Where to Buy Travel Insurance for Georgia (and What to Avoid)

If you're heading to Georgia in 2026 and need travel insurance to satisfy the country's mandatory entry rule, you have four practical ways to buy it. Most travellers should pick one of them; the rest exist mainly as fallbacks when something goes wrong.

This guide walks through where to buy, what to look for, and the small print that catches people out at the border. For the regulation itself, see Decree 602 explained. For a full overview of the policy and what it covers, see the travel insurance guide for Georgia.

Quick answer: where to buy travel insurance for Georgia

Buy online before you fly. A Decree 602–compliant policy from a Georgian insurer's website (such as cover.ge) takes about two minutes, costs less than buying at the border, and arrives as a PDF in your inbox immediately — in English and Georgian, ready to show at passport control. On-the-spot purchase at airports and land crossings is technically possible, but slower and more expensive.

The four ways to buy

1. Online before you fly (recommended)

The cleanest path. You enter your travel dates, ages, and passport country on a Georgian insurer's website, pay by card or wallet, and receive the policy PDF and a one-page bilingual border card immediately. The policy activates from the start date you select.

Why this is the default for most travellers:

• Lowest price. No on-site convenience markup.
• Fastest at the border. You walk through immigration like any traveller; no queue at an insurance counter.
• Instant document. The PDF and border card arrive within 60 seconds, in English and Georgian.
• No early-buy penalty. Buy as soon as your dates are firm; you don't pay anything extra by buying earlier.

The main thing to verify is that the policy is explicitly Decree 602–compliant with at least 30,000 GEL of medical and accident coverage for every day of your stay. (See "what to check" below.)

To buy this way: enter dates and travellers on the cover.ge homepage, or use a dedicated path for groups, long-stay students, or policy extensions.

2. At a Georgian international airport

All three international airports — Tbilisi (TBS), Kutaisi (KUT), and Batumi (BUS) — have on-site insurance counters in the arrivals hall, before passport control. You can buy a compliant policy there if you arrive without one.

Tradeoffs:

• Higher price. On-site rates are typically well above the equivalent online rate.
• Slower entry. Expect 15–45 minutes of queueing at peak times, on top of the immigration line.
• Cash or card. Most counters accept both, but card terminals can fail; bring a backup payment option.

This path makes sense as a fallback only. If you can buy online before you fly, do.

3. At a land border crossing

Land crossings — Sarpi (Turkey), Vale (Turkey), Lars (Russia), Ninotsminda and Bavra (Armenia), Krasnyi Most and Lagodekhi (Azerbaijan) — also sell on-the-spot policies, but the experience is more variable. Smaller checkpoints may not have a 24/7 counter; you may be asked to buy online from your phone while standing at the border.

Tips if you end up doing this:

• Make sure your phone has roaming or you've activated a local eSIM before crossing.
• Have your passport open to the photo page; the seller will need passport details.
• Save the PDF and border card to your device so they work without signal at the next checkpoint.

Buying at a land border is not faster or cheaper than buying online — it's purely an emergency option.

4. As an add-on to your home travel insurance

If your home country's travel insurer offers a "Georgia entry compliance" rider or a policy with explicit Decree 602 cover, this can work — but it's the path most travellers get wrong.

Most international travel-insurance policies cover medical emergencies abroad in dollar terms, not in GEL. A border officer needs to see a coverage figure of at least 30,000 GEL (or a clearly equivalent amount in another currency), the cover dates that include your stay, and a document the officer can read.

If you want to use a home-country policy:

• Confirm with the insurer in writing that the policy is Decree 602–compliant for entry to Georgia.
• Carry a printed certificate showing the coverage amount and dates.
• Be prepared to buy a Georgian policy at the border if the officer doesn't accept it. It's faster to argue from the inside than to be turned away.

For most travellers, this path adds cost (your home premium plus the risk of needing a second policy at the border) without saving meaningful effort.

What to check before you pay

Wherever you buy, the policy must satisfy a few non-negotiables to clear the border:

• Minimum coverage of 30,000 GEL for medical and accident treatment — clearly stated on the certificate.
• Cover dates that match every day of your stay. Gaps are treated as non-compliance.
• Issued by a Georgian-licensed insurer (or one explicitly recognised for Decree 602 entry).
• Document in English and Georgian, ideally as a PDF you can show on your phone or print on paper.
• Border card. A one-page summary the officer can read in seconds. Not strictly required, but it speeds up the queue significantly.

If a seller can't show you a sample certificate before you pay, that's a warning sign.

Common scenarios

Family with children. Buy a single policy covering everyone through a group quote. Children are typically charged less than adults; the per-traveller PDFs all arrive together.

Students on long stays. University-length stays are a dedicated path — a single long policy is cheaper than stitching together monthly ones, and it doesn't lapse mid-semester.

Drivers with foreign-plated cars. Decree 602 covers you, not your vehicle. You also need third-party liability cover for the car — see the car insurance page for what's required at land borders.

Already in Georgia and your trip got extended. Extend the existing policy rather than buying a second one. Extending is cheaper, keeps your cover continuous, and avoids any compliance gap if a hospital bill lands during your extra days.

Connecting through Tbilisi or Kutaisi without leaving the airport. If you stay inside the international transit zone and don't clear passport control, you don't need a policy. The moment you exit immigration — even for an overnight in the city — Decree 602 applies.

Why most travellers buy from cover.ge

Cover sells Decree 602–compliant policies online with the four things that actually matter at the border: instant PDF, bilingual document, accepted at every Georgian land and air crossing, and a one-page border card the officer can read in seconds. The certificate explicitly cites Decree 602 compliance and the 30,000 GEL coverage minimum.

The fastest path is the quote form on the homepage — dates, travellers, payment, and the PDF lands in your inbox in under two minutes.

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy travel insurance after I arrive in Georgia?

Yes, but only at the border itself. Once you've cleared immigration, no Georgian insurer will sell you an "entry compliance" policy retroactively — the regulation is about proof at the moment of entry, not after. If you arrive without a policy and the on-site counter is closed, you may be turned back until you can show one.

Is the cheapest policy always Decree 602–compliant?

No. Some thin "tourist insurance" policies sold abroad have lower coverage limits or don't include accident treatment, and won't clear the border. Always check the certificate states the 30,000 GEL minimum and references Decree 602 explicitly.

Are airport-counter policies real Decree 602 policies?

Yes, the airport counters at Tbilisi, Kutaisi, and Batumi sell compliant policies. The downside is price, not legitimacy.

Can I buy one policy for my whole family?

Yes, through a group quote — one form for everyone, a group rate, separate PDFs in your inbox.