Travel insurance for the USA: compare UK cover from £22.04 a week
A. FruchardLast updated: 3 August 2026Do you need travel insurance for the USA?
Travel insurance for the USA is not required by law, but the NHS covers nothing there, hospitals bill privately from the very first test, and the FCDO cites US hospital treatment with repatriation at £150,000 or more. With UK cover from £22.04 a week, the maths rarely argues for going without.
The United States has no reciprocal healthcare agreement with the UK, and the UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) is not valid there: it works in the EU and Switzerland, not across the Atlantic. Every consultation, scan and night on a ward is invoiced at private rates, and many hospitals ask for proof of insurance or payment before treating you.
The claims data shows how real the risk is. British insurers paid out £472 million across more than 500,000 travel claims in 2024, and medical expenses made up 34% of them, the most common reason to claim. The average medical payout was £1,528, but one policyholder needed over £1 million of emergency treatment in the US, including repatriation to the UK. Source: Association of British Insurers, August 2025.
This guide compares the six US-eligible plans sold to UK residents on HelloSafe, with live prices in pounds, the cover floors our destination monitoring recommends for the USA, and the fine print that separates them. It goes deeper than a general travel insurance UK policy check, because the USA punishes weak cover harder than any other destination.
Every year, our experts audit each plan against its binding policy wording: coverage, limits and exclusions, cross-checked with real customer feedback and live market prices. The analysis is fully independent, with zero paid placements and no insurer able to pay to influence a rating. We compare travel insurance across every country and currency, using the plans, prices and cover actually offered in your country, not a single guide translated.
Learn moreWhat should travel insurance for the USA cover right now?
Right now, medical cover is the clear priority for travel insurance for the USA. HelloSafe's destination monitoring rates the US medical risk red, flagging a measles outbreak that may strain local healthcare, on top of treatment costs that are among the highest in the world (updated 31 July 2026).
Two live signals from our USA monitoring, updated 31 July 2026: a measles outbreak is spreading, which can put pressure on hospitals exactly when a visitor needs one, and active wildfires may cause flight disruptions, road closures or evacuations in affected states. Prioritise strong medical cover, and cancellation or interruption cover if your route crosses fire-prone regions.
Guarantee to prioritise | Why it matters in the USA | What to aim for |
|---|---|---|
Medical expenses Emergency care and hospital stays | Top priority: an emergency-room visit runs to four figures and a serious hospital stay to six | The highest ceiling available: up to ≈£420,000* here |
Repatriation assistance Medically escorted return | A medical flight home is long-haul with an escort, among the costliest evacuations | Actual costs, not a capped amount |
Trip cancellation Before departure | Transatlantic flights and hotels are rarely refundable; hurricanes run June to November | Your full booking value: up to ≈£7,500* here |
Personal liability Damage or injury to others | A litigious legal system where awards regularly reach seven figures | £1 million or more: up to ≈£3,800,000* here |
Baggage Theft and loss | Luggage is a routine target at busy airports and tourist hubs | ≈£1,700*, the ceiling of the strongest plans here |
The FCDO's USA travel advice adds the seasonal layer: the Atlantic hurricane season runs June to November, and travellers in wildfire zones should follow local evacuation orders. Both are cancellation and interruption scenarios, not medical ones, which is why the strongest USA policies combine the two.
Which travel insurance for the USA is best from the UK?
The best travel insurance for the USA pairs the highest medical ceiling you can get with direct billing and repatriation at actual cost. Go Explore + leads on pure medical strength at around £420,000 for £98.69 on a 14-day trip, while WorldSecure Platinum is the all-rounder that adds real cancellation cover.
We ranked the six eligible plans by fit for a US trip rather than by price alone: medical ceiling first, then who pays the hospital, then what happens to your booking if you cannot fly. The same method drives our best travel insurance ranking for all destinations.
Our expert's pick for the USA
Book knowing that a US hospital admission is handled for you: with every plan below, the insurer settles the hospital directly and a medical flight home is covered at its actual cost, so you never negotiate an American invoice yourself. My first pick is Go Explore +, whose roughly £420,000 medical ceiling is the highest of the six for £98.69 on a two-week trip. If your bookings are the bigger worry, WorldSecure Platinum refunds cancelled trips up to about £7,500 and adds £3.8 million of liability cover for £65.76. Families and the over-65s should start from the price table below, where age limits change the picture.
