As of this month, two neighboring East African countries popular for wildlife tourism, Kenya and Tanzania, now require foreign visitors, including Americans, to purchase travel insurance for entry.
But here's the thing: The insurance must be purchased from the official government portals of Kenya or Tanzania, regardless of whether the inbound traveler already has private, valid insurance coverage from other providers.
Mandatory travel insurance requirement for Tanzania and Zanzibar
In the case of Tanzania, the policy is an expansion of a similar requirement that has been in place on its semiautonomous island of Zanzibar since late 2024.
International visitors to that beachy paradise in the Indian Ocean have already had to shell out an extra $44 for a government policy for stays up to 92 days.
Now the fee has spread to the mainland of Tanzania, and the insurance policy must be purchased, either in advance online or upon arrival, in order to enter the country as a tourist.
As with Zanzibar, the policy costs $44 for adults, $22 for kids ages 3 to 17, and it's free for kids ages 2 and younger.
If you visit both the mainland of Tanzania and Zanzibar, you only have to buy one policy, based on where you enter the country.
For Tanzania's mainland, buy from this website: inbound.nicinsurance.co.tz.
For Zanzibar, buy from this website: inbound.visitzanzibar.go.tz.
Be sure to purchase from those platforms only. As always when new and somewhat confusing entry requirements arise, beware of scammers.
Kenya's mandatory travel insurance requirement
Neighboring Kenya also began requiring all incoming tourists to purchase Kenyan health insurance, effective this month.
With Kenya, though, the mandatory insurance must be bought as part of the electronic travel authorization (eTA) application process required of most foreign tourists, including U.S. passport holders.
The official website for Kenya's eTA is etakenya.go.ke.
For the insurance requirement, you can also go to insurance.ecitizen.go.ke/dashboard/travel.
As with Tanzania, the cost for Kenya's coverage is $44 per person. No discounts or exceptions for children are mentioned.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Kenya, "Airlines have been asked to check passengers’ insurance policies before boarding. Travelers who arrive without insurance may not be granted entry."
Do the mandatory travel insurance policies provide sufficient coverage?
Probably not.
They are far from what you'd call comprehensive travel insurance, reportedly capping medical expenses at $50,000.
That will cover some medical emergencies, but not the major peace-of-mind components such as medical evacuation and trip cancellation that most travelers look for, especially when they've booked the sort of expensive and potentially risky experiences Kenya and Tanzania are known for, such as wildlife safaris and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. (The Ebola outbreak that has recently spread to Kenya is another strong reason to seek out medical coverage for trips there.)
So you'll probably want to get your own separate travel insurance anyway—something Germany's Federal Foreign Office explicitly advises, as the travel insurance provider Faye points out in a blog post.
That reality has persuaded some critics of the scheme to conclude that these supposed insurance policies are simply entry fees by another name.
British travel expert Simon Calder has accused Kenya and Tanzania of "taking travelers for fools by forcing them to buy an additional and pointless policy" that amounts, in Calder's view, to a "dash for cash" by those nations' governments.
Rip-off or no, the insurance plans must be purchased if you wanna go.
Other countries where travel insurance is mandatory for American tourists
There are other countries that require incoming tourists to have proof of travel insurance, but in those, you can use your own, separately purchased plan as long as it meets the destination's requirements.
At the beginning of this year, the Eurasian republic of Georgia introduced such a regulation, requiring incoming visitors to have proof of insurance for health and accident coverage up to 30,000 Georgian laris (equivalent to about $11,500).
Argentina passed a similar law in 2025. "Tourists must carry a plan with coverage for medical emergencies: medical care, hospitalization, 24/7 assistance, medical transport or evacuation, and repatriation," explains Allianz Travel Insurance. Reports suggest, however, the law is not yet reliably enforced at the border.
Cuba has likewise long required medical insurance as one of the many conditions for visiting the island from the U.S.
Ecuador doesn't mandate insurance for entering its mainland, but you will need medical and evacuation coverage to visit its remote Galápagos Islands.
Though places that have made travel insurance mandatory are currently few in number, such rules seem to be a growing trend, with tourism heavy hitters including Japan and Thailand reportedly mulling over whether to establish similar laws.
You can read more about the ins and outs of travel insurance at our category page dedicated to the topic.