International travel is back in a big way, and with it comes renewed interest in travel insurance that can cushion the financial impact of missed flights, medical emergencies abroad and last minute cancellations.

For many U.S. travelers, Costco Travel has become a convenient, member focused gateway for booking vacation packages and cruises, and it now also offers access to international travel insurance.

That coverage sits alongside Costco Travel international booking, where insurance, payments and supplier rules intersect long before you leave home. Understanding exactly how this protection works, what is and is not included and how it compares to buying a standalone policy is essential if you want to protect your next trip overseas.

How International Travel Insurance Through Costco Travel Works

Costco does not underwrite insurance itself. Instead, it partners with established insurers to provide members with access to travel protection when they book eligible trips through Costco Travel.

In the United States, the current partner for Costco Travel insurance is Cover More, a company that is part of Zurich Insurance Group, which underwrites the policies and handles claims and emergency assistance.

In Canada, Costco Travel works with Manulife for insurance sold alongside its vacation offerings. The result for travelers is a branded insurance product with Costco preferred pricing layered on top of a major insurer’s infrastructure.

For U.S. members booking international trips, coverage is offered as an International Travel Protection Plan associated with a specific Costco Travel itinerary. The policy is tied to the trip you purchase through Costco Travel rather than acting as an open ended annual plan.

You select insurance during the booking process or shortly after, and your benefits are spelled out in a policy document provided by the insurer. Coverage generally runs from the day after you buy the plan through the end of your trip, with certain benefits such as pre trip cancellation starting immediately after purchase.

It is important to note a few eligibility nuances. You must be a Costco member and you must book your travel through Costco Travel to be offered these particular plans.

Policies are not currently available to residents of New York for U.S. issued coverage, even if they are Costco members, due to state specific insurance rules and filings. The coverage also varies somewhat by state, so travelers in California, Texas and Florida may see slightly different details even under the same plan name.

Costco positions this travel insurance as a convenience and value add to its members rather than a standalone insurance marketplace. You will not find a menu of competing insurers, but instead a set of standardized plans through its chosen partner.

For many travelers who prefer to keep bookings under one umbrella, that simplicity is an advantage, though it also means you should take time to understand the coverage limits and exclusions before relying on it as your sole layer of international protection.

Key Benefits of Costco’s International Travel Protection Plan

International travel introduces risks that domestic travelers do not always consider, especially around emergency medical care in countries where your regular health insurance may offer little or no coverage.

Costco’s International Travel Protection Plan is designed to address those needs along with classic trip insurance protections such as cancellation and baggage coverage. Knowing the headline benefits helps you decide whether this plan is sufficient or if you need to supplement it.

Trip cancellation and trip interruption form the backbone of the policy. If you must cancel before departure or cut your trip short for a covered reason, the plan can reimburse up to 100 percent of your insured trip cost for cancellation and up to 150 percent for interruption, within a maximum per person dollar limit.

Covered reasons usually include serious illness or injury to you or a traveling companion, certain family emergencies at home, severe weather that shuts down your destination, or a documented airline strike, among other scenarios defined in the policy wording.

For international travelers, the emergency medical benefits are particularly notable. Recent plan summaries for Costco’s international coverage show emergency medical expense limits that can be significantly higher than domestic plans, often in the range of around two hundred thousand dollars per person, with separate caps for dental emergencies.

Emergency medical evacuation and repatriation limits for international travel can reach as high as one million dollars per person, a critical safeguard if you require air ambulance transport or a medically staffed flight back to the United States after a serious incident overseas.

The plan also addresses the inconveniences that can derail a trip without rising to the level of a catastrophe. Travel delay benefits can reimburse meals and hotels when you are stuck due to a missed connection or severe delay for a covered reason after a specified number of hours.

Baggage and personal effects coverage can help replace essential items when your luggage is lost, stolen or delayed, with typical limits in the thousands of dollars for loss and additional allowances for temporary purchases when your bags are late arriving. Together, these benefits can significantly soften the financial blow of the most common international travel mishaps.

Optional Add Ons and Special Features

Beyond the core package, Costco’s international travel insurance offers several optional upgrades that can tailor the plan to your risk tolerance and type of trip. The most talked about extra is Cancel For Any Reason coverage, often abbreviated as CFAR.