A. Fruchard, Co-Founder & Travel Insurance Expert at HelloSafe
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Prices and cover limits in pounds for 1 traveller aged 34, 14 days in the USA, departing the UK, converted from the insurers' rates at the live exchange rate. HelloSafe data, captured 3 August 2026.
HelloSafe is available as an app inside ChatGPT. Install it from ChatGPT’s Apps tab, then type @HelloSafe followed by your destination and dates to compare travel insurance.
How much does travel insurance for the USA cost?
Travel insurance for the USA costs from £22.04 for a week's cover bought from the UK, with a median of £80.49 across the six matching plans. A couple pays from £44.09, a family of four from £88.15, and a traveller of 65 from £49.34 for the same week.
Traveller profile | Budget | Average* | Premium pick | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Solo traveller Age 32, 7 days | £22.04 WorldSecure Basic | £80.49 | £98.69 Go Explore + | Medical cover to ≈£420,000 with direct billing |
Couple Ages 32 and 30, 7 days | £44.09 WorldSecure Basic | £158.15 | £189.78 Go Explore + | Repatriation at actual cost for both travellers |
Family of four Two adults, two children, 7 days | £88.15 WorldSecure Basic | £219.38 | £197.30 WorldSecure Platinum | Cancellation up to ≈£7,500 protects the booking |
Senior traveller Age 65, 7 days | £49.34 WorldSecure Platinum | £103.52 | £103.52 World Travel | Insurable up to age 84 |
Backpacker Age 25, 30 days, 4 countries | £52.70 WorldSecure Basic | £129.35 | £144.68 Go Explore + | One policy across the USA, Mexico, Thailand and Australia |
Four things move the price: the traveller's age, the trip length, the size of the party and whether cancellation is included. Age is the sharpest lever for the USA: the same Go Explore + week costs £98.69 at 34 and £192.66 at 65. Run your own dates through our compare travel insurance tool to see the six plans priced for your exact trip.
What are the conditions of travel insurance for the USA?
The conditions of travel insurance for the USA hide three traps: age limits that stop at 39, 65, 69, 80 or 84 depending on the plan, cancellation cover that is often missing entirely, and baggage ceilings that range from about £210 to £1,700. Reading these lines costs five minutes; missing them can cost the claim.
- Medical ceiling at the top of the range : around £420,000 is the strongest available here (Go Explore +, Safe Start); take the highest your budget allows for the USA
- Direct billing : all six plans settle the hospital directly, the feature that stops a US admission demanding your card; cash advances add £590 to £1,300 where included
- Repatriation at actual cost : covered on every plan here, outside the medical ceiling, for the long-haul medical flight the ABI's £1 million case needed
- Cancellation matching your booking : only WorldSecure Platinum refunds the trip price, up to about £7,500; Safe Start sells an optional cancel-for-any-reason extension
- Personal liability of £1 million or more : WorldSecure and Safe Start reach about £3.8 million, sized for American courts
- Age limits : WorldSecure Basic stops at 39, Platinum at 65, Safe Start at 69, Go Explore and Go Explore + at 80, World Travel at 84; at 65 the cheapest quote already changes
- Duration caps : Safe Start covers at most 184 days; the others run to a full year
- Booking window : Go Explore + must be bought at least one day before departure, so it cannot be added from the airport
- Thin cancellation : World Travel caps cancellation at about £1,300, far below a typical transatlantic booking; four plans include none at all
- No dedicated ski package : none of the six carries ski equipment or piste-closure cover; only WorldSecure Platinum includes an extreme-sports medical extension
Plan | Maximum age | Trip cancellation | Baggage | Medical ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Go Explore + Highest medical cover | 80 | Not covered | ≈£420 | ≈£420,000 |
WorldSecure Platinum The all-rounder | 65 | Trip price, max ≈£7,500 | ≈£1,700 | ≈£250,000 |
Safe Start Optional cancel-for-any-reason | 69 | Optional extension | ≈£1,700 | ≈£420,000 |
World Travel The senior option | 84 | ≈£1,300 only | ≈£840 | ≈£250,000 |
Go Explore Mid-range medical | 80 | Not covered | ≈£210 | ≈£210,000 |
WorldSecure Basic Budget, under 40 only | 39 | Not covered | ≈£960 | ≈£250,000 |
One honest caveat on ceilings. Some UK insurers headline £5 million or more of medical cover for the USA; the six plans here top out around £420,000, with repatriation paid at actual cost on top and outside that ceiling. Set against the ABI's average medical payout of £1,528, the ceiling matters less day to day than direct billing does, but the £1 million outlier is real: weigh both, and check what travel insurance covers line by line before you choose.
