Travel insurance is sold per policy and priced by the insured trip cost, the traveller's age and the trip length, yet public statistics on what policies cost, and on the risks they cover, are scattered. We combine policy-level averages from a large US comparison marketplace with Bureau of Transportation Statistics flight data, National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) claim ratios, hospital expense statistics, regulatory insurance minimums and industry market studies. The average policy sold in 2026 cost USD 307 for a 15-day trip, about USD 20 a day. On international trips a medical-only policy averaged USD 86, a comprehensive policy USD 476 and one with cancel-for-any-reason cover USD 727; comprehensive premiums rose from USD 81 for trips under USD 1,000 to USD 2,311 above USD 20,000. International premiums rose from USD 107 at ages 22–34 to USD 673 at 80 and over (6.3 times), and from 4% to 12% of the insured trip cost. An annual multi-trip policy averaged USD 428. US airlines cancelled 1.53% of scheduled flights in 2025 and 2.31% in January–July 2026; community hospitals spent USD 3,297.26 per adjusted inpatient day in 2024, three times 1999. Across 48 states and DC, the median share of travel claims closed without payment was 33.2% in 2024. US consumers spent USD 5.56 billion on travel protection in 2024, about USD 101 per plan and 8.17% of the trip value protected. All figures are descriptive.
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Oyelaran et al. (2026) studied this question.
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