This add on allows you to cancel your trip for a reason that is not otherwise listed as covered in the policy, such as concerns about a destination’s political climate, apprehension about a new health scare or even a simple change of heart, and receive a portion of your nonrefundable trip cost back.

CFAR coverage through Costco’s partner is typically capped at a percentage of the insured trip value, frequently around 50 percent, with a maximum overall dollar limit. There are important rules: you usually must purchase CFAR within a defined window after your first trip payment and insure your full prepaid, nonrefundable cost.

You also must cancel a certain number of days before departure, often at least two days in advance, for the benefit to apply. Travelers who are nervous about uncertainties that would not count as standard covered reasons may find this add on worth the extra premium.

Another optional element is rental car damage coverage. This benefit can cover damage to a rental vehicle due to collision, theft or vandalism up to a stated limit, frequently around fifty thousand dollars.

It can be a convenient alternative to the rental company’s collision damage waiver, although it is crucial to read the geographic restrictions and excluded vehicle types. Certain countries, such as Ireland, Mexico, Jamaica or Costa Rica, may not be covered under rental car benefits, and luxury or specialty vehicles may also fall outside the policy.

A further feature that many travelers value is the waiver of pre existing medical condition exclusions. Standard travel insurance may deny medical claims related to a condition you had before purchasing the policy. However, Costco’s partner offers a waiver in many U.S. states if you buy the plan within a set period after your initial trip payment, commonly 21 days.

When the waiver applies, the insurer agrees not to exclude medical issues linked to pre existing conditions, provided you are medically able to travel at booking and you insure the full cost of your prepaid, nonrefundable trip. This can be especially important for older travelers or anyone managing chronic health conditions.

Eligibility, Booking Requirements and Geographic Nuances

To access international travel insurance through Costco Travel, several eligibility and procedural hoops must be understood. First and foremost, you must hold an active Costco membership.

The travel insurance offering is a member benefit, and non members cannot buy these plans directly from the insurer on the same terms. Both standard Gold Star and Executive members may purchase travel through Costco Travel, though Executive members can earn additional rewards on the cost of their trips.

The second requirement is that your trip itself must be booked through Costco Travel. That means you generally need to reserve your flights, hotel, cruise or package vacation on Costco’s travel platform or through its call center.

The coverage is closely tied to this reservation because the trip cost you insure is based on the components booked with Costco. If you arrange portions of your itinerary independently, such as separate flights or tours, you will want to check whether those costs can be added to the insured amount or whether they will sit outside the plan’s protection.

Geography also matters. In the United States, Costco Travel clearly discloses that its Cover More insurance plans are currently not available to residents of New York. This is due to state regulatory requirements around insurance product approvals.

New York residents who are Costco members may still book travel through Costco Travel, but they will need to seek travel insurance separately from standalone providers or rely on other protections such as credit card benefits. Policies can vary in their treatment of residents of other states as well, so it is wise to review state specific policy documents during the quote process.

Canadian Costco members face a different structure because Costco Travel Canada partners with Manulife rather than Cover More and Zurich. Plans offered in Canada may include similar categories of benefits, such as trip cancellation, interruption, baggage and emergency medical coverage, but the limits, exclusions and terms differ.

Additionally, some policies may be available up to the day of departure, whereas the U.S. product ties more closely to the timing of the first trip payment when it comes to certain enhanced benefits like the pre existing condition waiver.

Comparing Costco’s International Coverage to Standalone Policies

Travelers who are meticulous about risk management will often compare Costco’s member oriented international plans with standalone travel insurance policies available directly from insurers or via comparison sites.

While Costco’s offering is generally considered competitive and convenient, it may not always be the perfect fit, especially for specialized trips or travelers with complex needs.

On the positive side, Costco’s international plan typically bundles robust emergency medical and evacuation coverage with solid trip cancellation and interruption protection at a price that is often lower than or comparable to retail policies with similar limits.

The association with a large insurer like Zurich provides a comfort level regarding financial backing and global assistance networks. In independent reviews, the emergency medical limits for international travelers in Costco’s plan tend to outpace basic plans sold elsewhere, which may only offer modest medical maximums unless you upgrade.

However, because Costco works with a single primary insurance partner in each country, you do not have the ability to shop across dozens of insurers within the Costco platform.

If you have niche requirements such as adventure sports coverage, very high trip costs for luxury tours, or pre existing conditions that require finely tuned underwriting, you may find that a third party policy purchased outside Costco offers more tailored options.

