How Much Does Travel Insurance Cost?

Travel insurance for a $5,000 trip costs $204 on average, or 4.1% of your trip cost. Prices vary significantly based on your age and coverage level, ranging from as low as $89 for basic protection to over $600 for premium plans with maximum benefits.  See the cost factors below to learn how much travel insurance will cost for you. 

Most travelers choose basic or comprehensive coverage since premium plans often exceed the coverage needed by younger, healthy travelers.  Seniors are the biggest buyers of premium plans that have higher medical coverage.

Cost by Travel Insurance Coverage Category:  

• Basic travel insurance plans cost $125 on average and are a good choice for domestic trips or travelers with good existing health insurance. These plans provide trip cancellation and basic medical coverage but may leave gaps for serious emergencies.
• Comprehensive travel insurance plans average $227 and has the best value for international travelers. The extra $100 over basic coverage buys much higher medical limits and evacuation protection.
• Premium travel insurance plans average $345 and include maximum medical coverage plus extra optional add-ons like Cancel for Any Reason benefits. While expensive, these plans make sense for costly trips, adventure activities, or travelers who want complete peace of mind.

Travel insurance cost increases as the cot of your trip increases. A $50,000 trip costs $1,450 to insure compared to $98 for a $2,500 trip.  

The cost of travel insurance rises with trip value because insurers must pay for canceled flights, hotels and activities when covered events happen. Expensive trips create more financial risk for insurance companies, who charge higher travel insurance prices to cover potential payouts. Luxury trips also involve destinations with costly medical care, increasing the average cost of travel insurance.

Travel insurance cost decreases as a percentage of trip value as amounts increase. Young travelers pay 2.9% to 3.9% of their trip cost, while seniors pay 5.8% to 7.9%. Seniors consistently pay double the travel insurance prices across all trip values, but the percentage difference narrows slightly on expensive trips.

Higher medical coverage plan limits translate into higher travel insurance cost.  Travel insurance costs range from $43 to $230 for $50,000 or less medical coverage.   Cost ranges from $229  to $459 for maximum $500,000 coverage on a $5,000 trip.   

Seniors and adventure travelers need higher medical coverage since complications abroad can easily exceed $50,000. As you can see below, seniors pay about 2 times more for travel insurance than young travelers.

Your domestic health insurance typically provides limited international coverage, often requiring upfront payment and later reimbursement, making travel insurance important for managing costs during emergencies.

Travel insurance increases based on the age of the traveler.  Insurance companies charge seniors more due to higher medical risks and claim frequencies. Age-related health complications, medication needs and longer recovery times create higher costs for insurers, who pass these expenses to older travelers through age-based pricing.

• Senior travelers pay more for travel insurance, with 65-year-olds paying $394 compared to $197 for 20-year-olds.
• By age 75, average travel insurance costs are $552 or a 180% increase compared to young travelers.  
• On average the cost of travel insurance for young travelers is between 3 and 4% of their to trip cost and senior pay 8 to 11% of their trip cost.

Seniors should shop for travel insurance differently than younger travelers. Compare quotes across multiple companies since age cost impacts vary widely. Insurers like World Nomads have flat-rate pricing regardless of age and other companies use steep multipliers. Focus on comprehensive medical coverage since emergency treatments abroad can exceed basic policy limits.

Travel insurance costs vary by destination based on healthcare expenses, political stability and evacuation complexity. Prices range from a $200 baseline for low-risk destinations to $290 for high-risk countries, up to 45% cost increase for identical coverage.

Developed countries with stable healthcare systems like Canada ($200), the UK ($205) and Western Europe maintain standard to low premium pricing.  Countries with limited medical infrastructure have the highest travel insurance cost, with India ($275), Brazil ($285) and Morocco ($290) costing 37% to 45% more than the baseline due to expensive medical evacuations and higher claim frequencies.

Cancel for Any Reason costs an extra 40% to 60% on top of your base travel insurance cost.  The average incremental cost is $72 for a trip valued at $2,500 and $90 for a trip cost of $5,000.  CFAR reimburses about 75% of your trip cost, depending on your policy details, if you cancel your trip for any reason. 

Is the extra travel insurance cost for CFAR worth the partial travel reimbursement?

• CFAR makes the most financial sense on expensive trips where even 75% recovery justifies the added cost. For a $20,000 trip, paying an extra $408 for CFAR could return $15,000 if you cancel for non-covered reasons.
• CFAR cost is harder to justify on smaller trips. For a $2,500 vacation, you'd pay an extra $72 to potentially recover $1,875.  Most travelers overestimate their likelihood of needing CFAR, making comprehensive coverage without CFAR a better value for standard trips.
• The table below gives you the breakeven percentage change of cancelling to make the incremental CFAR cost make sense.

Annual travel insurance costs $62 to $722 per year depending on coverage limits and covers unlimited trips with individual trip limits up to 30 to 45 days each. Your annual cost depends on the maximum trip cancellation coverage you choose.  Plans with $1,250 limits cost around $148, while $10,000 limits cost $722.

Break-even analysis shows annual plans make financial sense for most travelers taking two or more trips yearly. A single $5,000 trip costs roughly $200 for comprehensive coverage. An annual plan with $5,000 trip limits costs $362, covering unlimited trips throughout the year.

Five main factors determine your travel insurance cost, with age and trip value creating the largest price differences. Our analysis of over 1,500 quotes will help you understand how much each factor affects your travel insurance cost.

Our travel insurance cost analysis gives us expert insight into how to lower your travel insurance cost.  See the strategies below to save on travel insurance and get the right coverage: 

1. Buy within 14 to 21 days of booking to unlock pre-existing condition waivers and CFAR eligibility at no extra cost. Waiting eliminates these benefits and can increase your travel insurance cost significantly.
2. Compare across coverage tiers, not just companies: Our data shows comprehensive plans sometimes cost just $18 more than basic coverage while delivering significantly better protection, improving your travel insurance cost-to-value ratio.
3. Choose annual policies for multiple trips: Annual coverage breaks even at 1.8 trips per year, reducing your average travel insurance cost by $238 to $358 annually for frequent travelers compared to individual trip policies.
4. Skip CFAR unless you have specific concerns: CFAR adds 40% to 60% to travel insurance prices but only reimburses 75% of trip costs. Standard comprehensive coverage handles most cancellation scenarios at full reimbursement while keeping travel insurance cost lower.
5. Match medical coverage to your actual risk: The cost of travel insurance increases substantially with higher medical limits, so healthy travelers with good domestic health insurance can choose $50,000 limits safely, while seniors or adventure travelers need $100,000+ coverage.

MoneyGeek analyzed over 1,500 travel insurance quotes from 13 major insurance companies to determine average costs across coverage tiers, age groups, and trip scenarios. We gathered quotes for single travelers, couples, and families across trip cost levels ($2,500 to $50,000) and ages (20-50, 65, and 75).

Our analysis covered 42 unique travel insurance plans, categorizing them into basic ($15,000-$50,000 medical coverage), comprehensive ($100,000-$150,000 medical coverage), and premium ($250,000+ medical coverage) tiers based on medical coverage limits and evacuation benefits.

We collected quote data for multiple scenarios including domestic and international destinations, Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) coverage, annual multi-trip policies, cruise-specific plans, and adventure sports coverage. All quotes represent actual premiums from September 2025.

Average costs were calculated using all available quotes within each category, with age-based pricing derived from direct company quotes rather than industry estimates. Destination pricing analyzed 30 countries to identify regional cost variations. The comprehensive dataset enables accurate cost projections across traveler demographics and trip characteristics.