We skipped travel insurance for our first three family trips. No claims, no problems, $0 saved. On trip four, my daughter got a stomach bug in Tulum that required a clinic visit, IV fluids, and an overnight stay. The bill: $340 USD. Our travel insurance claim: approved for $290. Net cost to us: $50, plus the $28 policy premium. Without insurance, we would have paid $340 out of pocket on a trip where we were already over budget.
The real math on travel insurance: A family of four policy for a 7-day Mexico trip typically costs $60–90 through a reputable provider like Allianz, Travel Guard, or WorldNomads. The break-even point is one clinic visit for a child. If you travel with young kids — who get sick more often, who have more accidents, and whose illnesses can escalate faster than adults — travel insurance is not optional; it is cost management.
What to actually look for in a policy: Emergency medical coverage (minimum $50,000 per person), medical evacuation coverage (minimum $250,000 — the real reason to have insurance), trip cancellation for any reason (worth the extra premium with young kids who catch everything), and coverage for pre-existing conditions if relevant to your family. Do not buy the cheapest policy; look for the best medical coverage at a reasonable price.
A single medical emergency abroad can cost $30,000+. EKTA covers your whole family from $25/trip — cancel before you depart if plans change.
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What travel insurance does NOT cover: This is where families get surprised. Standard policies do not cover: fear of travel, "I changed my mind," pandemics (unless you have a specific pandemic rider), activities deemed high-risk (check the exclusions list before you cliff-jump), or losses you could have mitigated. Read the policy document before you travel — not the marketing summary, the actual document. It takes 20 minutes and will tell you exactly what you have.
Our current approach: We buy travel insurance for every international trip, every time. For domestic trips, we rely on credit card travel benefits (which are often substantial — check your card). For budget trips under $500 total, the cost-benefit of insurance is less clear — we make the call based on whether we are traveling somewhere with expensive medical care or remote wilderness areas.
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