TL;DR – Quick Summary: Travel insurance premiums in 2025 average $414 for comprehensive coverage and $92 for medical-only plans, according to industry data. The biggest savings come from five strategies: insuring only your non-refundable trip costs (not the total trip value), comparing multiple providers rather than accepting the first quote, using credit card travel insurance to supplement or replace standalone policies, choosing annual multi-trip policies if you travel three or more times per year, and avoiding add-ons you genuinely do not need. Higher cost does not reliably mean better coverage the right policy is one that matches your specific risk profile at the lowest available premium for that coverage level.
Why Travel Insurance Costs Have Risen
Travel insurance premiums have increased meaningfully over the past three years, driven by a convergence of factors that have raised the industry's expected claims liability. Average trip costs have risen 24% year-over-year into 2025, with the average trip now valued at approximately $7,249 according to industry surveys. Because premium pricing for comprehensive plans typically scales as a percentage of insured trip cost generally between 4% and 10% rising trip prices directly translate to higher absolute premiums even when the underlying coverage rate remains unchanged.
Climate-related travel disruptions have also increased in frequency, elevating trip cancellation and interruption claims. Global health uncertainty has kept emergency medical coverage utilization elevated above pre-pandemic baselines. Combined, these factors have created a premium environment where consumers must be more deliberate than ever in matching coverage to genuine need rather than purchasing broad comprehensive policies reflexively. The good news is that the strategies available to reduce premiums are well-established and genuinely effective when applied correctly.
Understanding What Drives Your Travel Insurance Premium
Travel insurance premiums are calculated based on a specific set of risk factors that providers use to assess their expected claims exposure. Understanding these factors is the foundation of any cost reduction strategy, because each one represents a potential lever to pull. The insured trip cost is typically the largest single driver premium scales directly with the dollar value you ask the policy to protect. Your age affects premium significantly, as older travelers present higher medical claims risk. The destination country matters because medical treatment costs and evacuation expenses vary dramatically across geographies. Trip duration is a linear driver longer trips generate proportionally higher premiums for time-sensitive coverages. Any declared pre-existing medical conditions can increase premiums substantially, though the impact varies by condition severity and provider underwriting approach. Finally, the specific coverage tiers and add-ons you select have a direct, controllable impact on premium cost.
Strategy 1: Insure Only Your Non-Refundable Costs
The single most impactful and underutilized cost reduction strategy is insuring only the portion of your trip that you would actually lose if forced to cancel — not the total cost of the trip. Travel insurance's trip cancellation benefit reimburses non-refundable, prepaid expenses. Refundable bookings, fully flexible hotel rates, and expenses you could recover through other means require no insurance protection because there is no financial loss to protect against.
Consider a trip with a total cost of $5,000, of which $2,000 is a fully refundable hotel booking and $500 is a flight with a known change fee of $200. Your actual at-risk cost is $2,800 not $5,000. Insuring $2,800 instead of $5,000 can reduce your trip cancellation premium by 40% to 50% with no meaningful reduction in actual financial protection. When booking travel, deliberately seek refundable or partially refundable options and maintain a clear accounting of which expenditures are genuinely at risk in a cancellation scenario.
Strategy 2: Compare Providers Before Every Purchase
Travel insurance premiums for identical or near-identical coverage levels can vary by 50% to 100% between providers for the same traveler, trip, and destination. This variance exists because providers use different actuarial models, have different risk appetites for specific traveler profiles and geographies, and target different market segments with their pricing strategies. A provider that is cheapest for a young traveler taking a short domestic trip may be the most expensive option for a 60-year-old traveling to Southeast Asia for three weeks.
The practical implication is that comparing at least three to five providers through a travel insurance comparison platform before every policy purchase not just your first consistently produces meaningful savings relative to accepting the first quoted price. Comparison platforms aggregate live quotes from multiple providers and allow side-by-side evaluation of both price and coverage terms. The critical discipline is comparing equivalent coverage, not just lowest price: a $50 policy with $25,000 in emergency medical coverage provides meaningfully less protection than a $75 policy with $250,000 in medical coverage for an international trip.
