What affects the price of travel insurance?

Travel insurance provides financial and practical protection for things like lost belongings, medical emergencies, repatriation, and trip cancellations. When planning a holiday, it’s important to factor insurance into your budget, as the cost of your premium can vary depending on several factors. 

 

 In this guide, we’ll look at:  

 

• Why insurance premiums have risen – higher medical care costs and more claims  

• Factors that affect insurance premiums – age, destination, length of trip 

• Tips for keeping insurance costs down – adjusting your excess, annual multi-trip cover vs single trip policies 

How much does travel insurance cost? 

It varies based on risk, including medical emergencies, cancellations, and lost belongings. 

 

What makes travel insurance more expensive? 

Things like inflation, medical costs, claims history, age, and pre-existing conditions. 

 

Does age affect the cost? 

Yes. Premiums usually increase with age due to higher health risks. 

 

Do medical conditions increase the price? 

Yes. They raise the likelihood of needing treatment or cancelling a trip. 

 

Does destination affect the price?

Yes. Europe is usually cheaper, while places like the USA are more expensive due to high healthcare costs. 

Insurers consider a range of risks when calculating your travel insurance premium. Costs are based on how likely you are to make a claim before and during your trip away, especially: 

 

• Emergency medical treatment abroad (often the biggest cost)  

• Trip cancellation or interruption  

• Lost, stolen, or delayed belongings

You may notice the cost of your travel insurance policy has gone up. This is due to many different factors including things you can’t control such as your age, to things you can control like the length of your trip and the destination. If any of them are considered to increase the likelihood that you’ll make an expensive claim, then the premium may go up.

Rising costs and the number of claims often have an impact on travel insurance prices. Some key things that affect the price of your travel insurance include: 

 

• Inflation 

• Medical treatment and repatriation costs 

• Claims 

• Your age 

• Medical conditions 

Rising costs in healthcare, travel, and general living expenses affect insurance premiums, as the cost of providing services and care increases.

The cost of overseas medical treatment and repatriation (returning a traveller home in case of illness or injury) has been steadily rising. These critical services can be expensive, especially when they involve long-term care or complex logistics.

Over the years, there’s been a rise in the number of travel insurance claims made, particularly in areas like medical emergencies and cancellations. As a result, premiums are adjusted to help cover the increasing costs of these claims.

Travel insurance premiums tend to increase with age. This is because the risk of illness, both diagnosed and undiagnosed, and making a claim is higher as you get older. So much so that some travel insurers only offer policies up to a certain age. 

 

Travel insurers usually place travellers into age bands, with under 65s often placed in a lower risk bracket. So you may notice your travel insurance premium goes up after your 65th birthday. 

Among the questions you’ll need to answer when taking out your policy are details of any pre-existing medical conditions. 

  

This can impact how much your insurance costs, as existing health factors can increase your chance of requiring emergency medical treatment when abroad. There’s also a greater chance of having to cancel your trip if you’re not well enough to travel, or having to cut your holiday short. 

  

Find out exactly what pre-existing conditions you need to declare on your travel insurance in our guide, and more about medical travel insurance here.

Insurance will be cheaper for countries seen as ‘low risk’ by insurers compared to countries that are a safety risk due to natural disaster or conflict. 

  

European destinations are usually considered lower risk, so you’ll find it cheaper to holiday in France than the USA. Holidays to Europe are typically cheaper to insure as the distance travelled is shorter, which means the costs of repatriation, for example, would be lower. 

  

The price of healthcare at your destination also influences insurance premiums. When going to Europe, you can access free healthcare with a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC). The card covers the cost of state healthcare, which means travellers are less likely to make a claim on their travel insurance. Find out more about the GHIC in our guide.

 

Higher risk destinations tend to be long-haul countries. Healthcare in the USA, Canada and the Caribbean is expensive. The cost of repatriation home from one of these countries is high too, hence the higher premium. 

The premium for a fortnight abroad will usually cost you more than a short weekend away to the same destination. 

 

That’s because the longer you’re away from home, the higher the chance of you having to claim on your insurance for emergency healthcare or misplaced possessions.

With Staysure, you can choose from 3 levels of cover to suit your trip and budget. Every policy includes emergency medical expenses, cancellation cover and lost luggage as standard. Higher levels give you increased cover limits, and you can add optional extras to tailor your policy even further. 

 

Think about the level of cover you actually need for your trip. Picking an adequate level of cover can easily lead to a cheaper policy. 

  

Do you need £5,000 cancellation cover if you only paid £500 for your holiday? Don’t pay for levels of cover that you don’t need for your trip.

