Costa Rica Travel Insurance Requirements Updated

Costa Rica Changed Its Entry Requirements For Travelers 

Did you know that Costa Rica is ranked as one of the most visited international destinations year over year in Central America?  Costa Rica is an eco-tourist's dream vacation with its volcanoes, rainforests, cloud forests, huge waterfalls, and mighty rivers.  Costa Rica is the perfect destination if you are an adventure tourist since it's known for rafting, windsurfing, diving, kayaking, and surfing.  Before you book your trip, you must understand and comply with a few things before entering Costa Rica. 

Understanding Costa Rica's travel regulations 

We all remember back in October of 2020 when Costa Rica was one of the first countries to reopen to international travelers as long as they had travel insurance.  Effective August 1, 2021, Costa Rica will no longer require international travelers who are vaccinated and show proof of vaccination to have travel insurance.  International travelers who are not vaccinated will still need to have travel insurance to enter the country. For more details on the requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers, visit our Costa Rica Traveler Regulations blog post.

Listen to what the experts suggest 

Did you know that there are currently over 50 countries requiring travel insurance to enter and many more are planning on requiring it?  Many in the travel industry feel that Costa Rica's decision is premature and travelers who have arrival dates after August 1, 2021, when the requirement will be dropped, should be wary that they may reinstitute the insurance regulations. Suppose you haven't made arrangements for insurance at the time of booking. In that case, you may miss out on the availability of certain features like Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR), waiver of Pre-Existing Conditions exclusions, and Bankruptcy or Default of a Travel Supplier if you wait.  These benefits can be vital in certain situations. 

Situations where you need travel insurance  

As mentioned above, missing out on the CFAR benefit can be very costly.  Here is why.  The website Costa Rica Guide states the average cost per person to visit Costa Rica ranges from $850 to $1,450 per week.  To be safe, let's say the average person costs $1,000 for a family of four to visit Costa Rica will cost them $4,000. 

• If you had the CFAR benefit as part of your travel insurance plan, you would be able to receive up to 75% of your prepaid expenses to be reimbursed if you cancel more than two days prior to departure.  For example, you check the weather and find out a large storm is rolling through and it will rain 100% of the time you're on vacation, so you decide to cancel your trip.  Utilizing the CFAR benefit, you would cancel your trip. 

• Or, three days before your scheduled trip to Costa Rica, you find out you had a death in the family. You can claim your lost travel cost and be reimbursed up to 100% of your trip cost for this covered reason under Trip Cancellation. 

• Most health insurance companies health insurance plans in your home country do not work while traveling abroad.  For example, if you are visiting Costa Rica and you decide that you want to take a tour of the rainforest with a guide for the day.  During your outing, a snake bites you through your shoe while walking.  You immediately feel sick and your guide determines a poisonous snake has bitten you.  With your life hanging in the balance, a helicopter is brought in and medically evacuated to a hospital.  Without a travel insurance plan that provides coverage for medical expenses, you would be responsible for paying out of pocket for all your medical costs that can be way over $100,000. 

• If you are in Costa Rica with your family and your daughter catches COVID-19 and has to be quarantined for 14 days.  Without travel insurance that provides a benefit to cover quarantine costs, you would be responsible for these extra expenses. 

In all of these scenarios, travel insurance would be able to protect you and your family. 

Enjoy your trip with travel insurance 

These situations are not meant to scare you, but to inform you of what could happen when visiting Costa Rica.  These are actual situations where Trawick International has helped customers utilize their travel insurance benefits. So even though travel insurance may not be required for all travelers any longer, insuring your trip is still strongly recommended whether you are vaccinated or not when visiting Costa Rica. 

PLEASE NOTE: Guidelines may have changed since this was published. Before traveling, you should always check your destination's COVID-19 situation and travel requirements. Countries may have their own entry and exit requirements. Additionally, always check for travel advisories in the area to which you are traveling. Refer to https://www.cdc.gov/ and https://travel.state.gov/content/travel.html for up-to-date information and guidelines.

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Founded in 1998, Trawick International is a full-service travel insurance provider specializing in protecting travelers of all types worldwide. We offer various travel insurance plans designed specifically by types of coverage, including comprehensive travel protection insurance, international travel medical insurance, visitor’s insurance, and international student insurance. Our company's mission is to deliver superior travel and medical insurance products that offer the best 24/7 emergency assistance services available. Contact us at 888-301-9289 or info@trawickinternational.com.