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Visitor Insurance Calculator

A 30-day visit for two guests aged 60-69 on a comprehensive plan with a $250 deductible costs about $386 — computed as $7/day × 30 days × 2 visitors × 0.92 deductible factor. What that premium buys: an ER visit that bills $2,750 uninsured costs you $750, a 2-day admission of $18,000 costs $3,800, and a $25,000 appendectomy costs $5,200. The same surgery on a fixed-benefit plan leaves you $24,550 out of pocket — it pays only $450 from its fixed schedule — and with no insurance at all the hospital bills every dollar. The takeaway: comprehensive at $4-8/day is the only real insurance — a $120-240 per-visitor premium against a $15,000-35,000 surgery bill — while fixed plans are better than nothing but cap payouts at $50-150/day of care.

Comprehensive premium — 2 visitors × 30 days
$386
ER visit — uninsured
$2,750
ER visit — with comprehensive
$750
2-day admission — uninsured
$18,000
2-day admission — with comprehensive
$3,800
Appendectomy — fixed-benefit plan (pays only $450)
$24,550
Appendectomy — with comprehensive (uninsured: $25,000)
$5,200
Verdict
Comprehensive visitor insurance at $4-8/day is the only real insurance — a $120-240 per-visitor premium against a $15,000-35,000 appendectomy bill; fixed-benefit plans are better than nothing but cap payouts at $50-150/day of care.

Inputs

60-69: Rates step up as insurers price the risk: fixed $2-4/day, comprehensive $5-10/day (modeled $3 / $7). Most comprehensive plans still accept this band, with an acute-onset pre-existing rider available.

Comprehensive: The only real insurance: pays 70-100% of covered costs after the deductible (modeled 80%). After a $250 deductible, a $25,000 appendectomy costs you about $5,200 — not $25,000. COVID and flu are covered on most comprehensive plans.

2 visitor(s) × 30 days — each visitor gets their own policy

Higher deductible = cheaper premium: modeled $0 → full price, $100 → −4%, $250 → −8%, $500 → −14%. The deductible is also what you pay first on every comprehensive claim.

No acute-onset rider — Plans for seniors 70+ usually exclude pre-existing conditions outright; acute-onset coverage exists on some comprehensive plans only, and an undeclared condition (diabetes, hypertension, a past stent) is the #1 reason visitor-insurance claims get denied — declare it and pay the rider.

Default scenario: 2 visitors 60-69 · comprehensive · 30 days · $250 deductible — edit inputs
Expected visitor-insurance premium for this trip · 2026 bands
$386
for 2 visitor(s) × 30 days — about $6.44 per visitor/day
≈ 1,449 SAR (pegged rate)
Formula: $7/day × 30 days × 2 visitor(s) × 0.92 deductible factor.
Emergency-room visit — typical bill $1,500-4,000
Uninsured — the full bill is yours
$2,750
Fixed-benefit plan — pays only $150
$2,600
Comprehensive (80% after $250 deductible) ★
$750
2-day hospital admission — typical bill $10,000-30,000
Uninsured — the full bill is yours
$18,000
Fixed-benefit plan — pays only $300
$17,700
Comprehensive (80% after $250 deductible) ★
$3,800
Appendectomy (surgery) — typical bill $15,000-35,000
Uninsured — the full bill is yours
$25,000
Fixed-benefit plan — pays only $450
$24,550
Comprehensive (80% after $250 deductible) ★
$5,200
Coverage verdict

With comprehensive: a $386 premium + a worst-case $5,200 out-of-pocket = $5,586 all-in, against $25,000 uninsured for the same appendectomy (surgery). The fixed plan pays just $450 and leaves you $24,550 — better than nothing, but not real insurance.

Comprehensive visitor insurance at $4-8/day is the only real insurance — a $120-240 per-visitor premium against a $15,000-35,000 appendectomy bill; fixed-benefit plans are better than nothing but cap payouts at $50-150/day of care.

Tip: urgent care first — not the ER

Stitches, sprains, fevers and flu belong at an urgent-care clinic ($150-300 a visit). The ER charges $1,500-4,000 for the same flu — using the ER for minor care is the fastest way to burn even a good policy.

Warning: pre-existing conditions — declare everything

Plans for seniors 70+ usually exclude pre-existing conditions outright; acute-onset coverage exists on some comprehensive plans only, and an undeclared condition (diabetes, hypertension, a past stent) is the #1 reason visitor-insurance claims get denied — declare it and pay the rider.
Bands are 2026 planning ranges — not quotes: get a real quote from the insurer before you buy, since prices vary by exact age, destination, policy maximum and each plan's terms.
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How the visitor insurance calculator works

Enter your trip details to get travel figures based on current, real-world numbers.

  1. 1

    Step 1

    Pick the age band (under 60 / 60-69 / 70-79 / 80+), the plan tier (fixed-benefit or comprehensive), the number of visitors and the stay length on the slider (7-180 days) — the total premium prices instantly at your band's daily rate.

  2. 2

    Step 2

    Choose the deductible ($0/100/250/500) and flip pre-existing coverage if needed — the premium adjusts by the discount factor and the acute-onset rider (+35%) — then compare three real bills: ER visit ($1,500-4,000), 2-day admission ($10,000-30,000) and appendectomy ($15,000-35,000).

