Best travel insurance in Ireland 2026: the independent comparison with real prices (from €18.15)
- 🩺 Medical and hospital costs abroad
- 🆘 24/7 assistance, no money up front
- 🛫 Repatriation included
A. FruchardCo-Founder & Travel Insurance ExpertLast updated: 20 August 2026What is the best travel insurance in 2026?
There is no single best travel insurance for everyone: the best policy is the one that covers your trip's real risks at the lowest price. For a traveller leaving Ireland in 2026, cover starts at €18.15 a week and the best all-round value starts at €28.82. HelloSafe data, August 2026.
I priced the eleven plans an Irish resident can actually buy today and read the binding policy wordings behind them, not just the product sheets. The conclusion is blunt: what separates a good policy from a mediocre one is not the brand. It is three details almost nobody checks before leaving: the emergency medical ceiling, whether the insurer pays the hospital directly or reimburses you months later, and the upper age limit written into the contract rather than the advertising.
The good news is that the protection is cheap. For a week in Spain the eleven priced plans run from €18.15 to €193.60, with the middle of the market at €53.90. Set that against the warning from the Department of Foreign Affairs: "Hospital bills can quickly run into thousands of euro, and a medical evacuation back to Ireland can cost thousands more." This page gives you the comparison of the best plans, real prices for each kind of traveller and the criteria that stop you picking the wrong policy. Last updated August 2026.
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. HelloSafe is an ORIAS-registered insurance broker (n° 21008038), supervised by the ACPR.
Learn moreWhich are the best travel insurance policies for Irish travellers?
The best travel insurance policies for travellers leaving Ireland in 2026 are Go Protect, WorldSecure Platinum and Safe Start. All three bill the hospital directly and cover emergency medical care from €300,000 upwards. The comparison below shows the real prices we calculated for an Irish departure.
My number one: Go Protect
You get emergency hospital treatment abroad without paying a cent up front, and your holiday refunded if you have to cancel for a covered reason. That is exactly what Go Protect does, at the lowest price of any complete policy on the Irish shelf: €28.82 for a week. Behind that sit €300,000 of emergency medical cover with the hospital billed directly, cancellation up to €12,000 (the highest of the eleven plans we priced for Ireland), €10,000 for search and rescue, a €2,300 emergency cash advance and an upper age limit of 99 that is barely a limit at all. Two adults and two children pay €41.78 in total, not four separate premiums. If a €500,000 medical ceiling matters more to you, Safe Start costs €44.00, and SafeTrip Tourism €88.00 with cancellation cover and leisure sports on top.
A. Fruchard, Co-Founder & Travel Insurance Expert at HelloSafe
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Price for 1 traveller aged 34, 7 days in Spain, departing Ireland. Prices in euro, calculated by HelloSafe, August 2026. Your own price depends on your age, the length of the trip and the destination.
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What does the best travel insurance cost for each kind of traveller?
The best travel insurance costs from €18.15 a week for one traveller and rises with the number of people, the length of the trip and your age. The table gives the budget, middle and premium price, all calculated for real for the most common traveller profiles in Ireland.
Traveller | Budget | Middle | Premium (plan) | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
🧍 Solo traveller 34 years old, 7 days | €18.15 | €53.90 | €88.00 (SafeTrip Tourism) | Eleven plans quote, from €300,000 to €500,000 medical |
👨👩👧 Family 2 adults + 2 children | €41.78 | €176.00 | €352.00 (SafeTrip Tourism) | Go Protect covers all four for €41.78, not four premiums |
👵 Senior 65 years old, 7 days | €28.82 | €59.40 | €97.90 (Go Explore +, €500,000) | Only 7 of the 11 plans still sell at 65 |
🎒 Backpacker* 25 years old, 30 days | €42.90 | €97.90 | €193.60 (Safe Extreme) | Four countries on one policy, €300,000 medical held |
🔁 Annual multi-trip** Frequent traveller | €269.50 (Safe World) | €289.85 | €310.20 (Go Annual) | Only two annual plans sell to Irish residents |
The gap between plans is wider than the gap between destinations. For the same week in Spain the eleven quotes run from €18.15 to €193.60. The cheapest is not automatically the best, because WorldSecure Basic stops selling on your 40th birthday and covers no cancellation at all. If you want to see every plan side by side, compare travel insurance for Ireland sets out the full shelf.
