The Real Cost of Travel Insurance in Ireland (2026 Data)

When is travel insurance cheapest in Ireland? Most people would say winter travel insurance costs less and pick summer as the expensive season. Our proprietary data says differently.

We have analysed thousands of quotes from July 2025 to June 2026, and we have found that premiums stay steady between spring and summer before rising through autumn and peaking in December. The busiest months for flying away on that family trip are among the cheapest for pricing.

It all comes down to what is being insured – winter brings ski trips, Christmas markets or even escaping the cold weather for tropical destinations.

However, timing is just one part of the puzzle. Below we break down how destination, trip length, age and traveller type shape travel insurance pricing, and where you can find the savings.

Contents

• When Is It Cheapest to Buy Travel Insurance?
• Travel Insurance Costs: Solo, Couples and Families
• Travel Insurance Costs by Destination: Europe vs Worldwide vs the US
• Travel Insurance Costs by Trip Length
• How Travel Cover Changes With Age
• The Real Cost of Travel Insurance in Ireland: What the Data Tells Us
• Methodology

When Is It Cheapest to Buy Travel Insurance? Why Summer Isn't the Pricey Season

Most people assume that with the summer holidays comes higher prices on travel insurance as everyone escapes to the sun, however the opposite is true. With winter comes ski trips, Christmas holidays and winter breaks, and this changes the mix of what is being insured.

Averaged across all policies, premiums are pretty flat from spring through to late summer, and then begin to climb through autumn up to a December peak. On average, travel insurance in July costs just €48.89 and there is barely a euro of movement all the way through the peak travel window to September at just €49.60. The climb starts in October, peaking at an average of €61.20 in December, and easing back toward the baseline by April (€51.92).

For travellers who have flexibility, the spring and autumn shoulder seasons (the transitional period between high and low seasons) offer great value when you consider that these times often have lower flight and hotel costs, as well as fewer holidaymakers. The shoulder-season traveller wins on the holiday and on the travel insurance.

Whenever you choose to travel, buy your cover on the same day as you book. Travel insurance protection starts immediately, so early cover protects you right from the beginning.

How Travel Insurance Costs Compare: Solo, Couples and Families

With Children Insured for Free, a Family Policy Works Out at Less Than €17 a Head

Whether it's the cost of childcare or all of the additional snacks, children usually add to the cost of living. On a family travel policy, they don't.

Across a full year, the average cost of a family policy is €66.23. Assuming a family of four people and because children are covered at no additional cost, the premium is shared across a whole family rather than a couple, which results in a lower per-person cost for travel insurance.

Meanwhile, a couple will pay around €33 per person for their cover, and a solo traveller pays a premium of around €43.

In the chart below, you can see what the average cost per month is across Couple, Family and Solo travel:

Travelling With a Friend? You May Be Able to Share One Policy

Per traveller, solo cover is the most expensive way to insure a trip. A solo traveller pays about 28% more per person than someone on a couple's policy. Rather than buying two solo policies, you may be able to be covered on a single policy and split the cost, which would bring the average cost down to just over €33 per person.

Now that's a real friend with benefits.

How Travel Insurance Costs Vary by Destination: Europe vs Worldwide vs the US

Your EHIC Card Is Quietly Saving You Money on Your Travel Insurance

Insuring a European trip costs you just €40.64 on average. If you step outside Europe, it rises to €77.82, and to €87.85 once the US and Canada are included.

The European Health Insurance Card and the reciprocal healthcare arrangements in Europe keep European travel cover low. Once you go outside Europe, whether you're in Thailand or Texas, there are more risks to consider, hence the additional premium for Worldwide cover.

However, it's worth noting that European cover is more seasonal while worldwide and US cover is more stable over the year. The timing of your European trip can really matter – snowboarding in the Alps in December carries a real seasonal premium.

Travel Insurance to the US Isn't as Expensive as You'd Think

While it's true that the United States has some of the highest healthcare costs in the world and you'd expect travel insurance to the USA to be an expensive outlier, adding the US and Canada to your travel insurance policy costs only €10.03 more than our other worldwide policy.

Your biggest cost when travelling is losing the safety net of the EHIC, not the specific country you land in. The States is only a small top-up because worldwide cover has already absorbed most of the risk.

From City Breaks to Summer Holidays: What Travel Insurance Costs by Trip Length

The Total Cost of Holiday Insurance Rises With the Length of Stay, but the Cost Per Day Falls

We've run the numbers and what we've found is that the daily cost of travel insurance falls sharply the longer you travel. Travel insurance doesn't scale in a straight line with the duration of your trip. The total premium rises but the cost per day falls steadily the longer you're away – so that two-week trip to a sunny locale works out cheaper by the day than a long weekend.

A three-day city break costs an average of €20.79, or €6.93 per day, while 14 days away (the standard Irish holiday) costs just €4.02 per day, and by three weeks it's just €3.63, which is almost half the daily rate of the shortest trip.

The main takeaway here is that the daily cost flattens out around the two-week mark, so if you're weighing up a slightly longer trip, the extra days of cover come relatively cheap.

How Travel Cover Changes With Age – And How to Plan Ahead

Planning Big Trips Later in Life? Here's How to Stay Ahead of the Cost

Travel insurance pricing tracks age, but not as steeply as many people expect through the middle years. Our data shows that premiums rise gently from the twenties through to the fifties – around €50 in your twenties, climbing to roughly €61 by your late fifties. That's only about €10 across four decades, or a couple of euro per decade. For most working-age travellers, age is a minor factor in what they pay.

The picture changes later in life. Cover steps up through the sixties and beyond, reaching an average of around €98 for over-75s, roughly 62% more than the 50–59 band, and reflecting the higher medical risk that insurers price for as we get older. It's a well-established feature of how travel cover works across the industry, not a quirk of any one insurer.

The useful takeaway is about anticipation, not resignation. Older travellers are often the ones with the time, the freedom and the appetite for bigger trips: the cruise, the long-haul adventure, the extended family holiday. Knowing the pricing curve ahead of time means you can plan around it. Consider annual multi-trip cover if you're taking more than a couple of trips a year, and look at your options before a milestone birthday rather than after. Age shapes the price, but planning shapes the value you get for it.

The Real Cost of Travel Insurance in Ireland: What the Data Tells Us

Across a full year of quotes, the pattern is clear: the cost of travel insurance in Ireland is driven less by when you fly and more by where you're going, how long you're away, and who is travelling. Summer isn't the expensive season; December is. Europe stays cheap thanks to the EHIC, adding the US barely moves the needle once you're already worldwide, longer trips get cheaper by the day, and a family policy can come in at under €17 a head. Age matters, but far less than most people expect until the later years.

The takeaway for Irish holidaymakers is that the biggest savings come from understanding the pattern, then buying cover on the day you book – so that you're protected from the moment your trip is confirmed.

Whether you're planning a European city break, a long-haul adventure or an annual multi-trip policy, comparing travel insurance cover takes minutes.

Methodology

All travel data taken between July 2025 and June 2026 based on single trip and new business quotes.

Chart Data