Travel health insurance is a necessity when you are going outside your country. This will help you cover the costs of getting medical attention in case of an emergency. But even if you have local travel insurance, there is no guarantee that it will be accepted abroad.
Learn more about travel medical insurance policies in this article and get to know which medical insurance plans for traveling abroad best fit your needs.
Health Insurance for Traveling Abroad
Travel Health Insurance plans combine the benefits of travel insurance plans with additional health and medical coverage. Whenever you travel to another country, it is a necessity to have the right international travel health insurance plan that will cover you in case the unexpected happens.
Here is a guide that will give you a general overview of the best International Travel Medical Insurance Plans, as well as recommendations for your trip.
What is International Travel Health Insurance?
When you are traveling outside your home country, it is vital to buy international travel medical insurance to cover yourself against accidents or illnesses. Even if you have private medical insurance issued in your home country, it will most likely not cover you on your travel abroad. And if it does, its coverage will most likely be insufficient to provide safety and confidence during your trip.
What Does International Travel Health Insurance Cover?
- Freedom to seek treatment with a hospital or doctor of your choice
- Maximum Limits from $50,000 to $2,000,000
- 24/7 access to an emergency assistance medical hotline to speak with medical experts
- Deductible options from $0 to $2,500
- Renewable up to 24 months
- Travel delay and baggage delay benefits
- Universal Rx pharmacy discount savings
- Repatriation and emergency evacuation
- Consider a plan with coverage for Covid-19 (or Coronavirus)
The Best International Travel Medical Insurance Plans
The Liaison Plus Travel Medical Plan includes coverage for COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus). The plan is a little more expensive but is worth considering if you would like this level of cover.
Travel Medical Plans with Coverage for COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

Atlas Travel Insurance
- COVID-19 coverage outside your home country
- Choose between the basic and more extensive coverage
- Meets Schengen visa insurance requirements
- 24/7 worldwide travel and emergency medical assistance

Liaison Travel Insurance
- COVID-19 coverage outside your home country
- Comprehensive medical coverage from 5 days to 1 year
- Your choice of medical maximum and deductible options
- An extensive worldwide network of providers
Countries Requiring Travel Medical Insurance with COVID-19 Coverage
As of January 14, 2021, the following countries require some or all visitors to carry their own travel medical insurance with COVID-19 coverage. (Get more specific detail on the latest travel insurance requirements.) Double-check all requirements before booking your travel insurance.
- Andorra
- Argentina
- Aruba
- Bahamas
- Belize
- Cayman Islands
- Chile
- Cuba
- Curaçao
- Fiji
- Indonesia
- Israel
- Jordan
- Laos
- Malaysia
- Montenegro
- Oman
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Schengen zone countries:
- Austria
- Belgium
- the Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- the Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Sint Maarten
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka
- Thailand
- Turkey
- Turks and Caicos
- Ukraine
- Uruguay
- Vietnam
Affordable Plans with Great Coverage and Benefits
Our best overall plan based on affordability, benefits, and service would be the Atlas Travel Insurance Plan.

Atlas Travel Insurance
- COVID-19 coverage outside your home country
- Choose between the basic and more extensive coverage
- Meets Schengen visa insurance requirements
- 24/7 worldwide travel and emergency medical assistance
Best Insurance for US Citizens Traveling Abroad
A great plan for U.S. citizens traveling abroad is the Voyager Plan from GeoBlue, a partner of Blue Cross.

GeoBlue Voyager Plan
- Coverage for medically necessary COVID testing and treatment
- For U.S. citizens up to age 95
- Coverage for pre-existing conditions available
- 24/7/365 service and assistance
The Liaison Travel Insurance Plan combines great benefits with service at an affordable price for any international traveler.

