Which travel insurance for New York?

Are you planning a trip to New York soon? Amongst all the things to consider when organising your trip, travel insurance is one of the most important points and is not to be taken lightly. Medical costs in New York City are extremely high. Indeed, the USA is quite simply the most expensive country in the world in this area, and the Big Apple is one of the country’s most expensive cities to live in.

So having the right cover is really important to best prepare your trip to New York. In this post, I will explain everything you need to know about travel insurance for New York.

Travel insurance for New York: is it mandatory?

If you want to go on a holiday or tourist trip to New York, it is not mandatory to have travel insurance – but that doesn't mean that it isn't essential. Travelling to New York or the United States without very strong assistance and insurance cover is actually very risky. As always with insurance, we hope we will never need to use them – but if something does go wrong, they become a true necessity. 

That’s especially when you’re in New York – if you get sick or have an accident there and need medical attention, medical bills in the city can get really high really fast.

In New York City, as in the rest of the United States, a simple visit to a doctor can often cost several hundred dollars – and even more for a consultation with a specialist 🥲 For travellers who need to go to the hospital urgently during their stay, even for something minor, the bill often ends up being in the thousands of euros. For the most serious cases – several days in hospital or even surgery – the final bill is simply exorbitant. This is why having good travel insurance, which will cover all your health costs during your stay in New York, is essential for true peace of mind during your trip.

Travel insurance for New York also provides overseas liability coverage, which ensures that you will be covered should you cause an accident resulting in physical damage to others, or damage to property that is not your own.

Medical consultation and health costs in New York City

New York isn’t the most expensive country regarding hospital prices, but they are up there. A consultation in the US costs generally about $200-300 – only the consultation, mind, things get more expensive if you need actual treatment. If you get injured somehow and need to go to the Emergency Room, then chances are that the total bill will hurt more than whatever you’re there for. Just filling out the admission form in order to be taken care of will already cost you several hundred dollars 🤐

 To give you a better idea, here are some examples of medical costs depending on the case:

• For an ambulance ride, between $300 and $1,300;
• For a blood test, between $100 and $3,000;
• For a CT scan, between $150 and $3,000;
• For an MRI, between $1,000 and $5,000;
• To treat a fracture, between $500 and $35,000.
• Regarding surgery, the bill can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the type of operation. For a very common operation such as appendix removal, the fees are already mostly over $10,000.

Of course, it is important to note that many of these costs often add up in the case of an accident 😐

Is credit card insurance enough to go to New York?

As you know, some credit cards do provide travel insurance – American Express being the only credit card provided in the UK to do it for free. But even then, credit cards don’t offer full travel insurance – because they don’t cover your medical expenses the way a travel insurance would.

In all, credit card insurance could sometimes be enough should you travel within the UK, but if you’re going abroad – especially to the United States – purchasing a travel insurance will really give you peace of mind.

Do check out with your own bank to know more about what type of travel insurance (if any) are included or can be purchased with your credit card – then see if that could be enough for your own trip to New York City... but don't hold your breath... 🙂

The different types of travel insurance

Insurers offer several types of travel insurance, which provide different cover and are designed for different types of trips abroad. These include:

• Classic travel insurance, or holiday insurance, for people who are going on a tourist trip of 3 months or less.
• Travel insurance for longer stays. These insurance plans often provide cover in many destinations and are therefore especially suitable for people going on a world tour.
• Travel insurance for students, with cover specially designed for studying abroad (rental insurance, study interruption, etc.)
• Working Holiday travel insurance, for people who are going to work abroad as part of a Working Holiday Programme

Classic travel insurance is of course the most common type of insurance. It is often offered in a basic plan, which includes the most essential coverages – and options such as for cancellations can be added to obtain a complete multi-risk travel assistance plan.

Travel insurance for New York: what's important

As I’ve explained earlier, it truly is important to have suitable travel insurance before leaving for New York City or elsewhere in the United States. Chapka's Cap Assistance 24/7 travel insurance is one of the most comprehensive and best value insurance plans for trips of less than 90 days. It provides all the essential covers (note that all prices on Chapka are indicated in euros, but you can ask for your quote to be in the currency of your choice):

• Excellent medical cover, with medical and hospitalisation expenses covered from 100,000 and up to 1,000,000 euros, depending on where you’re going – it’s €1M for the USA.
• Personal liability with cover for physical and material damage up to €4,500,000 per event.
• Luggage insurance up to €3,000 in case of theft, loss or damage during transport.
• Coverage of search and rescue costs up to €4,500 per person.
• 24-hour repatriation assistance with 100% of the costs covered.
• A cancellation option, which provides compensation of up to €8,000 per person in the event of cancellation due to an unforeseen event. 
• Early return in case of hospitalisation or death of a relative.
• Advance of bail abroad of up to €15,000 (you never know 👀).

Additionally, if you travel as a party of 3 people or more – or if you travel with a minor – you can benefit from a 15% discount. On the other hand, a 15% surcharge will be applied if you are over 65.

Chapka Cap Assistance is intended for travellers under 80 who benefit from a social security theme in their home-country and who are going to New York and the USA for a period of 3 months or less.

For stays of more than 90 days, the Chapka Cap Adventure insurance plan offers all the guarantees adapted to longer trips.

The price to pay for travelling with peace of mind

The prices of travel insurance for the USA vary greatly depending on several criteria:

• The number of insured, 
• The age of the insured,
• The extent of the cover and the covers’ upper limits,
• The duration of the stay,
• The type of stay...

In the end, the amount to be paid often ends up being a significant part of any travel budget. But if you want to travel to New York without worrying about being faced with impossibly high bills in the event of a medical emergency, this truly is a necessary expense.

We have come to the end of this article, I hope that you can now see more clearly the different travel insurances for going to New York! Moreover, you can complete this article with my other post on travel insurance for the USA to better understand the matter at hand 😊 

Speaking of travel – if you are in the middle of planning your trip to New York City, don't hesitate to read my article on what to do in New York so as not to miss anything in the Big Apple! 😁