Strategy 3: Leverage Credit Card Travel Insurance
Many premium travel credit cards include embedded travel insurance benefits that are activated when you use the card to pay for qualifying trip expenses. These benefits can include trip cancellation and interruption coverage, trip delay reimbursement, baggage delay and loss coverage, and sometimes emergency medical coverage at no additional premium cost beyond the annual card fee you are already paying. For travelers who already hold an appropriate card, using these embedded benefits either supplements or entirely replaces the need for a standalone travel insurance policy on certain trips.
However, credit card travel insurance requires careful evaluation. Coverage limits are frequently lower than standalone policies particularly for emergency medical, which is the most financially consequential coverage for international travel. Most credit card policies provide $0 to $10,000 in emergency medical, while standalone policies for international travel routinely provide $100,000 to $500,000. Most U.S. health insurance plans provide little to no coverage overseas, making adequate emergency medical coverage non-negotiable for international trips. Where credit card coverage is used, verify it explicitly covers your destination, your trip length, and that the activation requirements typically paying for at least a portion of the trip with the card have been met.
Strategy 4: Choose Annual Multi-Trip Coverage for Frequent Travelers
For travelers making three or more international trips in a calendar year, an annual multi-trip policy almost always delivers better value than purchasing separate single-trip policies for each journey. Annual policies cover all trips taken within a 12-month period up to specified per-trip duration limits commonly 30, 45, or 60 days per trip. The administration overhead and per-policy fixed costs are absorbed across the entire year's travel, reducing the effective per-trip cost substantially compared to per-trip purchasing.
Annual multi-trip policies also offer a convenience benefit beyond pure cost: once purchased, coverage is automatic for every qualifying trip without requiring a new purchase, new documentation, or new pre-departure decisions. For business travelers or individuals with family abroad who travel regularly, this removes friction and eliminates the risk of forgetting to purchase coverage before a trip. The breakeven point where the annual policy becomes cheaper than individual trip policies typically falls at two to three trips per year for most traveler profiles, though this varies by age, destination geography, and coverage level required.
Strategy 5: Eliminate Add-Ons You Do Not Actually Need
Comprehensive travel insurance policies offer a range of optional add-on coverages that can increase premiums by 20% to 50% above base policy cost. These add-ons include Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) coverage, adventure sports or extreme activity coverage, high-value electronics or equipment coverage, rental car damage protection, and identity theft assistance. Each has legitimate value for specific traveler situations and zero value for travelers who do not face the specific risk it covers.
Cancel for Any Reason coverage typically the most expensive add-on, adding up to 50% to the base premium reimburses up to 75% of non-refundable trip costs for cancellations that would not otherwise be covered. It is valuable for travelers with genuinely uncertain schedules or high-stakes trips they may need to cancel for personal reasons that standard policies would not cover. It is an expensive premium addition for travelers who cancel rarely and whose cancellation scenarios would likely be covered by standard trip cancellation provisions anyway. Similarly, adventure sports coverage is necessary for travelers who plan skydiving, mountaineering, or motorsports activities, and irrelevant cost for travelers whose activities are confined to standard tourist experiences.
Strategy 6: Buy Early to Lock In Pre-Existing Condition Coverage
Purchasing travel insurance within 14 to 21 days of making your first trip deposit the exact window varies by provider is typically required to qualify for pre-existing medical condition coverage. This waiver, which removes or substantially reduces the underwriting exclusion for conditions that existed at the time of purchase, is a valuable benefit for any traveler with a health history. Missing this window means potentially paying the same premium for a policy that excludes your most likely medical claim scenario.
Beyond the pre-existing condition waiver, early purchase provides a longer protection window for trip cancellation coverage meaning if a covered event forces cancellation before the trip begins, the policy is in force to cover those losses. Trips cancelled before a policy is in place receive no coverage, regardless of the reason. From a pure cost perspective, early purchase does not reduce premiums, but it increases the value of the same premium by expanding the effective coverage period and unlocking pre-existing condition protections.