Some standalone insurers also sell annual multi trip plans that can be more cost effective for frequent travelers than buying separate single trip coverage each time you book through Costco.

Another factor is flexibility around trips that are not fully booked through Costco. If you often assemble complex itineraries where only part of your travel is arranged via Costco Travel and the rest via other providers, then a standalone policy that easily accommodates miscellaneous prepaid expenses might be simpler to manage.

That does not mean Costco’s international plan cannot work in such situations, but it does require extra attention to how trip costs are declared and whether every component you care about is actually insured.

Cost, Value and When Costco’s Plan Makes Sense

Price is often a deciding factor when travelers weigh whether to add international insurance through Costco Travel. Premiums for Costco’s International Travel Protection Plan are calculated based on trip cost, trip length, traveler age and sometimes destination.

Recent sample quotes cited in consumer coverage place average costs in the mid hundreds of dollars for a typical multiday international vacation for two adults, though your personal quote could be lower or higher depending on variables.

From a value standpoint, Costco’s plan can be very attractive if your trip is already being booked through Costco Travel and you are in the demographic sweet spot where age based surcharges are modest.

The combination of high emergency medical and evacuation limits, solid trip interruption coverage and decent baggage and delay benefits, all at member rates, ticks many boxes for the average family or couple taking a once a year overseas vacation. Executive members may also factor in the additional travel rewards they earn on bookings, which can indirectly offset a portion of the insurance premium.

Costco’s international insurance can also make compelling sense for travelers who specifically want access to Cancel For Any Reason coverage, since not every insurer offers CFAR and those that do may charge steep premiums.

While Costco’s CFAR add on only reimburses a portion of trip costs, it provides a level of flexibility that appeals to travelers uncertain about geopolitical events or personal scheduling commitments months into the future. If you know you are someone who likes the option to walk away, this feature alone may justify choosing Costco’s plan when you book your trip.

There are, however, situations where Costco’s plan might be less ideal. Very long trips, such as multi month sabbaticals or extended stays abroad, might bump up against maximum trip length allowed by the policy. Older travelers, particularly those over 75, may find that a specialist provider offers senior focused plans with benefits structured around their age group.

And anyone living in a jurisdiction where Costco’s insurance partner does not operate or has limited product approvals will need to look elsewhere. In those cases, comparing multiple quotes on the open market remains essential.

How to Evaluate the Fine Print Before You Buy

Like any insurance product, international travel coverage through Costco Travel comes with detailed policy documents full of definitions, exclusions and conditions.

Taking the time to read or at least skim the fine print before you finalize your purchase is one of the most important steps you can take, even if you are generally comfortable trusting Costco’s curated offerings.

Start by confirming the coverage limits for each key category, including trip cancellation, trip interruption, travel delay, baggage loss, baggage delay, emergency medical expenses, emergency evacuation and accidental death and dismemberment.

Make sure these limits align with your trip’s actual cost and with your personal risk tolerance. For example, if you are paying significantly more than one hundred thousand dollars for a luxury world cruise, you will want to verify that the trip cancellation maximum per person is adequate to cover your share.

Next, examine the list of covered reasons for trip cancellation and interruption. These might include unexpected illness or injury, death of a close family member, a natural disaster that makes your destination uninhabitable, or a legal obligation such as jury duty.

If a reason is not explicitly listed, then it is usually not covered under standard cancellation terms, which is where CFAR might come into play if you choose to add it. Also look carefully at exclusions, such as self inflicted injury, travel against medical advice, certain high risk activities, or foreseeable events like storms named before you bought the policy.

For medical coverage, pay attention to definitions of pre existing conditions and the terms under which a waiver applies. Confirm the number of days after your initial trip deposit during which you must purchase the plan to qualify for the waiver.

Check whether there are sublimits for certain types of care, such as emergency dental treatment, and whether the policy pays primary or secondary to any other health insurance you may have. Understanding the claims process is equally important; note the required documentation and time frames for filing a claim after you suffer a loss.

The Takeaway

International travel insurance through Costco Travel offers a compelling blend of convenience, strong core benefits and member oriented pricing for U.S. and Canadian travelers who already rely on Costco to book flights, hotels and cruises.

By partnering with established insurers such as Cover More, Zurich and Manulife, Costco delivers a package that includes high emergency medical and evacuation limits, comprehensive trip cancellation and interruption protection and practical extras like baggage and delay coverage.

