Worldwide Travel Insurance: Our Pick Of The Best
If you’re jetting off outside Europe, you’ll need worldwide travel insurance cover. But it’s not quite that simple.
Worldwide travel insurance comes in two varieties: cover that includes the USA, Canada and the Caribbean (and in some cases Mexico and Greenland), and cover that excludes these destinations.
The worldwide cover that includes these listed countries is more expensive to reflect their higher cost of medical bills. The US in particular is also highly litigious, and the threat of legal action against the policyholder also pushes up the premiums.
We’ve identified our five best worldwide policies that include the US and associated territories, and the five that exclude them but cover the rest of the world. For more details, refer to our methodology.
Best worldwide travel insurance including the US, Canada, Mexico & the Caribbean
Southdowns Select Silver Plus
Price
£127.75
Cancellation
£2,000
Max excess
£50
Price
£127.75
Cancellation
£2,000
Max excess
£50
For little more than £127, this policy pays out up to £2,000 per person for trip cancellation, and up to £1,750 per person for damaged, lost or stolen baggage and belongings. Although the excess cannot be waived by paying an extra premium, this policy levies the joint lowest excess we found at £50 per person. It also offers top-paying medical cover of £20m which is why it takes the top spot of our picks.
- £20m medical cover
- £50 excess only
- No ‘end supplier’ failure cover
- No excess waiver
Cover for you Standard
Price
£185.33
Cancellation
£3,000
Max excess
£50
Price
£185.33
Cancellation
£3,000
Max excess
£50
Costing £185.33, this policy includes £3,000 per person for trip cancellation, and £2,000 per person for lost or stolen luggage. It offers the joint lowest excess we found, levying £50 per person on each successful claim.
- £2,000 hospital benefit
- £50 excess only
- No excess waiver
- Gadget cover costs extra
Explorer Travel Insurance Single Trip Platinum
Price
£186.33
Cancellation
£5,000
Max excess
£75
Price
£186.33
Cancellation
£5,000
Max excess
£75
At just over £186 this policy includes £5,000 per person for trip cancellation – the highest of our top picks. Each person on the policy also gets £2,000 cover for damaged, lost or stolen baggage.
- £1,000 gadget cover
- £750 missed departure cover
- No hospital benefit
- No excess waiver
Admiral Gold
Price
£188.62
Cancellation
£3,000
Max excess
£95
Price
£188.62
Cancellation
£3,000
Max excess
£95
This policy includes £3,000 per person for trip cancellation and £2,000 per person for damaged, lost or stolen baggage. It costs just over £188 and offers the option to waive the £95 per person excess on each eligible claim, by paying an additional premium.
- £400 personal money cover
- Excess waiver available
- No scheduled airline failure cover
- Gadget cover costs extra
Puffin Gold Medical
Price
£179.17
Cancellation
£3,000
Max excess
£75
Price
£179.17
Cancellation
£3,000
Max excess
£75
For £179.17, this policy includes £3,000 per person for trip cancellation, and £2,000 per person for lost or stolen luggage. It offers an excess of £75 per person per claim.
- £400 personal money cover
- £1,000 gadget cover
- No missed departure cover
- No excess waiver
Best worldwide travel insurance excluding the US, Canada, Mexico & the Caribbean
Coverwise Select Silver Plus
Price
£85.24
Cancellation
£2,000
Max excess
£50
Price
£85.24
Cancellation
£2,000
Max excess
£50
At just over £85 this policy offers the cheapest premium of out top picks. It also levies the lowest excess we found, of £50 per person. Each person on the policy can claim up to £2,000 if an emergency, such as illness or bereavement, prevents their holiday from going ahead. For damaged, lost or stolen baggage and belongings, there’s £1,750. Note that this policy excludes travel to the US, Canada and the Caribbean.
