Saudi Arabia Travel Insurance Cost: What You Will Actually Pay in 2026

How Much Does Travel Insurance Cost in Saudi Arabia?

There is no single market-wide price for Saudi Arabia travel insurance, and this guide won’t invent one. A quotation reflects that specific traveller and that specific trip, not a fixed national rate.

What can be said with confidence is how the price is typically built up. Insurers calculate a premium based on the traveller’s risk profile (age, medical history, number of travellers) and the trip’s risk profile (destination, duration, activities), then price the selected coverage level (medical limits, deductible, optional benefits) on top of that base. Two travellers with different inputs in any one of those categories should expect different quotes, even for what looks like a similarly named plan.

In practical terms, that means a short regional trip for a young, healthy single traveller with basic coverage will typically price lower than a long worldwide trip for an older traveller with a family and broad optional benefits. The exact number in between depends entirely on the live quote, not a table of averages.

Factors That Affect Saudi Travel Insurance Cost

The following factors interact with each other rather than acting independently, which is why changing even one input on a quote form can move the premium more than expected.

• Age — insurers commonly apply different pricing at defined age bands, and eligibility conditions can tighten above certain ages.
• Trip duration — longer trips generally carry more exposure for the insurer and price accordingly.
• Destination — healthcare costs vary substantially by country, which affects how insurers price medical exposure for that territory.
• Number of travellers — a family or group policy prices differently from a single-traveller policy, and not always in the direction you’d expect.
• Medical coverage level — higher emergency medical and evacuation limits increase the premium.
• Pre-existing medical conditions — disclosed conditions can affect both eligibility and price, depending on the insurer’s underwriting rules.
• Activities and add-ons — optional extensions for sports, adventure activities, or higher liability limits add to the base premium.
• Cancellation or interruption benefits — the cancellation limit selected relative to your non-refundable trip costs affects price.
• Coverage limits generally — lower deductibles and higher limits across any benefit category raise the premium; the inverse lowers it.

None of these factors should be evaluated in isolation. A quote that looks expensive because of one input (say, a higher medical limit) may still be the more appropriate choice once you weigh it against your actual trip risk.

Does Trip Duration Affect Travel Insurance Cost?

Yes. Trip duration is one of the more direct pricing relationships in travel insurance. A shorter trip generally carries less exposure for the insurer, which typically results in a lower total premium than a longer trip with otherwise identical details.

Conceptually, a Saudi resident travelling for a long weekend and a Saudi resident travelling for six weeks shouldn’t expect the same premium for equivalent coverage, even if every other input, age, destination, coverage level, is identical. The exact relationship between days and price isn’t linear or fixed across insurers, so this is a factor to test on a live quote rather than estimate from a general rule.

Frequent travellers weighing single-trip purchases against an annual policy should also factor in the annual policy’s maximum permitted duration per individual trip, since that cap interacts with both eligibility and value in ways a single-trip comparison doesn’t capture.

Does Age Affect Travel Insurance Cost?

Yes. Age is one of the most significant pricing factors in travel insurance, and its effect isn’t limited to price alone — insurers can also apply different underwriting and eligibility rules at defined age thresholds.

Older travellers commonly see higher premiums because insurers factor in greater medical risk and, in some cases, additional underwriting requirements such as health declarations. This isn’t a fixed surcharge that applies uniformly across the market; the specific age bands, thresholds, and pricing effects vary by insurer and product.

For Saudi residents planning travel later in life, age eligibility is worth checking before price, since some products restrict or exclude coverage above a maximum age entirely. Our Saudi Arabia travel insurance for seniors guide covers age thresholds, medical screening, and what typically changes in both eligibility and cost for older travellers.

What Does Saudi Travel Insurance Usually Cover?

Coverage varies by insurer and plan, so this section describes what’s commonly included rather than a universal guarantee. Always check the specific policy wording rather than assuming these categories apply identically across every product.

• Emergency medical treatment — for unexpected illness or injury during the insured trip, subject to the policy’s definitions, limits, and exclusions.
• Emergency assistance — typically a 24-hour contact point for coordinating treatment or emergency support.
• Medical evacuation and repatriation — transport to a suitable medical facility, or return transport home, when medically necessary, often governed by separate limits and approval conditions from ordinary treatment.
• Trip cancellation or interruption, where included — reimbursement for non-refundable costs when a covered event prevents the trip from proceeding or continuing.
• Baggage-related benefits, where included — cover for loss, damage, or delay of baggage, usually with lower sub-limits for individual valuable items.

These categories affect price in the direction you’d expect: broader coverage and higher limits in any of them raise the premium, narrower coverage lowers it. What “usually” appears on a plan summary doesn’t guarantee a specific claim outcome — the full policy wording, not the summary, determines what a benefit actually pays. For the fuller explanation of these benefits and how they interact, see the Saudi Arabia travel insurance guide.

Saudi Mandatory Visitor Insurance vs Regular Travel Insurance

These are two different products with two different pricing logics, and conflating them is one of the more common sources of confusion in Saudi-related travel insurance searches.

