USA travel insurance

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Gary Ross Hunter

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Updated by Smartraveller on 31 Jul 2025

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Why do I need travel insurance in USA?

  • It can cover you for emergency medical treatment.
  • It can cover medical expenses caused by injuries and accidents, unless it's from an excluded activity.
  • It can pay for transport to hospital by helicopter or ambulance, as well as medical evacuations back to Australia.
  • If you're renting a car in USA, make sure you have car rental excess cover.
  • Travelling in a foreign country may put your valuables at risk and travel insurance can cover you for lost or stolen items.
  • Terrorism is a risk in USA. A few insurers provide cover for medical and hospital expenses caused by an act of terrorism, including the cost of bringing you back home.

Looking for the best travel insurance for USA? Check out our award winners in 2024

USA travel insurance: Common exclusions

Every travel insurance policy has things you won't be covered for. Common exclusions include:

  • If you purchase cover after the incident has occurred. For example, if you take cover out after you've been injured and need medical attention.
  • Pre-existing medical conditions. If you have any major medical conditions, make sure you let your insurer know before taking out a policy. Otherwise you won't be covered for claims related to that condition.
  • You travel despite government travel advice. For example, if you travel to areas that have a warning from Smartraveller, travel insurance may not cover you.
  • Incidents that occur while you're under the influence of drugs or alcohol. For example, if you go out drinking in New York City, get injured and need medical attention, travel insurance won't cover you.
  • Driving vehicles without a licence. Like Australia, you won't be covered for medical costs or personal liability expenses if you drive without a licence in USA.

What add-ons should I look for?

  • If you're getting adventurous, a lot of policies will offer adventure packs which can cover you for loads of activities like horse riding, hiking and zip lining.
  • USA is a popular destination for snow sports. Whether you're skiing, snowboarding or cross country skiing, you'll often need to add extra cover to your policy.
  • If roadtripping is your thing, including car rental excess cover in your travel insurance is a sure way to save money. Some policies even automatically include it.
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Did you know?
Natural disasters such as flooding, bushfires, earthquakes, tsunamis and landslides can occur in USA.

Will I be covered for COVID-19?

Travel insurance can cover you for COVID-19 in USA. A policy can cover you for the following:

  • Rearrangement costs if you catch the virus and need to change your plans. Lots of comprehensive travel insurance policies let you claim up to $5,000 towards these expenses.
  • Medical costs due to COVID-19. This can include hospital expenses and RATs if you catch COVID-19 while overseas (but you won't be covered for mandatory PCRs).
  • Expenses if you need to isolate. For example, if you catch COVID while you're overseas and need to push back your flight and stay in your accommodation longer.

How do I get cheap travel insurance for USA?

  • Medical only or basic policies will generally be the cheaper policies on the market.
  • Use exclusive deals or promo codes to get a discount.
  • Opt for a higher excess. This will make your policy cheaper but more expensive if you have to claim.
  • Compare across a handful of travel insurers – they're not all the same.
  • Get the most value by buying your policy early. It means you're covered for longer while paying the same price.
Our best travel insurance policies
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Our expert says

"When I travel, I don't want to fork out a lot for travel insurance. I always get something above the bare minimum though which usually only covers medical-only expenses. Flight disruptions and delayed luggage are really common, so look for a cheap policy that covers me for these things."

Gary Ross Hunter's headshot
Journalist

What do I do in emergencies?

For emergencies: call 911 (police), 911 (ambulance) or 911 (fire).

In a medical emergency, call for help and then contact your insurer on their emergency assistance line.

Why you can trust Finder's travel insurance experts

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FAQs about USA

Sources

Gary Ross Hunter's headshot
Journalist

Gary Ross Hunter has over 6 years of expertise writing about insurance, including life, health, home, and car insurance. Having reviewed hundreds of product disclosure statements and published over 800 articles, he loves simplifying complex insurance topics for everyday readers. Gary has contributed to major outlets like Yahoo Finance, The Sydney Morning Herald, and news.com.au, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature from the University of Glasgow, along with a Tier 2 General Advice certification, ensuring his work adheres to ASIC’s RG146 standards. See full bio

Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross has written 589 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
  • Managing the cost of living
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9 Responses

    Default Gravatar
    JayneJuly 10, 2024

    Can I get travel insurance for a family member who hasn’t bought a return ticket yet but has already left the country for US 2 week ago. He’s planning to be in US for 2 months. Can he still be covered?

      Sarah Megginson's headshotFinder
      SarahJuly 18, 2024Finder

      Hi Jayne,

      It’s unlikely you can get your family member can get travel insurance in the current situation. Travel insurance typically requires purchase before trip departure and most policies have a clause stating coverage starts at a specific time after purchase (usually within a few days of buying the policy), and this must be before the trip starts. Since your family member is already in the US, most insurers won’t offer coverage.
      Not having a return ticket can be an exclusion. Some policies require a confirmed return flight for coverage, especially for trip cancellation benefits.

      Hopefully he has an uneventful trip, and hope this helps!

    Default Gravatar
    MareeCooperJanuary 7, 2022

    I only require cover for 1/ Medical. 2/. Cancellation only. No other coverage.
    Thank you,
    Maree Cooper

      James Martin's headshotFinder
      JamesJanuary 29, 2022Finder

      Hi Maree,

      You can explore travel insurance covers listed on this page. You can also use our comparison tool to help you to find a cover that matches your needs.

      Simply provide the information needed then click Get my quote to see the deals.

      Regards,
      James

    Default Gravatar
    JackOctober 1, 2021

    Is there an insurance product suitable for a young Australian musician who is going to live in the USA on an O1 visa for the next 3 years?

      James Martin's headshotFinder
      JamesOctober 6, 2021Finder

      Hi Jack,

      Longer term travel insurance usually covers only a maximum of 12 months (although you may wish to reach out to a provider directly to see if they’ll offer more extensive coverage). Depending on the type of cover you need, you could look into life insurance covers for non-US residents here (Note that this page will feature brands available through our US site.) You could also look into getting health insurance to cover medical expenses.

      Best,
      James

    Default GravatarFinder
    JeniMarch 12, 2019Finder

    Hi Chris,

    Thank you for getting in touch with Finder.

    According to our review on senior travel insurance, yes, you may still find insurers that will cover you even if you had cardiac bypass surgery, provided you declared the bypass operation when taking out your policy and were proclaimed fit for travel by your doctor and approved by the insurer offering heart condition cover.

    I hope this helps.

    Thank you and have a wonderful day!

    Cheers,
    Jeni

    Default Gravatar
    SashOctober 2, 2016

    Looking for a quote for Fiji citizen travellers to USA

      Richard Laycock's headshotFinder
      RichardOctober 4, 2016Finder

      Hi Sash,

      Thanks for getting in touch. The travel insurance brands in Finder does offer travel insurance to some non-Australia residents depending on their circumstances. Please head over to our non-resident travel insurance guide to review terms and conditions.

      All the best,
      Richard

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