Insurance firms are rubbing their hands at the prospect of the World Cup games in the US

Insurers are rubbing their hands at the prospect of the business that will roll in with the next World Cup, which will be held from June 11 to July 19 in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. A large proportion of the matches will be played on U.S. soil, triggering multiple requests for travel and medical insurance by the 1.2 million people that the think tank Tourism Economics expects to rock up to watch one of the matches.

For instance, suffering from diverticulitis — inflammation in the walls of the intestine — during a trip to the U.S. can become a traumatic, but above all costly, experience. Recounting one traveler’s experience, Carlos Uceda, director of business development at Intermundial, part of the Atlántigo insurance group, said, “Things got complicated, it required admission to intensive care and subsequent repatriation in a medical plane from the Canadian airport of Halifax. The final cost rose to €1.4 million, which was charged to the insurance that the traveler had contracted.” The U.S. health system is one of the most expensive in the world and it is practically private, with only two exceptions, for the over-65s and for low-income earners, through Medicare and Medicaid.

The absence of universal and free health coverage in the U.S. is a major boon for insurers based in Spain this year. “The riskiest sport is to travel without insurance to a destination like the United States, where healthcare is one hundred percent private,” says Adrián Esteban, insurance product director at Heymondo, who stresses that the U.S. is one of its main markets, accounting for 20% of the €69 million it billed in 2025. “The outlook for this year is very good, thanks to the boost that the World Cup will give to sales, and we expect the share to grow by five percentage points from the 25% increase in sales to that destination.”

Founded in Barcelona in 2017 by two former Zurich employees, Heymondo’s clientele is mainly Spanish and Italian. Italy, however, has not qualified for the last three World Cups which means the bulk of the policies taken out this year will come from the Spanish market. Esteban says the three best-selling products for the U.S. always cover two passengers: “The most basic product provides $1 million coverage and has an average price tag of €100; the intermediate one, which is also the best-selling one, covers costs of up to $5 million with an average price of €180, and the most complete covers unlimited expenses with a premium of more than €200.”

“For the price of a ball or a football shirt, the customer buys peace of mind,” says Uceda, who points out that, unlike Heymondo, its business model combines selling policies both through travel agencies (wholesale) and individual sales (retailers). “Travel agencies are already starting to buy insurance to sell for the three countries where the World Cup will be held in the face of the foreseeable rebound in demand due to the closure of the Middle East market, while in the case of private customers, a large majority will wait for last-minute offers,” he explains.

Travel agencies and tourist rental platforms are already detecting an upturn in bookings to the U.S. The online travel agency Destinia notes a 15% increase in bookings from Spanish travelers for the dates on which the World Cup will be held, while Airbnb, the largest platform for tourist rentals, forecasts an 80% increase in accommodation searches for the cities that will host matches in the three venues. In the case of those under 31, the numbers intensify. A Deloitte report increases the economic impact generated by customers staying in properties advertised by Airbnb in the US to $3.6 billion.

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