- £20m medical cover
- £50 excess only
- No scheduled airline failure cover
- No excess waiver
Southdowns Select Silver Plus
Price
£92.41
Cancellation
£2,000
Max excess
£50
Price
£92.41
Cancellation
£2,000
Max excess
£50
This policy pays out up to £2,000 per person for trip cancellation, and up to £1,750 per person for damaged, lost or stolen baggage and belongings for £92.41. Although the excess cannot be waived by paying an extra premium, this policy levies the joint lowest excess we found at £50 per person. Note that this policy excludes travel to the US, Canada and the Caribbean.
- £20m medical cover
- £50 excess only
- No ‘end supplier’ failure cover
- No excess waiver
Cover for you Standard
Price
£111.22
Cancellation
£3,000
Max excess
£50
Price
£111.22
Cancellation
£3,000
Max excess
£50
Costing a little bit over £111, this policy includes £3,000 per person for trip cancellation, and £2,000 per person for lost or stolen luggage. It offers the joint lowest excess we found, levying £50 per person on each successful claim. Still, it allows policyholders to waive the excess by paying an additional premium, if preferred. Note that this policy excludes travel to the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico.
- £2,000 hospital benefit
- £50 excess only
- No excess waiver
- Gadget cover costs extra
SwitchedOn Insurance Three Single
Price
£133.12
Cancellation
£3,000
Max excess
£50
Price
£133.12
Cancellation
£3,000
Max excess
£50
Each person on this policy can claim up to £3,000 for trip cancellation and £2,000 for baggage. The policy costs just over £133.12 and levies an excess of £50 per person on each accepted claim. Note that this policy excludes travel to the US, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Bermuda and Greenland.
- £750 gadget cover
- £50 excess only
- No ‘end supplier’ failure cover
- No excess waiver
Cedar Tree Classic Plus Single Trip
Price
£93.02
Cancellation
£2,000
Max excess
£95
Price
£93.02
Cancellation
£2,000
Max excess
£95
This policy includes £2,000 per person for trip cancellation and £1,500 per person for damaged, lost or stolen baggage. It costs just over £93 and an excess of £95 per person on each eligible claim. Note that this policy excludes travel to the US, Canada and the Caribbean.
- £400 personal money cover
- £750 gadget cover
- No excess waiver
- £95 excess is most the expensive of our top picks
Methodology
We used data from our quotation journey to review worldwide single trip policies that include the US and surrounding destinations, and those that exclude cover for the US and surrounding destinations.
Our research is based on a trip for a family of four (two adults, both aged in their forties and two teenagers) travelling to the US for 14 days, and the same family of four travelling to Thailand for 14 days.
We’ve assumed no members of the family have any pre-existing medical conditions.
All policies include at least £2 million in medical and repatriation cover and £2,000 in cancellation cover, which both extend to Covid-related risks. They also offer a minimum of £1,500 in baggage and belongings cover. We then ranked each policy on the following factors:
Price: The premium (one-off payment) charged for cover
Excess: The amount deducted from any successful claims payout. (Some policies charge an excess for each person named on the policy while others charge it only once).
Excess waiver: Whether policyholders were offered the option to waive the excess levied on claims by paying an additional premium.
Cancellation cover: The total payout in the event the trip is cancelled for reasons listed on the policy. We only considered policies with a minumum of £2,000.
What is worldwide travel insurance?
A worldwide travel policy is designed to cover trips outside Europe (although it will also cover travel to Europe as well). There are generally two categories of worldwide travel insurance:
- Worldwide
- Worldwide excluding North America (usually United States, Canada and the Caribbean, but may extend to Mexico and certain other countries specified in the policy small print).
For a long trip, travellers can also take out long-stay worldwide travel insurance or backpacker insurance that will cover all the countries they plan to visit.
Like other forms of travel insurance, it can be taken out for a single trip or as an annual policy that covers holidays in the next 12 months.
How much does worldwide travel insurance cost?
In addition to considering destination, insurers typically bump up the cost for older travellers (those aged 60 and above) and travellers with pre-existing medical conditions, as they view them as more likely to claim for medical treatment while away.
