Best travel insurance for the United States
We compare cover versus cost, and reveal the best value policies for your US trip.
Last updated: 5 Jan 2026
Whether you’re planning to explore Hawaii, show your family the Grand Canyon, or take a road trip down Route 66, you’ll need to buy travel insurance for a holiday in the United States.
Medical care in the US is expensive and Australia doesn’t have a reciprocal agreement like we do with some other countries.
Some travel insurance policies also offer cover for if your travel is interrupted by civil unrest, a natural disaster, losing your passport and credit cards. Another benefit included in most policies is help paying car insurance excess or legal liability if you’re involved in a prang.
We take you through how to choose a policy that could prevent your magical Disneyland holiday turning into a travel nightmare.
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Do you need travel insurance for the US?
Travel insurance is essential for Australians travelling to the United States. It’s best to buy your insurance at the same time as you book your trip so you’ll be covered if you have to cancel for some reason before you go.
Medical costs in the US
There is no reciprocal healthcare agreement between Australia and the US, and medical care in the States is expensive. If you need it, you could end up paying thousands of dollars, even for a minor issue. Payment may be required upfront for medical assistance, or you may be asked to show proof of insurance or your ability to pay before receiving treatment.
If you have a pre-existing condition, read the fine print of your policy to make sure you understand if you’re covered in the event you need medical treatment for that condition while in the US.
Minor conditions are often covered if you haven’t required treatment in the previous 12 months, but some insurers will only cover pre-existing conditions for an extra fee and pending a medical assessment. For these reasons, it’s vital to read your product disclosure statement (PDS) before taking out a policy.
Travel insurance policies also tend to cover personal liability and sometimes legal expenses, which may be useful if you end up being liable for someone else’s medical costs.
Hiring a car
What better way to see the US than driving between destinations in a big American car?
Many travel insurance policies cover collision damage excess cover, so you don’t need to pay the insurance excess reduction that the car hire company charges.
If the car hire company hits you up for damage, you’ll need to pay that to the car hire company, and then claim it back on your travel insurance.
Natural disasters
Due to the large size and diversity of the US landscape, the natural disasters you might face while travelling can vary from tornadoes to blizzards to wildfires.
Thankfully, cover for natural disasters is pretty common in travel insurance policies, but it’s still important to research possible dangers in the areas you’re travelling to, follow government travel warnings, and read your travel insurance PDS to make sure you’re covered for medical treatment and travel cancellation for natural disasters.
Entry restrictions: Smartraveller advises that the ‘US authorities have broad powers to decide if you’re eligible to enter and may determine that you are inadmissible for any reason under US law’. Unfortunately, travel insurance generally excludes cover for your cancellation costs if you’re denied entry by customs or immigration, whether that’s due to visa issues, missing documentation or failing to meet entry requirements at the border as this is deemed to be within your control. So keep an eye on the latest travel advice.
How much does travel insurance for the US cost?
For a 10- to 17-day trip, a family will pay on average about $478 for their travel insurance. Insurance for a similar trip will cost travellers under 60 years an average of $262 as a single and $478 as a couple, while travellers aged over 60 will pay around $552 as a single person, or $881 as a couple.
The length of your trip, how comprehensive your cover is, your age, how far in advance you buy your policy and how much excess you’re willing to pay will all affect the price of your travel insurance policy.
We looked at nearly 9000 varied quotes for 10- to 17-day holidays to the US, which we used to calculate the estimates above.
Cheapest travel insurance for the US
We used our database of nearly 30,000 quotes for US holidays that cover a huge range of scenarios to find the cheapest insurance policies for a US holiday.
These policies only provide medical cover and cover for medical repatriation. They don’t provide cover for things like cancellation costs, lost baggage or missed connections.
Zoom Medical Only
- Price score for US travel: 100%
- Provides unlimited medical cover only.
1Cover Medical Only
- Price score for US travel: 92%
- Provides unlimited medical cover only.
Southern Cross Travel Insurance Medical Only
- Price score for US travel: 91%
- Provides unlimited medical cover only.
Things to keep in mind
- Buy your travel insurance as soon as you start booking your holiday – that way you’re covered, even if you have to cancel early.
- If you’re going skiing or snowboarding, or doing any other adventure sports, make sure you’re covered.
- If you’re hiring a car, look at the excess cover for car hire.
Best value travel insurance for the US
Exclusively for CHOICE members, we’ve also listed the best value travel insurance policies for travelling to the US.
If you’re not yet a member, join CHOICE to see the top-rated policies for travelling to the United States. Unlike other insurance comparison websites, we don’t get paid by any of the insurers we’re comparing. So we only recommend the best insurance policies for you.
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Jane Bardell is a Content producer in the Insurance and utilities team. She writes about home, car, pet and health insurance. Previously at CHOICE, she checked facts, figures and statistics as a Verifier with the Editorial and investigations team.
Jane has a Bachelor of Science from the University of New South Wales.
Find Jane on LinkedIn.
Jane Bardell is a Content producer in the Insurance and utilities team. She writes about home, car, pet and health insurance. Previously at CHOICE, she checked facts, figures and statistics as a Verifier with the Editorial and investigations team.
Jane has a Bachelor of Science from the University of New South Wales.
Find Jane on LinkedIn.