Strategy 7: Consider Medical-Only Coverage for Low-Cost Trips
For trips where the at-risk financial investment is modest a domestic weekend trip, a budget international trip with few non-refundable bookings a medical-only or emergency evacuation-only policy may provide the most critical protection at a fraction of comprehensive plan costs. Comprehensive policies averaging $414 compare to medical-only plans averaging $92, according to industry comparison data. If trip cancellation and baggage losses represent modest financial exposure that you could absorb without significant hardship, a medical-only policy concentrates premium spend on the category of loss that is most catastrophically expensive and least likely to be covered by existing coverage.
Strategy 8: Travel Off-Peak to Reduce Premiums
Travel insurance premiums are influenced by the seasonality of claims risk. Traveling during peak seasons when severe weather, over-capacity transportation systems, and higher incidence of travel disruptions are more frequent corresponds to higher expected claims frequency that providers price into their premiums. Off-peak travel to a destination avoiding the Caribbean during hurricane season, traveling to Europe outside of summer peak, or choosing shoulder-season dates in popular destinations can reduce premiums modestly while also improving the travel experience through reduced crowding and lower base travel costs, which further reduces the total insured trip value.
Coverage You Should Never Skip to Save Money
Certain coverage elements should never be reduced or eliminated in pursuit of premium savings, regardless of how low the probability of a claim seems. Emergency medical and emergency evacuation coverage are non-negotiable for any international trip. Most U.S. health insurance plans provide zero coverage outside the country, and traditional Medicare covers no overseas medical costs under most circumstances. Emergency evacuation from a remote location can cost $50,000 to $300,000 or more a financial catastrophe that no traveler should risk. Trip cancellation and interruption coverage is essential when non-refundable prepaid costs are substantial. The cost of being stranded by an unexpected event without reimbursement protection is almost always higher than the premium required to cover it. Eliminating these core coverages to save $20 or $30 on the premium represents an exchange of small certain savings for large uncertain but potentially devastating losses.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest type of travel insurance?
Medical-only or emergency evacuation-only policies are the cheapest category of travel insurance, averaging approximately $92 per trip compared to $414 for comprehensive plans, according to industry data. They are appropriate for travelers whose primary concern is catastrophic medical costs abroad rather than trip cancellation or baggage loss. For trips with significant non-refundable investments, comprehensive coverage provides better total financial protection despite the higher premium.
Does travel insurance cost more the older you are?
Yes. Age is one of the most significant premium-driving variables in travel insurance underwriting, reflecting the higher expected medical claims frequency and severity among older travelers. Premiums can increase substantially after age 60 and again after 70. Older travelers should be especially diligent about comparing multiple providers, as premium variance across providers for older age brackets is often wider than for younger travelers, creating greater potential savings from thorough comparison.
Can I use credit card travel insurance instead of buying a separate policy?
Sometimes, but with important limitations. Credit card travel insurance frequently provides adequate trip cancellation, trip delay, and baggage coverage for domestic or short international trips where emergency medical exposure is limited. However, for international trips where emergency medical costs could be substantial particularly outside of Western Europe most credit card policies provide insufficient emergency medical limits (typically $0 to $10,000) compared to standalone international travel insurance (typically $100,000 to $500,000 or more). Verify your specific card's coverage terms before relying on it exclusively for international travel.
Is it cheaper to buy travel insurance directly from an insurer or through a comparison site?
The underlying premium for a given policy is typically the same whether purchased directly from the insurer or through a comparison platform. Comparison platforms earn commissions from insurers rather than adding fees to the consumer. The practical value of comparison platforms is that they reduce the time required to identify the cheapest appropriate policy from hours of individual research to minutes of parallel comparison. For most travelers, using a comparison platform before each purchase is the single most efficient premium-saving action available.
When is the best time to buy travel insurance to get the best price?
Travel insurance premiums are not typically lower when purchased early versus late the price for a given policy is determined by the risk profile of the trip and the traveler, not by purchase timing within the allowable window. However, early purchase is financially advantageous for two reasons: it activates a longer trip cancellation coverage window and, critically, it typically qualifies the traveler for pre-existing medical condition waivers that require purchase within 14 to 21 days of the first trip deposit. Missing this early purchase window does not reduce premium but materially reduces coverage value for travelers with any health history.