At the same time, this is not a one size fits all solution. Eligibility constraints, particularly for New York residents in the United States, mean some members will have to look elsewhere.

Travelers planning especially complex or high value itineraries, pursuing adventure activities, or managing significant pre existing medical conditions may find more tailored options on the open market. The Costco plan is best viewed as a well rounded, competitive default for mainstream international vacations rather than a specialty product for edge cases.

For many Costco members, the combination of solid coverage, the possibility of Cancel For Any Reason upgrades, and the simplicity of adding insurance at checkout will be enough to justify choosing Costco’s international plan.

The key is to approach the purchase as you would any other major travel decision: compare benefits and limits, read the fine print carefully, and consider how this coverage fits alongside credit card protections and any existing health insurance. With that homework done, you can head abroad with confidence that a well structured safety net is in place.

FAQ

Q1: Do I have to be a Costco member to buy international travel insurance through Costco Travel?
Yes. International travel insurance offered via Costco Travel is a member benefit. You must have an active Costco membership and book an eligible trip through Costco Travel in order to access the associated insurance plans.

Q2: Can New York residents purchase Costco Travel’s international insurance plan?
No. As of late 2025, Costco’s U.S. travel insurance plans administered by Cover More and underwritten by Zurich are not available to residents of New York, due to state specific insurance regulations. New York based travelers can still book trips through Costco Travel but must obtain travel insurance from other providers.

Q3: Is Cancel For Any Reason coverage available on Costco’s international plan?
Yes, many Costco international travel insurance offerings include an optional Cancel For Any Reason add on. This typically reimburses up to a portion of your insured trip cost, often around half, if you cancel for a reason not otherwise covered, provided you meet conditions such as purchasing within a specified time after your first trip payment and canceling several days before departure.

Q4: Does Costco’s international travel insurance cover medical emergencies abroad?
Yes. One of the key strengths of Costco’s international plan is emergency medical coverage for illnesses or injuries that occur during your trip, often with limits around two hundred thousand dollars per person, plus separate allowances for emergency dental care. The plan also includes substantial emergency medical evacuation and repatriation benefits, which are crucial if you need to be transported to a suitable medical facility or back home.

Q5: Can I buy Costco Travel insurance if I did not book my flights or hotel through Costco?
Generally no. The international travel insurance offered through Costco Travel is designed to cover trips booked on Costco’s platform or through its agents. If your flights, hotels or cruises are arranged entirely outside Costco, you will need to seek a standalone policy from another provider instead.

Q6: Are pre existing medical conditions covered under Costco’s international plan?
Pre existing conditions are typically excluded unless you qualify for a waiver. In many U.S. states, if you purchase the plan within a set number of days after your initial trip payment, insure the full nonrefundable trip cost and are medically able to travel at booking, the insurer may waive the exclusion, allowing coverage for complications related to those conditions during your trip.

Q7: Does the plan include rental car coverage when traveling overseas?
Yes, Costco’s partner often offers optional rental car damage coverage that can pay for loss or damage to a rental vehicle up to a specified limit. However, there are exclusions for certain countries and vehicle types, so you should review the policy language carefully, especially if you plan to drive in destinations like Ireland, Mexico, Jamaica or Costa Rica.

Q8: How does Costco’s international insurance handle trip interruptions and delays?
The plan generally includes trip interruption coverage up to around 150 percent of your insured trip cost for covered reasons, which can help pay for unused prepaid arrangements and additional transportation to return home. It also offers travel delay benefits that reimburse meals and lodging when you are delayed beyond a specified number of hours for a covered reason, up to a daily and total maximum.

Q9: Can I purchase Costco’s international travel insurance close to my departure date?
You can often buy the base plan up to shortly before departure, but certain enhanced benefits, such as the pre existing condition waiver or Cancel For Any Reason coverage, usually require you to purchase within a limited window after making your first trip payment. Buying early maximizes your protection and eligibility for these extras.

Q10: Is Costco’s international travel insurance better than a standalone policy?
Whether Costco’s plan is better depends on your specific trip and needs. For many mainstream international vacations booked through Costco, the plan offers strong, competitively priced coverage with generous medical and evacuation limits. However, travelers with highly specialized needs, very high trip costs, or complex itineraries may find that comparing multiple standalone policies outside Costco yields a closer match to their risk profile.