Travel Insurance Cost Calculator
Estimate the cost of travel insurance coverage based on your prepaid trip cost, scaled by traveler age band, destination risk tier, and selected coverage level. Use it before international trips, cruises, and any large prepaid bookings to gauge whether comprehensive coverage is worth the premium.
Last updated: May 2026
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About this calculator
The estimate is premium = round(tripCost * ageMultiplier * destinationMultiplier * coverageMultiplier), where each multiplier reflects industry pricing patterns. Variables: tripCost is total non-refundable prepaid expenses (flights, hotels, cruise fares, tours) in your reporting currency; ageMultiplier rises non-linearly with age band (typically 0.05 for under-30, 0.06 for 30-50, 0.08 for 50-65, 0.12 for 65-75, 0.18 for 75+); destinationMultiplier accounts for medical-cost geography (1.0 for domestic, 1.2 for Europe, 1.5 for North America from abroad due to high US medical costs, 1.8 for adventure / remote destinations); coverageMultiplier scales with policy comprehensiveness (1.0 for basic medical-only, 1.5 for medical + trip cancellation, 2.0 for cancel-for-any-reason "CFAR" coverage). Typical real-world premiums land between 4% and 12% of trip cost. Edge cases: pre-existing condition waivers usually require purchase within 10-21 days of initial trip deposit and add 10-15% to premium; cruise-specific policies often run 50% higher due to evacuation-cost exposure; "primary" medical coverage (pays first, without coordinating with your home health insurance) costs 20-30% more than "secondary"; CFAR typically reimburses 50-75% of trip cost rather than 100% even when triggered. The calculator gives a planning-level estimate; actual quotes vary by carrier, deductible, and exclusions like extreme sports or pregnancy - always confirm with a real quote before assuming the number.
How to use
Example 1 - $4,000 European trip, age 35, comprehensive coverage with trip cancellation. Approximate multipliers: 0.06 (age 30-50) * 1.2 (Europe) * 1.5 (comprehensive) = 0.108. Estimated premium = 4000 * 0.108 = $432, or about 10.8% of trip cost. Verify against the rule of thumb that comprehensive policies typically run 5-10% of trip cost - $432 is on the high end but reasonable for a $4,000 fully-prepaid international trip. Compare with at least one real quote from InsureMyTrip or Squaremouth before purchase; quotes for the same coverage commonly vary by 30-50% across carriers. Example 2 - $10,000 Caribbean cruise, age 68, CFAR coverage. Multipliers: 0.12 (age 65-75) * 1.5 (international with cruise loading often treated similarly to NA-from-abroad here) * 2.0 (CFAR) = 0.36. Estimated premium = 10,000 * 0.36 = $3,600, or 36% of trip cost. That is much higher than a typical cruise policy (real CFAR cruise coverage for that age typically runs 12-18% of trip cost, so $1,200-$1,800); the calculator's age multiplier is conservative and CFAR multiplier is broad. Verify by pulling a real quote; the calculator is a sanity check, not a substitute. Even at $1,500, CFAR is expensive - only buy it if you have a non-trivial chance of needing to cancel for a reason not covered by a standard policy (work conflict, change of heart).
Frequently asked questions
When is travel insurance actually worth buying versus skipping?
Travel insurance pays off when the trip cost is large and non-refundable, when you are traveling internationally with limited home-country medical coverage, when you are taking a cruise (medical evacuation from a ship can cost $50,000-$150,000), or when you have a meaningful chance of needing to cancel (older traveler, family member with health issues, business commitment that could pull you back). For a $300 domestic weekend trip, the math rarely works - even a 10% comprehensive policy ($30) buys little practical coverage versus self-insurance. For a $15,000 international tour or cruise, especially over age 60, the math almost always works because the worst-case downside (cancellation due to illness, hospitalization abroad, evacuation) can be 10-50x the premium. The cleanest test: would losing the entire trip cost meaningfully affect your finances? If yes, insure it. If no, self-insure.
What does CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) coverage actually pay out, and is it worth the extra cost?
CFAR typically reimburses 50-75% of your prepaid trip cost - not 100% - for cancellations that fall outside the named-perils list of a standard policy (e.g. you change your mind, work demands keep you home, a destination becomes less appealing). It must usually be purchased within 14-21 days of your initial trip deposit and adds 40-60% to the premium of a standard comprehensive policy. CFAR is most valuable when there is a specific non-medical scenario you fear (a pending court date, a complicated work project, geopolitical uncertainty at the destination) where a standard policy would not pay. For most travelers, the high premium and partial reimbursement make CFAR worse than self-insuring a deposit-loss buffer. Read the fine print: CFAR usually requires cancellation more than 48 hours before departure and excludes cancellations after you have started traveling.
Does my credit card's travel insurance replace a standalone policy?
Premium travel cards (Chase Sapphire Reserve, Amex Platinum, Capital One Venture X) include trip cancellation, trip delay, baggage delay, and rental car coverage when you charge the trip to the card. These are real benefits but have important gaps: emergency medical coverage is usually limited or absent, evacuation coverage is capped at $100k or lower (vs $500k+ for standalone), and cancellation triggers are narrower than a comprehensive standalone policy. For domestic US travel by a healthy person under 50, credit card coverage is often enough. For international travel with significant medical exposure (e.g. a 70-year-old to Southeast Asia, anyone on a remote expedition), the gap matters: medical-only standalone policies start at ~$50 for a 1-week trip and complement card coverage well. Always read your card's actual benefits guide rather than assuming - coverage limits change and have downgraded on multiple major cards in 2024-2025.
What are common mistakes when buying travel insurance?
The most common mistake is waiting until just before the trip to buy: most policies require purchase within 10-21 days of the initial deposit to include the pre-existing-condition waiver, which is often the reason coverage would actually trigger. Another frequent error is buying based on price alone - the cheapest policies often have low medical caps ($25k vs $250k), exclude common scenarios, or have aggressive co-insurance and deductibles that gut a claim payout. People often double-cover (credit card + standalone + employer travel insurance) without realizing the policies coordinate as secondary to each other, wasting premium on duplicate coverage. Failing to read the named-perils list before buying is the most common reason claims are denied - a "comprehensive" policy does not cover everything, and exclusions like extreme sports, COVID-19 surges, or known epidemics in the destination region are widespread. Finally, not declaring pre-existing conditions during the quote process invalidates the entire policy at claim time.
When should I NOT buy travel insurance?
Skip it for short domestic trips with mostly refundable bookings (Southwest tickets, refundable hotels) - there is little to insure. Skip it if you have generous credit card coverage on a card you used for the booking and your trip falls inside that coverage scope (typical for healthy under-50 travelers on a Chase Sapphire Reserve domestic trip). Skip it for trips where the worst-case loss is small relative to your finances; self-insuring is more efficient than paying 5-10% premium on a low-stakes trip. Avoid policies that bundle features you do not need (rental car coverage if you have a personal auto policy that covers rentals; baggage coverage if your homeowner's insurance covers personal property worldwide). Finally, never buy single-trip insurance from the airline or cruise line at checkout - those policies are typically the worst value on the market, with high premiums and narrow coverage compared to independent quotes.