How do you choose the best travel insurance?
To choose the best travel insurance, work through six checks in this order: the emergency medical ceiling, direct billing at the hospital, repatriation at actual cost, cancellation cover, the upper age limit and the emergency assistance line. Price comes last, because a cheap policy with thin ceilings is not a bargain.
- Emergency medical cover of at least €300,000 : that is the floor for a European trip. Outside Europe aim for €500,000, which Safe Start, Safe Care, Go Explore + and SafeTrip Tourism all provide.
- Direct billing at the hospital : the insurer settles with the hospital instead of reimbursing you months later. All eleven plans we priced for Ireland include it, so treat it as the minimum standard rather than a selling point.
- Repatriation at actual cost : the Department of Foreign Affairs states plainly that it cannot pay for emergency medical repatriation or repatriation of remains. Every plan on the Irish shelf covers repatriation at actual cost with no ceiling, which is the most valuable line in the whole policy.
- Cancellation cover when the trip is expensive : with flights and hotels paid in advance, cancellation refunds up to €12,000 with Go Protect, €9,000 with WorldSecure Platinum and €6,000 with SafeTrip Tourism. Safe Start, Safe Care and Go Explore + do not cover cancellation at all.
- An upper age limit that fits you : the cheapest plan stops at 39, Safe Care at 64, WorldSecure Platinum at 65 and Safe Start at 69. Go Protect still quotes at 99, which makes it the safe answer for older travellers.
- 24-hour emergency assistance : one number that answers at any hour and organises treatment on the spot. The Department of Foreign Affairs tells travellers to save their insurer's emergency contact details before departure, and Go Protect's assistance is only triggered by that call.
What does the small print of the best travel insurance hide?
The small print of a travel insurance policy hides exactly the details that decide a claim: age limits, excesses, the pre-existing condition clause and who is allowed to authorise a repatriation. I read the contracts behind the best plans on the Irish shelf, and here is where to look.
One useful clarification first. Direct billing at the hospital, often sold as an exclusive advantage, is included in all eleven plans priced for Ireland. The real differences sit elsewhere: in cancellation cover, in the age limits, and in the step from €300,000 to €500,000 of medical cover.
- Age limits that never appear in the advertising : WorldSecure Basic and Safe Nomad stop selling on your 40th birthday, Safe Extreme at 49, Safe Care at 64, WorldSecure Platinum at 65 and Safe Start at 69. At 65 only seven of the eleven plans still quote, and at 70 only five.
- A destination that moves the age limit : Go Explore and Go Explore + quote a 78-year-old for a trip to Spain but refuse a 66-year-old for the United States, because the product document excludes over 65s for the United States and Canada while allowing up to 80 everywhere else.
- A cancellation clock that starts when you book : SafeTrip Tourism only sells cancellation cover on the day you book the trip, and Cap Explorer stops once your booking is more than two days old. Go Protect is the only plan on the Irish shelf that still sells cancellation cover whenever you booked.
- Excesses buried in the product sheet : WorldSecure Platinum applies €100 per claim on personal liability, €30 per claim on baggage and €30 per person on the cancellation option. The CCPC defines the excess as "the first part of any insurance claim that you have to pay" and lists it among the four things to check before buying.
- Baggage exclusions that catch the obvious items : WorldSecure Platinum caps baggage at €2,000 per policy and specifically excludes mobile phones, cash, credit cards, fragile items such as glass and porcelain, and sports equipment unless the option is bought.
- Sports treated as an extra : ask for extreme sports cover and only four plans still quote, from €30.25 with WorldSecure Platinum to €204.60 with Safe Extreme. The other seven simply stop selling.
Go Protect’s terms exclude from the cancellation cover any illness or accident first observed, treated, relapsing, worsening or hospitalised between the date you booked your trip and the date you took out the policy. Anything that appears in that gap is not covered. The pricing rules point the same way: wait more than two days after booking and most plans stop selling cancellation cover altogether.
A clause no product sheet shows: on a repatriation, the decision belongs to the insurer's own medical officer. Under Go Protect's terms the doctor at Mutuaide Assistance decides how, when and to which hospital you are moved, after speaking to the doctor treating you on the spot. Refusing the solution the medical team proposes cancels your assistance cover outright. So the rule in an emergency never changes: ring the assistance number first, act afterwards.