Here is an idea of what to expect to pay if travelling with family for seven days to some popular destinations:
| DESTINATION | CHEAPEST QUOTE | AVERAGE PRICE |
|---|---|---|
|
Spain
|
£15.00
|
£16.02
|
|
France
|
£9.79
|
£12.28
|
|
Italy
|
£12.67
|
£13.53
|
|
USA
|
£29.65
|
£33.33
|
|
Netherlands
|
£9.79
|
£12.31
|
November 2024
When purchasing an annual policy, cover will either be for travel in Europe, worldwide travel excluding the USA and surrounding destinations or travel including the USA and surrounding destinations:
| DESTINATION | CHEAPEST QUOTE | AVERAGE PRICE |
|---|---|---|
|
Europe
|
£13.53
|
£18.10
|
|
Worldwide
|
£53.88
|
£59.72
|
|
Worldwide (excluding USA, Canada, Mexico and Caribbean)
|
£38.28
|
£44.88
|
November 2024
Bear in mind, there may be an extra charge for optional cover such as for sport and adventure activities.
Depending on who else is going on the trip, it may be worth considering taking out a policy for a couple, family or group, as this can work out better value than taking out single policies for each person.
What does worldwide travel insurance cover?
Worldwide travel insurance generally offers similar protection to a European travel insurance policy – just in a greater number of countries.
However, the cancellation and medical treatment limits should generally be more generous to account for the potentially higher costs incurred when travelling outside Europe.
The main areas covered include:
- cancellation and curtailment cover for if a policyholder has to cancel or cut their holiday short due to illness or injury
- medical cover, which kicks in if the policyholder needs emergency medical care while they’re away, or has to be repatriated to the UK
- disruption and delay cover, which pays out if problems such as cancelled flights or long delays spoil plans
- lost, stolen or damaged luggage cover, which protects belongings
- legal/personal liability cover, which allows the policyholder to claim for legal costs if they’re involved in an incident while they are away.
It can also cover:
- gadgets, such as a tablet or mobile phone against loss, theft or damage
- scheduled airline failure in the event the airline goes out of business
- end supplier failure in the event the hotel, travel company or airline goes into administration
- natural catastrophe and terrorism cover for claims relating to a natural disaster, such as volcano eruptions and earthquakes, and those relating to acts of terrorism
- sports and activities cover, for taking part in high-risk or winter sports
- the cost of necessities, such as food , while in hospital. This is known as hospital benefit.
What countries does worldwide travel insurance cover?
Worldwide travel insurance offers cover for trips to countries outside of Europe.
There are two categories of worldwide travel insurance. The first includes cover for the USA, Canada, the Caribbean (and sometimes Mexico and Greenland), while the second excludes these destinations.
Policies that include cover for the USA, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico tend to be more expensive. That’s because the cost of healthcare at these destinations is particularly expensive.
What add-ons are available?
When comparing worldwide policies, active types may want to check which cover extreme sports such as mountain biking, paragliding and climbing – or winter sports such as skiing or snowboarding. If the cover falls short of activities you’ll need to contact the insurer and add them on.
Other common add-ons include gadget insurance if you’re taking any particularly expensive kit away with you.
What is not covered by worldwide travel insurance?
Like all types of insurance, worldwide travel insurance excludes certain types of claim as standard.
Few insurers will cover travel to destinations where the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against all, or all but essential travel.
For example, even if a country is usually covered by the policy, the insurance will be invalid if the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against travel to that country at the time of the trip.
Other reasons a policyholder may be unable to make a claim include:
- they failed to inform their insurer about any pre-existing medical conditions
- they did not get the recommended vaccinations for their holiday destination
- injuring oneself while taking part in an activity that’s not included (this could be anything from skiing to going on a cruise or even labouring)
- their claim relates to a incident that occurred when they were drunk or on drugs
- they broke the law of the country they were visiting.
Compare Travel Insurance Quotes
Explore a range of affordable travel insurance options tailored to suit your travel needs. Find the perfect cover and start your journey today.
