Insurance costs

That's not a question anyone can answer. Do you want travel insurance? International medical insurance? Medical evacuation? Some? All? Do you want to cover the tour, your airfare, other travel expenses. What state do you live in? How old are you? How much coverage do you want? There's a lot to consider.

Squaremouth is often recommended on this forum. It's a website that let's you compare different companies, based on your needs.

Yeah, you're right. I was getting overwhelmed looking at all the options. Thanks for replying. I'll check out Squaremouth.

lauriemurph, the good news is it looks like you're going on a RS tour. Enjoy!

Start with checking if your existing medical insurance covers overseas medical expenses.

So the first questions with insurance are what you already have, what is your age and what is (are) your concern(s).

There is insurance for

• Trip cancellation
• Health and Medical care
• Medical Evacuation
• Auto insurance, for those who rent a car

And the related or additional more minor problems of flight cancellation and baggage loss and lodging disruptions. (We only take carry-ons, we will not trust the airlines, especially if transfers are involved. But if you’re flying non-stop from US to London, that may be less of a concern for you. Be sure to check size and weight limits on the airline you are using. Those limits may well be strictly enforced.)

Some folks are concerned about having to cancel a trip at the last moment because they care for an elderly parent who may suffer a medical crisis.

Trip cancellation coverage is the most expensive (like over $3,000 when I looked and rejected that idea.). Trip cancellation coverage should be secured at or very near the time of first booking.

Some folks hedge their bets by booking refundable flights instead of non-refundable flights. You can just insure the flight at time of booking, if that is a concern for you.

Medicare provides no coverage abroad, but if you have private health insurance, perhaps through work or perhaps as a supplemental Medicare-Gap or a Medicare Supplemental policy, you may very well already have $50,000 in foreign travel coverage. Should you need medical care in Europe, health care costs there are a tiny fraction of US health care costs.

You should specifically look at

• Your existing health insurance insurance coverages. Look at the policy and/ or call your carrier or insurance agent.
• The RS trip cancellation policy. https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/tour-conditions
• Your credit card agreements and coverages; for example, some credit cards will cover the collision damage waiver if you pay for a rental car in Europe on that particular card. (If you are renting a car, check what coverages that country - England for your trip - requires the rental company to provide.

If you are travelling on your own - before and/or after the RS trip - perhaps you should book hotels that are cancellable up to just a few days in advance your reservation dates. That is pretty common.

We travelled internationally 9 times from 1999 to 2025. In 2025, for the very first time, we got some insurance. Our concern was: what if we got into a bike accident and suffered a significant injury? (We fell off our bikes in 2024 on wet pavement in Italy, without injury other than scrapes and a strain)

We weren’t concerned about the medical, since our supplemental coverage gave us $50 K and French or German healthcare would not likely exceed that. (Our one car rental would be insured by the rental car company for liability and our credit card for the CDW.) Our concern was, what if we need a medical evacuation flight - like the one Lindsay Vaughan required after she suffered her badly broken leg after her Olympic Downhill fall. That is likely a six-figure expense.

So, we decided that all that we needed was a med-evac policy that ran us just over $200 for both of us - and that threw in an additional $50k in medical coverage … plus a help-line resource.

I hope this helps you to decide what if any coverage you want or need

Fred, what a nice thoughtful answer. Way to go!

Fred,
Great answer.
I will only add that we almost never purchase trip cancellation insurance, but to purchase medical coverage and medical evacuation coverage.
I usually pay about $ 60 US for significant coverage for wife and self for 2-3 weeks.
One thing to thing about is that when overseas, if you need medical or hospital attention, you most likely will have to pay some cash unless you have specific coverage for the overseas trip.

We do have Blue Cross/Shield that covers us anywhere in the World, but don't pay upfront and doesn't pay all costs.

Thanks, Fred. Very kind and thoughtful answer. I will take these into consideration.

I’m actually looking for travel insurance today for my next RS trip. This post is a great question and is much more complicated as Fred has hit all the points to consider.
My concern is a medical issue preventing travel home and travel companion (spouse) has to stay. There would be additional cost for lodging.
From experience I often pay a few hundred dollars and hope to never use it. I was grateful to have it a couple of times.
World Nomads Pricing has worked in the past but I will compare and review other options now. Thank you.