Set against those traps, here is why Go Protect still gets my vote. Its cancellation cover accepts illness, accident and death, pregnancy complications up to week 28, serious damage over €2,500 to your home, damage to your car in the 48 hours before departure, economic redundancy, the start of a new job or paid internship, a jury or adoption summons, an employer moving your leave dates and a tourist visa refusal, plus an all justified causes clause for any sudden event outside your control. That is the widest list on the Irish shelf, at the lowest price.
What does the best travel insurance actually cover?
The best travel insurance covers emergency medical care and hospital treatment abroad, medical repatriation, 24-hour assistance, your baggage and, on some plans, cancellation of the trip. These are precisely the things neither a credit card nor the European Health Insurance Card replaces.
Guarantee | WorldSecure Basic | Go Protect | WorldSecure Platinum | Safe Start | Go Explore + | SafeTrip Tourism |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emergency medical abroad Hospital and doctor bills | €300,000 | €300,000 | €300,000 | €500,000 | €500,000 | €500,000 |
Direct billing No money up front | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included |
Repatriation Medical flight home | Actual cost | Actual cost | Actual cost | Actual cost | Actual cost | Actual cost |
Trip cancellation | Not covered | Up to €12,000 | Up to €9,000 | Not covered | Not covered | Up to €6,000 |
Baggage | €1,150 | €1,500 | €2,000 | €2,000 | €500 | €1,500 |
Search and rescue | €3,000 | €10,000 | €5,000 | €5,000 | €6,000 | €4,000 |
Emergency cash advance | €700 | €2,300 | €700 | €1,500 | €1,000 | €500 |
Personal liability | €4,500,000 | €4,500,000 | €4,500,000 | €4,500,000 | €1,500,000 | €4,500,000 |
Treatment back in Ireland | No | No | No | No | €20,000 | No |
Extreme sports | No | Included | Included | No | No | Included |
Upper age limit | 39 | 99 | 65 | 69 | 80 | 98 |
Price, 7 days in Spain | €18.15 | €28.82 | €28.88 | €44.00 | €71.50 | €88.00 |
The commonest mistake is treating the European Health Insurance Card as insurance. The card gives Irish residents access to public healthcare in the EU, the EEA and Switzerland for a temporary stay of up to three months. According to Citizens Information it does not cover private healthcare, ongoing or permanent healthcare, or "The cost to fly you back to Ireland". The Department of Foreign Affairs is just as direct: the card "is not a substitute for proper travel insurance provided by a reputable insurer", and some private hospitals will not accept it. Outside the EU and the EEA it is worth nothing at all.
One number deserves an honest answer. The Department of Foreign Affairs reports that Insurance Ireland recommends a policy providing a minimum medical cover of €1 million, and Irish specialists advertise ceilings of €10 million and above. No plan on the shelf we priced for Ireland reaches that: the eleven run from €250,000 to €500,000, with Safe Nomad the single exception because it reimburses the actual cost, and it only sells up to 39. What our plans do carry is repatriation at actual cost with no ceiling on every one of them, direct billing across the board and cancellation limits far above the Irish annual policies. If a €1 million ceiling is your priority, buy from an Irish specialist and pay for it. If the repatriation line and the price matter more, the plans above do the job. More on what a policy includes in our guide to travel insurance in Ireland.
How much does the best travel insurance cost on average?
The best travel insurance starts at €18.15 for a week, roughly €2.59 a day, and the middle price of the eleven plans available in Ireland is €53.90. The cost depends far more on how long you travel and how old you are than on where you go.
Trip | Cheapest cover | Cheapest with €500,000 medical | Middle of the market |
|---|---|---|---|
Britain 4 days | €18.15 | €47.30 (Safe Start) | €47.30 |
Spain 7 days | €18.15 | €44.00 (Safe Start) | €53.90 |
United States 10 days | €43.12 (Go Protect) | €72.60 (Safe Care) | €94.60 |
Thailand 14 days | €32.45 | €68.20 (Safe Start) | €71.50 |
Spain 30 days | €42.90 | €83.60 (Safe Start) | €83.60 |
Measured against the risk, that is very little: even the dearest plan on the Irish shelf costs €193.60 for the week. The Department of Foreign Affairs adds the line worth remembering whenever the cheapest quote tempts you: "Not all policies are the same, and the cheapest one might be cheap for a reason."