Among the questions you’ll need to answer when taking out your policy are details of any pre-existing medical conditions.

 

This can impact how much your insurance costs, as existing health factors can increase your chance of requiring emergency medical treatment when abroad. There’s also a greater chance of having to cancel your trip if you’re not well enough to travel, or having to cut your holiday short.

 

Find out exactly what pre-existing conditions you need to declare on your travel insurance in our blog post, and more about medical travel insurance here.

As you may expect, the premium for a fortnight abroad will usually cost you more than a short weekend away to the same destination.

 

The longer you are away from home the chance of you having to claim on your insurance for emergency healthcare or misplaced possessions increases.

With Staysure, you can choose from 3 levels of cover to suit your trip and budget. Every policy includes emergency medical expenses, cancellation cover and lost luggage as standard. Higher levels give you increased cover limits, and you can add optional extras to tailor your policy even further. 

 

Think about the level of cover you actually need for your trip. Picking an adequate level of cover can easily lead to a cheaper policy. 

  

Do you need £5,000 cancellation cover if you only paid £500 for your holiday? Don’t pay for levels of cover that you don’t need for your trip. 

The finer details of what you’ll be doing on your trip and the things you’ll be taking along with you will also affect the cost of your travel insurance. 

  

If you need to insure expensive gadgets like cameras or valuables like watches and jewellery, your premium will be higher as pricier sums are involved. If you can leave expensive things at home, it might be best to do so. 

  

If your trip includes winter sports or cruising, it will cost you more than a quiet pool-based holiday, as your risk of having an accident and the cost of repatriation is greater.* 

  

Read our guide about what travel insurance covers. 

A higher excess will often lower your premium. But it’s important that you’re comfortable with the excess and that you’re able to afford it, as you’ll need to pay the agreed amount if you need to claim on your travel insurance. 

Annual travel insurance can often work out better value if you’re going on more than one trip in a year. 

 

With Staysure, your annual multi-trip travel insurance covers you for up to 183 days of travel in 12 months. That’s plenty of time to put your feet up and relax. 

You may notice when shopping around for travel insurance to the USA that it costs a lot more than for holidays to Europe. 

  

The reason for this is the US is deemed a higher risk destination because healthcare is much more expensive than the rest of the world. The USA is the most expensive country to have a medical emergency in.

Travel insurance for cruises can be more expensive for several reasons: 

 

• Medical treatment at sea and repatriation is trickier and more expensive 

• Higher trip values 

• Unique risks such as missed ports, cabin confinement and itinerary changes 

• You’re moving between countries and in international waters, which can complicate claims 

 

But, adding cruise cover to a normal policy can be cheaper than a full specialist plan, so it’s important to compare quotes. 

Ideally, you should consider buying your travel insurance as soon as you’ve booked your trip so you have cancellation cover in the weeks before departure.    

 

If you leave it closer to departure you may find that you have fewer policy options, so you won’t be able to shop around as much. 

It’s important to remember that premiums are risk-based, so how you book, i.e. whether you book directly with the insurer or use a comparison site is unlikely to make a big difference, although it’s always a good idea to compare quotes. 

 

Paying monthly won’t make your premium higher, but it can cost slightly more overall compared to paying the total cost of your policy upfront. This is because it’s often a form of credit, so an interest rate is added. 

 

Usually your occupation won’t affect the price of standard travel insurance as policies aren’t typically based on job titles. The exception may be if you have a high-risk job and you need work-related cover. 

Every situation is different, so you need to check with your insurance provider. But generally a small, single claim or a one-off cancellation due to unexpected illness won’t affect future premiums too much. 

 

The impact on premiums is often based on the type of claim – medical issues are more likely to affect future prices compared to lost baggage, the size of the payout and the frequency – multiple claims in a short time will affect premiums. 

 

Remember, you must declare past claims if you’re asked to. Not declaring them can invalidate your policy.

It’s important that you have adequate insurance for your needs. Don’t be tempted to cut corners, as it could cost you much more if something goes wrong. 

 

Instead of just focusing on the price, check the following things: 

 

• You have adequate medical cover  

• Good cancellation protection 

• Reasonable excess 

• Your premium must be based on a full and honest medical disclosure

Dream Big with Staysure. We specialise in travel insurance with:  

• cover for pre-existing medical conditions  

• cover for all ages 

• unlimited medical expenses on our Comprehensive and Signature policies   

Get a quote 

 

 

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*Always check your travel insurance policy to make sure you’re covered for sports and activities when abroad.