Is your bank card enough instead of travel insurance for the USA?
Rarely. The travel cover bundled with UK bank cards and packaged accounts was not designed for the USA, and the first thing to check is the policy zone: many UK policies are sold as worldwide excluding the USA, Canada and the Caribbean, so American trips need the more expensive tier or are simply not covered.
- Policy zone : worldwide excluding USA is a standard UK tier; if your account cover uses it, a US trip is out of scope from day one
- Medical ceiling and payment : account policies are rarely sized for six-figure US bills, and few settle a hospital directly the way the plans above do
- Trip-length and age limits : bundled cover usually caps trip duration and may end at an age your holiday does not
- Pre-existing conditions : bundled policies expect declarations too; an undeclared condition can void a US claim exactly like on a standalone policy
Before relying on a card or account policy, read its wording for the four points above. If any fails for the USA, a dedicated policy closes the gap from £22.04 a week.
Does the USA require travel insurance for the ESTA?
No. The ESTA application does not ask for travel insurance for the USA, and no insurance certificate is checked at the border. What UK passport holders do need is an approved ESTA before departure, costing 40 US dollars (around £30) since 30 September 2025, and a passport valid for the length of the stay.
- Every traveller needs their own ESTA, including children, so a family of four pays the fee four times
- Apply well before travel: the fee nearly doubled from 21 to 40 US dollars on 30 September 2025, and approval is not instant
- Some travellers are not ESTA-eligible, for example after a previous refusal or certain travel history, and must apply for a visa instead: check the official GOV.UK USA advice before booking
- Your passport must be valid for the whole planned stay
The absence of an insurance requirement changes nothing about the exposure. Entry is granted just as readily to an uninsured traveller, and the £150,000 hospital scenario the FCDO warns about lands on exactly that person.
What else should you know about travel insurance for the USA?
No. Neither the ESTA nor US border control requires travel insurance. It stays strongly advised: the NHS and GHIC cover nothing in the USA, and the FCDO cites hospital treatment with repatriation at £150,000 or more.
No. The UK Global Health Insurance Card and the older EHIC only give access to state healthcare in the EU, Switzerland and a few other European countries. In the USA they have no effect, and the FCDO states they are not an alternative to travel insurance.
Take the highest ceiling available to you. Among UK-eligible plans on HelloSafe, that is about £420,000 (Go Explore +, Safe Start), with repatriation covered at actual cost on top. The ABI’s average medical payout was £1,528 in 2024, but one US case exceeded £1 million.
Often not. Of the six UK-eligible plans, only WorldSecure Platinum refunds the trip price, up to about £7,500. World Travel caps cancellation around £1,300, Safe Start sells it as a cancel-for-any-reason option, and the other three do not cover it at all.
Call your insurer’s 24/7 assistance line first: on all six plans compared here the insurer then settles the hospital directly, so you do not pay six-figure bills upfront. Where a cash advance is included it adds £590 to £1,300 of immediate headroom.
Not always. UK insurers commonly sell two worldwide tiers, one excluding the USA, Canada and the Caribbean and one including them. Check which zone your policy names before assuming an American trip is covered.
Only if declared and accepted. An undeclared condition is a standard exclusion and can void a US medical claim entirely. Read the plan’s insurance product information document before paying, and declare everything the insurer asks about.
Yes. The Atlantic hurricane season runs June to November, and our monitoring currently flags active wildfires disrupting flights and roads. Cancellation and interruption cover respond to those events; medical cover does not. Follow local evacuation orders to keep claims valid.
Each plan sets its own: 39 for WorldSecure Basic, 65 for Platinum, 69 for Safe Start, 80 for Go Explore and Go Explore +, and 84 for World Travel. At 65, cover for a week in the USA starts at £49.34.
The flight and US stopover fit a standard USA policy, but the sailing itself needs cruise-specific guarantees such as missed-port and cabin-confinement cover. Compare dedicated plans on our <span data-id="273" data-type="internal">cruise insurance</span> guide before you book.
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