Liaison Travel Insurance
- COVID-19 coverage outside your home country
- Comprehensive medical coverage from 5 days to 1 year
- Your choice of medical maximum and deductible options
- An extensive worldwide network of providers
Or You Can Compare: Compare Travel Medical Insurance Plans
Frequently Asked Questions
Applying for a travel health insurance plan is easy. Just answer a few questions about yourself and the planned trip to get the initial quote. From there, you can refine the plan and see how much the travel health insurance will cost by selecting and deselecting different benefits and their maximum coverage amounts. You can also tweak the deductibles, optional add-on features, and other portions of the policy, if possible.
When you are satisfied with the quotation after adjusting the cost and benefits of the plan, you can proceed with the online application and pay for the plan using your credit card. A confirmation email will be sent to you along with insurance documentation and relevant contact details should you need emergency medical assistance on your next trip.
We have listed the best medical insurance for traveling abroad. Just follow the links on each one to get to know more about the plan.
Yes, definitely.
International travel medical insurance plans are designed to cover emergency medical expenses should you get sick or injured while you are traveling abroad. If you are in an accident and need medical care, these plans are designed to help you find a doctor, get you treated in the best facilities available, cover necessary medical prescriptions, and provide continuous care.
These travel health insurance plans will typically not cover any pre-existing conditions you might have. Before you sign up for a policy, check the part that pertains to pre-existing conditions so you can clarify any questions or concerns regarding that portion.
Treatment for accidents or illnesses that occur while participating in certain activities may not be covered by your medical insurance. Some plans offer adventure sports cover as an optional add-on coverage. If you plan to partake in dangerous activities or sports events that pose a high risk of getting injured, it is best to get this add-on on top of your travel health insurance.
Here at International Citizens Insurance, we provide a wide range of travel health insurance plans from some of the leading insurance providers today. Among our most popular plans are the Patriot Plans with different modes to choose from, each one designed to suit the needs of a variety of travelers.
Atlas Travel Insurance is a comprehensive policy that includes hospitalization and doctor coverage. It can also include insurance on lost luggage. You can customize the policy to include optional coverage for extreme sports.
With Patriot Platinum Insurance, you get the same coverage for extra riders and extreme sports. This is one of the best medical insurance for traveling abroad because it provides world-class coverage and access to the best service and assistance for traveling outside your home country.
You can review the list we made of the Best Travel Insurance Companies to get a better idea of which provider to choose.
With the wide variety in names and coverage of travel, trip, and medical insurance plans, it can be very confusing to select which one is the most appropriate for your needs. Different service providers offer several levels of cover, so a travel health insurance provided by one insurer could be completely dissimilar from those offered by competitors.
Here is a short description of each insurance plan to help you distinguish one from the other.
Trip insurance provides a short-term solution that covers trip cancellation, protection, and limited emergency medical coverage. This type of policy is usually available only for up to 62 days.
Travel health insurance plan is more comprehensive. It provides increased medical coverage from what a regular trip or travel insurance policy does. This type of policy is best for travel periods lasting from 5 days up to a year.
If you are considering longer-term coverage or more comprehensive medical benefits, read these guides to help you see the available options:
Travel health insurance is a short-term solution for those who are traveling outside their home country anywhere between 5 days to a year. Whether it is for business or pleasure purposes, getting travel health insurance is an essential part of ensuring safe travels.
Having health insurance at home will not guarantee you coverage when you travel to other countries. And usually, if it does provide coverage, it will be very limited and will not cover the most important areas that need to be addressed.
The plans we offer can be very beneficial to a broad range of traveling individuals including international vacationers, immigrants, relatives visiting from overseas, and foreign au pairs and nannies, among others.
The best part about global travel health insurance policies is that they are available to all nationalities traveling abroad.
In most cases, they do. The travel health insurance plans we offer are designed to meet, and even exceed, most visa requirements of a vast majority of countries. We also have plans that can meet Schengen Visa Insurance requirements.
