Travel Insurance Calculator
Travel insurance genuinely varies by where you are going, how long for, and whether you travel once a year or several times — and getting the destination category right matters more than almost any other input, since it directly determines your medical cover limit, the exact protection you would need most in a genuine emergency abroad. This calculator estimates your premium and shows what cover you would actually get.
Travel Insurance Calculator
Estimate travel insurance costs based on your trip and medical profile.
Why the USA Genuinely Needs a Different Cover Limit
Medical costs in the United States are dramatically higher than almost anywhere else in the world — a week in a US hospital can genuinely cost £50,000 to £150,000, and a serious emergency involving surgery or an air ambulance home can run considerably higher still. This is precisely why cover including the USA and Canada carries a considerably higher medical limit than European or worldwide-excluding-USA policies, and why travelling to the US on a policy without adequate cover for this specific risk is genuinely one of the more dangerous financial gaps in travel planning — medical debt from a US emergency has bankrupted UK travellers who assumed a standard policy would be enough.
This is worth checking with genuine specificity before any trip involving the USA or Canada, even a brief stopover — selecting the correct destination category on a policy, rather than the cheaper Europe or worldwide-excluding-USA option, is the single most important decision in ensuring cover actually matches the real risk of the trip.
When Annual Multi-Trip Genuinely Pays Off
A single European trip costs roughly £38.61 to insure, while an annual multi-trip policy covering the same destination costs roughly £117.98 — meaning the break-even point sits at around three separate trips in a year. Below that, individual single-trip policies are typically cheaper overall; at three or more trips, an annual policy becomes the better value, and it also removes the hassle of arranging cover separately before every departure. This is worth genuinely calculating against your own realistic travel pattern for the year ahead, rather than defaulting to whichever type feels more familiar.
This break-even point shifts depending on your specific destination and circumstances, so it is worth running both options through this calculator for your own genuine travel plans rather than assuming the same three-trip threshold applies universally regardless of destination or age.
The Cost of Not Declaring a Pre-Existing Condition
Declaring a pre-existing medical condition adds a genuine, often significant loading to the premium, but not declaring one you are required to disclose is considerably more serious — it can invalidate your entire policy, not just the claim related to that specific condition, leaving you with no cover at all if something goes wrong during the trip, related or unrelated to the undisclosed condition. The higher premium for genuine disclosure is a real cost, but it is the cost of the policy actually being valid when you need it, which is worth remembering when a non-disclosed quote looks more attractive.
Some insurers specialise specifically in cover for travellers with pre-existing conditions and may offer more competitive rates for accurately declared conditions than a standard mainstream insurer would, which is worth exploring directly if a standard policy’s loading feels prohibitively expensive, rather than being tempted to simply not declare the condition.
What Standard Cover Actually Includes
Beyond emergency medical treatment, standard travel insurance typically includes cancellation cover — commonly £3,000 to £10,000 — protecting the cost of a trip if you genuinely cannot travel, and baggage cover, commonly £1,500 to £3,000, for lost or damaged luggage. These limits are worth checking against your own actual trip cost and belongings value rather than assuming a standard policy automatically covers everything in full; a particularly expensive trip or valuable items may need additional cover beyond the standard limits. Our Gadget Insurance Calculator is worth checking if you are travelling with a specific high-value item like a laptop or camera that might exceed standard baggage limits, and our Emergency Fund Calculator is useful for a broader look at whether your general savings buffer could genuinely absorb an unexpected cost if you were to travel without cover.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my EHIC or GHIC card replace the need for travel insurance in Europe?
No — a GHIC or EHIC provides access to state healthcare at the same cost as a resident in many European countries, but it does not cover private treatment, repatriation, or the cancellation and baggage protection a genuine travel insurance policy provides.
Does travel insurance cover cancellation due to illness before the trip?
Standard cancellation cover typically includes illness or injury preventing you or a close family member from travelling, though it is worth checking your specific policy’s exact wording, since some circumstances are more commonly excluded than others.
Is winter sports cover always a separate add-on?
Yes, typically — skiing, snowboarding and similar activities usually require specific winter sports cover as an add-on to a standard policy, since the injury risk is genuinely different from typical holiday activities.
Does age affect single-trip cover more than annual cover?
Yes — single-trip premiums rise steeply at higher ages, up to several times the standard rate for the oldest travellers, while annual multi-trip loadings, though still present, tend to be comparatively more moderate, which is worth factoring in specifically for older travellers taking multiple trips a year.
What happens if I need emergency treatment and haven’t told the insurer about a condition?
This can result in a declined claim or a cancelled policy, potentially leaving you personally liable for the full cost of treatment, which is exactly why accurate disclosure at the point of buying cover matters more than the modest premium saving from omitting it.
Important Information
This calculator provides an estimate for general information purposes only and does not constitute insurance advice. Actual premiums, cover terms and exclusions vary by insurer. For an accurate quote, compare policies directly with insurers. See our Disclaimer for further information.