  3. 3

    Step 3

    Each bill shows your insured out-of-pocket (comprehensive: deductible + 20% of the remainder; fixed: $150/day of care) against the uninsured full price, with the verdict that comprehensive at $4-8/day is the only real insurance, the urgent-care tip, the pre-existing warning and an honesty disclaimer that bands are illustrative, not quotes.

Use Cases

Plan travel for your destination with your own numbers

Open your destination planning questions directly: enter the details the tool asks for and it computes the answer from its dataset rather than an average, so the result reflects the inputs you actually care about.

Re-check before you pay

Re-run the numbers whenever a price, date or party size changes; the tool keeps every assumption visible, so a revised total takes seconds and stops one stale figure from leaking into bookings or shared plans.

Tips

  • 1

    Every figure this Visitor Insurance Calculator page computes is a snapshot of current your destination data: re-run it close to booking, save the inputs you used, and refresh only what moved when prices shift.

  • 2

    Check official sources for your destination visa, tax, or fee rules before relying on any computed figure (Visitor Insurance Calculator) — travel rules change with little notice, and a calculator cannot know about a decision announced last week.

  • 3

    Pad the plan, not every line item: add a 10-15% contingency to the travel total for your destination instead of inflating each component, so you can see exactly where the extra money goes when it is needed.

Common Mistakes

  • Copying Visitor Insurance Calculator results between trips without re-entering the inputs: a change of dates, party size, or season silently invalidates every downstream number for your destination. Re-run with each trip's own values.

  • Ignoring visa lead times before committing to the Visitor Insurance Calculator: processing queues stretch in holiday seasons, and transport bought ahead of an approval is money at risk. Confirm entry status for your destination first, then book.

FAQs

What happens if a visiting parent lands in a US emergency room with no insurance?

The hospital is legally required (EMTALA) to examine and stabilize any emergency regardless of ability to pay — but stabilizing is not full treatment, and once the emergency passes the full bill arrives in their name: $1,500-4,000 for an ordinary ER visit, $5,000-15,000 per hospital day, $15,000-35,000 for an appendectomy. The bill does not vanish: it accrues to the visitor or chases the inviter, unpaid balances can go to collection agencies, and unpaid medical debt can complicate future visa applications.

Fixed-benefit vs comprehensive visitor insurance — what is the actual difference?

A fixed-benefit plan pays a fixed schedule per service — about $50-150 for an ER day, say — and everything above the schedule is yours: on a $2,750 ER visit the plan may pay $150. A comprehensive plan pays a share of the actual cost (70-100% after the deductible, typically 80%), so after a $250 deductible a $25,000 appendectomy costs you about $5,200 instead of $24,850 on the fixed plan. The rule: comprehensive at $4-8/day is the only real insurance; fixed is merely better than nothing.

How do visitor plans treat pre-existing conditions?

Two regimes: outright exclusion — the default on senior 70+ plans, where nothing is paid for any complication of an existing condition — or "acute onset of pre-existing condition" coverage, a rider mostly on comprehensive plans and mostly under 70, adding roughly a third to the premium. Either way, full disclosure is what keeps coverage valid: undeclared diabetes, hypertension or a cardiac stent is the #1 reason claims are denied, and insurers cross-check medical records at the first claim.

Which insurers are the mainstream names to buy from?

The established specialist names in this market are long-running visitor-insurance providers such as IMG, Seven Corners and WorldTrips, alongside other US underwriters. Buy from the underwriter directly or a well-known comparison platform, and check the AM Best financial-strength rating of the underwriting company before paying. Avoid ultra-cheap plans from unknown resellers: they usually mean a low benefit schedule or buried exclusions, and you discover that on the day you file a claim.

Does the insurance cover the flight home if things go wrong?

Good comprehensive plans usually include medical evacuation — moving the patient to their home country or a suitable hospital — within the policy maximum, and some add trip interruption or a companion ticket. But read the wording: some plans pay evacuation only "to the nearest adequate facility," not "to your home country," and repatriation of remains carries its own separate limit. If an early return is a real scenario for your family, pick a plan that names evacuation explicitly and check its cap.

Urgent care versus the ER — how different is the cost?

Often tenfold: an urgent-care clinic charges $150-300 a visit and handles stitches, sprains, fevers, flu and chest infections, while the ER bills $1,500-4,000 for the same complaints — and the ER "facility fee" alone is charged before any treatment. The rule to teach every visitor: the ER is for chest pain, breathing trouble, fractures, bleeding and loss of consciousness only; almost everything else belongs at urgent care or a clinic.

How does the claims paperwork actually work?

Two paths. If you pay upfront at an out-of-network hospital, you file the claim yourself within a set window (often 90 days) using the insurer's form plus the itemized hospital bill, the doctor's report and proof of payment — collect every document the day of discharge. The advance payment is reimbursed after your deductible and share are deducted, and processing takes weeks. Golden rules: photograph every page, track the claim number, and do not let the visitor leave the US before the claim is closed or someone is assigned to chase it.

When should I buy visitor insurance — can it be bought after arrival?

Buy before departure and anchor it to the departure date. Most plans allow mid-trip purchase, but coverage then starts after a waiting period (typically 15 days for non-acute conditions, longer for seniors), and anything presenting itself during the wait stays excluded. Buying early also gives a clean coverage history without gaps that can be interpreted against you. Extensions are possible before the policy ends with no gap, but a condition that began in the first period does not always carry into the extended period — read the extension clause before relying on it.