.
Licensed auto and home insurance agent
3+ years experience in insurance and personal finance editing
NPN: 20564519
Katie uses her knowledge and expertise as a licensed property and casualty agent in Massachusetts to help readers understand the complexities of insurance shopping.
Featured in
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