Mandatory, visa-linked visitor insurance applies to international visitors entering Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Council of Health Insurance states that health insurance is mandatory as part of issuing a tourism visit visa, with the policy connected to emergency healthcare through approved providers inside the Kingdom. This insurance is tied directly to the visa issuance process, with a cost structure set by that framework rather than the open travel-insurance market.

Broader travel insurance, the subject of this page, is purchased separately by Saudi residents travelling abroad, or by anyone wanting protection beyond the mandatory visitor policy’s scope, benefits such as cancellation, baggage, and broader medical or evacuation limits that a visa-linked policy may not include. Its pricing follows the traveller and trip factors covered above, not a fixed government-linked fee.

Confusing the two can lead to a costly assumption: that holding mandatory visitor insurance (if applicable to your situation) means you’re also covered for cancellation, baggage, or a broader medical limit it was never designed to provide. For the full breakdown of when each type applies and to whom, see Is Travel Insurance Mandatory for Saudi Arabia? If your question is specifically about the tourist eVisa’s linked insurance cost and coverage, that’s covered separately in our Saudi eVisa insurance guide.

How to Compare Saudi Travel Insurance Prices

A meaningful price comparison requires holding every other input constant. Compare quotes using the same traveller age, destination, trip dates, and number of travellers, then look at what each premium actually buys.

• Premium — the headline number, but only meaningful alongside everything below it.
• Medical limits — the emergency medical and evacuation sums insured, not just the total headline figure.
• Exclusions — what the policy specifically doesn’t cover, which affects real-world value more than the premium does.
• Deductibles/excess — how much you’d pay out of pocket before the policy responds.
• Trip cancellation — the limit relative to your actual non-refundable trip costs.
• Emergency assistance — whether support is available around the clock and what it requires before treatment is arranged.
• Age restrictions — eligibility limits that may exclude a policy from consideration regardless of price.
• Pre-existing condition rules — disclosure requirements and how a relevant condition is treated.
• Destination/activity restrictions — whether every country and planned activity on the trip is actually included.

This page deliberately doesn’t rank providers or recommend a specific policy as “best” — that comparison, evaluated against consistent criteria rather than price alone, is covered in Best Travel Insurance for Saudi Arabia.

How to Find Affordable Saudi Travel Insurance

Finding an affordable policy is a comparison exercise, not a search for the single lowest number. A few practical habits help:

• Compare multiple policies using identical traveller and trip details, rather than accepting the first quote.
• Check actual coverage instead of headline price — a lower premium is only a genuine saving if it still meets your medical and destination risk.
• Avoid paying for unnecessary add-ons you’re confident you won’t need for this specific trip.
• Check exclusions before assuming a cheaper policy provides equivalent protection to a pricier one.
• Consider trip duration and traveller needs together — the cheapest policy for a short low-risk trip may be entirely inadequate for a longer trip with more exposure.

For the full framework on finding a genuinely affordable policy without sacrificing essential protection, see Cheap Travel Insurance for Saudi Arabia.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does travel insurance cost for Saudi Arabia?

There’s no fixed market-wide price. Cost depends on the traveller’s age, destination, trip duration, number of travellers, medical circumstances, and the coverage level selected. Get a quote using your actual trip details for an accurate figure.

Is Saudi Arabia travel insurance expensive?

“Expensive” depends entirely on the traveller and trip being priced. A short trip for a young, healthy traveller with basic coverage will typically cost less than a long trip for an older traveller with broader coverage and optional add-ons. Compare against your specific circumstances rather than a general market impression.

Does age affect Saudi travel insurance cost?

Yes. Premiums commonly increase at defined age bands, and some insurers apply additional eligibility conditions or reduced benefits above certain ages.

Does trip length affect the premium?

Yes. Longer trips generally carry more exposure for the insurer and typically cost more to insure than shorter trips, all else being equal.

Is mandatory Saudi visitor insurance the same as travel insurance?

No. Mandatory, visa-linked visitor health insurance applies to international visitors entering Saudi Arabia and is tied to the visa issuance process. Broader travel insurance is a separate product purchased by residents travelling abroad, with different coverage and different pricing logic.

Can pre-existing medical conditions increase the cost?

They can affect both eligibility and price, depending on the insurer’s underwriting rules and how the specific condition is disclosed and assessed. Coverage and pricing for pre-existing conditions vary by insurer rather than following one fixed rule.

How can I compare Saudi travel insurance prices?

Use identical traveller and trip details across every quote, then compare medical limits, exclusions, deductibles, cancellation cover, emergency assistance, age restrictions, and destination or activity restrictions alongside the premium, not the premium alone.

Sources & References

1. Saudi Council of Health Insurance — Tourist Health Insurance. Used for the official statement that health insurance is mandatory as part of issuing a Saudi tourism visit visa, cited to distinguish mandatory visitor insurance from broader travel insurance.
2. Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 — Schengen Visa Code, Article 15. Used where Schengen-bound Saudi residents are referenced elsewhere in this cluster.