When is the best travel insurance an annual policy?
The best travel insurance becomes an annual policy when you travel often: one contract covers every trip over twelve months and costs €269.50 with Safe World or €310.20 with Go Annual for one traveller. Only those two annual plans sell to Irish residents.
Do the arithmetic before you sign, because the usual rule of thumb is wrong. Safe World costs €269.50 a year against €28.82 for a single week in Spain with Go Protect, so at entry level the annual policy only pays off from about nine short trips. Measured against the €53.90 middle of the market it pays off from around five. It is a policy for genuinely frequent travellers, not for your second holiday of the year. The full comparison is in our guide to annual multi-trip travel insurance.
Is a credit card enough as your best travel insurance?
No, in most cases a credit card is not enough as travel insurance. Card cover typically carries a low medical ceiling, a short maximum trip length and reimbursement after the event rather than direct billing at the hospital, and the cancellation cover it includes usually names only a handful of accepted reasons.
HelloSafe holds no card data for Ireland, so I will not quote a ceiling I have not checked myself. Before you rely on a card, take out its policy document and confirm three things: the emergency medical ceiling abroad, the longest trip it covers, and whether the hospital is billed directly or you have to pay first and claim later. Then set that against €300,000 with direct billing at €28.82 a week. For a long trip, a family, or an expensive health system, a standalone policy is still the answer.
What do Irish travellers ask most about the best travel insurance?
For travellers leaving Ireland, Go Protect offers the best value in 2026: €300,000 of emergency medical cover with the hospital billed directly, cancellation up to €12,000 and no practical age limit, from €28.82 a week. For a €500,000 ceiling, Safe Start costs €44.00 and SafeTrip Tourism €88.00.
It starts at €18.15 for a week, about €2.59 a day. The middle price of the eleven plans we priced for Ireland is €53.90 and the dearest is €193.60. Cost depends on trip length, age and the level of cover, far more than on the destination.
Four plans reach €500,000: Safe Start (€44.00), Safe Care (€44.00), Go Explore + (€71.50) and SafeTrip Tourism (€88.00). Insurance Ireland recommends a minimum of €1 million, which no plan on our Irish shelf reaches, so weigh that against the uncapped repatriation cover all of them carry.
No. The card only covers public healthcare in the EU, the EEA and Switzerland for a stay of up to three months, and Citizens Information confirms it does not cover the cost to fly you back to Ireland. The Department of Foreign Affairs calls it no substitute for proper travel insurance. Outside the EU and the EEA it is worth nothing.
The same day you book, if you want cancellation cover. SafeTrip Tourism only sells it on the booking day and Cap Explorer stops after two days. Go Protect’s terms also exclude anything first diagnosed between booking the trip and taking out the policy.
Yes, and it varies sharply: WorldSecure Basic and Safe Nomad up to 39, Safe Extreme to 49, Safe Care to 64, WorldSecure Platinum to 65, Safe Start to 69, Go Explore and Go Explore + to 80, World Travel to 84, SafeTrip Tourism to 98 and Go Protect to 99. At 65 only seven of the eleven plans still quote.
Usually not by default. Go Protect excludes from its cancellation cover anything first observed, treated or hospitalised between booking the trip and buying the policy. The CCPC warns that many policies exclude pre-existing conditions unless you tell the insurer in advance, and that an undisclosed condition can invalidate the whole claim.
The excess is the first part of a claim you pay yourself. On WorldSecure Platinum it is €100 per personal liability claim, €30 per baggage claim and €30 per person on the cancellation option. The CCPC lists the excess as one of the four things to check before you buy a policy.
Only if you travel often. Safe World costs €269.50 a year and Go Annual €310.20, against €28.82 for a single week in Spain. At entry level the annual policy pays off from about nine short trips, or around five measured against the €53.90 middle of the market.
Only on some plans, and it changes the price. Asking for extreme sports cover from Ireland leaves four plans quoting: WorldSecure Platinum at €30.25, Go Protect at €49.50, SafeTrip Tourism at €110.00 and Safe Extreme at €204.60. The other seven stop selling entirely.
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