Before traveling to a country, check the visa requirements to make sure you purchase the maximum benefit and deductible amounts required there. Most countries require at least $50,000 coverage in medical benefits, along with a specific deductible amount.
Read More: Insurance for Your Travel Visa
We offer a variety of medical insurance plans for traveling abroad, and they come at a range of different price points.
For reference, an affordable travel health insurance plan covers specific benefits that you need at a reasonable price you can pay for. Some inexpensive plans do not cover the most important benefits or cover them with limited value. Other low-cost plans provide considerable travel medical coverage, but the service they provide is so terrible that you will not be able to use it in emergencies.
International Citizens Insurance has filtered the best insurance providers that offer affordable plans with good coverage and excellent service. For the most affordable and reliable plans, we recommend the following options:
Travel health insurance is surprisingly affordable. You can see in the table below that it can go from as low as $0.80 per day to as much as $7.30 a day. Monthly rates are also available which sometimes provide better value.
Plans are often limited within the travel period you have indicated, so the risks are less for insurance providers. As a result, the cost of medical insurance for traveling abroad is also significantly lower. Travel health insurance plans also do not cover trip cancellations, so their premiums are even lower than usual.
How much a travel health insurance costs will depend on the length of the trip, your age, medical limits and complications, and the deductible you choose by the time you purchase the plan.
Example Costs for Travel Health Insurance Plans
Different Levels of Health Insurance for Travelers
Here at International Citizens Insurance, we provide a wide range of travel health insurance plans from some of the leading insurance providers today. Among our most popular plans are the Patriot Plans with different modes to choose from, each one designed to suit the needs of a variety of travelers.
Atlas Travel Insurance is a comprehensive policy that includes hospitalization and doctor coverage. It can also include insurance on lost luggage. You can customize the policy to include optional coverage for extreme sports.
With Patriot Platinum Insurance, you get the same coverage for extra riders and extreme sports. This is one of the best medical insurance for traveling abroad because it provides world-class coverage and access to the best service and assistance for traveling outside your home country.
You can review the list we made of the Best Travel Insurance Companies to get a better idea of which provider to choose.
Annual (Multi-Trip) Plans for Frequent Travelers
International travel medical insurance is available as a single-trip plan that covers a specific trip for a specified number of days.
An annual travel insurance plan can cover you for all trips made outside your home country. This is usually valid for a year or up to a certain number of days per trip. This is the more cost-effective medical insurance for traveling abroad, especially if you are a frequent traveler.
If you are looking for one of the best travel health insurance policies we offer, consider the Wander Frequent Traveler annual travel health insurance plan. See the link below for more details on the policy and how you can get a quote before your purchase online.
Wander Frequent Traveler
- Coverage for Multiple Trips Each Year
- Trip can be a Max of 30 or 45 days each
- Annual Policy Term, Includes Cover for Covid
Buy One of Our Recommended Travel Medical Plans
Atlas Travel Insurance: Learn More | Free Quote / Apply (Best for All Nationalities Traveling Abroad)

Atlas Travel Insurance
- COVID-19 coverage outside your home country
- Choose between the basic and more extensive coverage
- Meets Schengen visa insurance requirements
- 24/7 worldwide travel and emergency medical assistance
GeoBlue Travel Insurance: Learn More | Free Quote / Apply (Best for US Citizens Abroad)

GeoBlue Voyager Plan
- Coverage for medically necessary COVID testing and treatment
- For U.S. citizens up to age 95
- Coverage for pre-existing conditions available
- 24/7/365 service and assistance
A message from the Center for Disease Control: Severe illness or injury abroad may result in a financial burden on you and your family. Although planning for every possible contingency is impossible, travelers can reduce the cost of a medical emergency by considering the purchase of 3 types of insurance for their trip: trip insurance, travel health insurance, and medical evacuation insurance. These insurance policies can be purchased before a trip to provide coverage in the event of an illness or injury and may be of particular importance to individuals with chronic medical conditions. Basic accident or travel insurance may even be required for travelers to certain destinations.
Written by Joe Cronin. Joe Cronin is the Founder and President of International Citizens Insurance. He is an authority in the areas of global health and international insurance, with specific expertise in advising individuals and groups on international health insurance plans. Follow him @Joe_Cronin_Jr