“How high a limit do I need?” – this is the most common and most important question in travel insurance. This article deliberately doesn't quote a specific figure: numbers vary by offer and by year. What it gives you instead is the reasoning that lets you judge any offer's limit for yourself – will it be enough for your trip?
- The yardstick for the limit is your destination's healthcare cost level: the same week in hospital is billed at wildly different amounts in different places.
- Sizing should match the worst realistic case: surgery + intensive care + medical repatriation – not the most common small claim.
- Three modifiers: trip length, activity and the travellers themselves (age, health) – all of which can push the figure upward.
The basic idea: the cost-level staircase
Think of the world as a staircase of healthcare costs. Neighbouring Central European countries sit at a level closer to home; Western and Northern Europe are noticeably more expensive; and the United States and Canada are a category apart – costs there run several times higher even than in Europe. The limit's job is to be able to carry a major claim wherever you stand on that staircase: the higher up you travel, the higher a limit you need. So there's no single right number – but there is a good question: what would the worst realistic case cost in your destination country?
The worst realistic case
The classic sizing mistake is starting from a small claim: “one doctor's visit isn't the end of the world.” But the limit isn't there for the visit – it's there for the case that could threaten your finances: a serious accident or illness → surgery → several days in hospital, possibly intensive care → medical repatriation. This whole chain, in full, is the real yardstick – and because repatriation gets more expensive with distance, the end of the chain becomes an ever bigger item the further you travel. Your limit needs to carry this entire chain, with a margin to spare.
The three modifiers
Duration: a longer trip carries more chances of something happening and a higher risk of protracted treatment – for a multi-week trip, that extra margin becomes more valuable. Activity: skiing, hiking and diving don't just call for an add-on, they also push up the typical size of a claim (think rescue costs!). Travellers: children and seniors can need care that follows a different course, and a pre-existing condition raises the risk of complications. All three point the same way: when in doubt, a higher limit is the more forgiving choice – the price difference between limits is typically far smaller than the difference in protection.
How to use this when comparing offers
Measure an offer's limit against the chain above, not against its price: could it carry surgery + hospital + the journey home in your destination country? If you're comparing several offers, look at the limits in the same structure (is the medical limit separate from repatriation, or combined?) – our comparison table helps with that. And if you're unsure: this is exactly the kind of question a consultation is for – bring your itinerary, and let's talk it through in 20 minutes.
Frequently asked questions on this topic
Is there such a thing as a limit that's “too high”?
From a protection point of view, there's no upper limit – from a wallet point of view, it's a value-for-money question: the price of very high limits tends to rise more slowly, so rounding up is typically cheap peace of mind. Rounding down is the expensive choice.
Does every family member need the same limit?
Typically, yes – the risk (hospital care, repatriation) isn't proportional to age; treating a child is full-value treatment too. Family packages typically apply the same limit per person – check that this is actually the case.
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