Travel Insurance

Should I buy travel insurance?

Yes. We recommend always getting travel insurance, especially for trips abroad. It’s not just there in case you lose your luggage, but offers numerous other protections, including helping you obtain life-saving (and often incredibly expensive) medical treatment if the worst happens.

When shopping around for travel insurance, make sure that the policy is right for your needs, and do not automatically opt for the cheapest. This is especially important if you have any pre-existing medical conditions.

When should I purchase my travel insurance?

As soon as possible, ideally, as soon as you book your holiday. This is because travel insurance will cover unrecoverable costs if you need to cancel your trip, for example, if you are ill and can’t travel.

At a minimum, you must purchase your insurance before leaving the UK, as policies are designed to cover your travels starting from and finishing in the UK. While it may be possible to buy specialist post- departure travel insurance when you are already abroad, it is always best to play it safe and buy cover before departing.

Do I need to declare my pre-existing medical conditions?

Yes. The main reason for travel insurance is to cover the costs of emergency overseas medical treatment which, together with any repatriation required back to the UK, can easily run into tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds. So, make sure you answer all questions fully. If, after carefully reading your application, you are not sure which conditions you need to declare, speak to your insurer directly. Not disclosing your pre-existing medical conditions may affect your cover and could ultimately lead to you facing a very expensive bill should you require medical treatment.

Cover is available for many pre-existing medical conditions, but you may need to go to a travel insurance intermediary or a specialist travel insurer. You can use the Money Helper Travel Insurance Directory and the BIBA Travel Medical Directory to help find specialist providers and brokers. Some of the medical support groups may also be able to help.

You can find more tips on accessing travel insurance for people with pre-existing medical conditions on our guidance page.

What are hazardous activities and which ones do I need to declare?

Each insurer will define this differently, so it’s important to check your policy wording. However, hazardous activities are typically considered anything that carries additional risk such as bungee jumping, canyoning, quad biking, rock climbing, white or black water rafting, paragliding – and many other activities. If in doubt, it’s always best to check with your insurer if you need to declare it or obtain an add-on or specialist cover. Never assume a certain activity is covered, no matter how low risk it may seem.

You may need to purchase an add-on for your policy or obtain specialist cover for a number of sports such as golf, water sports (such as surfing, snorkelling or water skiing etc.) and winter sports (think skiing, snowboarding, dog sledding etc.)

What are multi-trip policies and what are some common exclusions?

If you take several overseas trips a year, a multi-trip policy may offer better value than taking out travel insurance for each single trip. These policies are designed to cover multiple trips over a 12-month period. Alongside normal considerations (declaring pre-existing medical conditions and hazardous activities), you should always bear in mind that multi-trip policies will usually limit the length of each trip (such as one month) and may not cover all countries, so make sure you check any restrictions first.

If your circumstances change during the policy, for instance, your medical conditions, make sure to inform your insurer.

What length of trip will I be covered for?

This will depend on your policy wording, so it’s important that you read it through carefully to check. For single trip policies, you specify the dates of travel that you need, for instance, 29 June to 9 July. You do not need to do this for annual multi-trip policies or cover provided as part of your bank or building society account. However, having an annual policy does not mean that you can travel for a full year. It means that you can travel on multiple trips throughout the year, but there will limits on how long each trip can be. Typically, the standard trip length on an annual policy is 31 days, but this can vary – so be sure to check your policy wording carefully.

Does travel insurance provide cover for travelling abroad to receive medical treatment?

No. Typically, standard travel insurance will not cover you for costs associated with ‘medical tourism’, where you travel to another country seeking medical treatment. Instead, you will need to obtain a specialist policy for this. To do so, you may wish to speak to an insurance broker.

Medical tourism can include cosmetic treatments such as nose jobs, hair transplants and dental work, as well as treatments for medical conditions such as cancer or fertility treatments.

Do I need to follow government travel advice?

Yes. Always check the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) advice, which includes the latest information on coronavirus, safety and security, entry requirements and travel warnings.

Travelling against FCDO advice is likely to invalidate your travel insurance. However, if the advice changes once you are abroad, your cover will continue as normal. You can check the latest FCDO Travel Advice for the country you are in or travelling to by visiting their website.

What cover does travel insurance provide for natural disasters?

A natural disaster is an event that has a highly harmful impact on a society or community, such as extreme flooding, droughts, earthquakes, tropical cyclones, lightning, tsunamis, volcanic activity, wildfires etc. Cover offered for these events will vary from insurer to insurer. Generally:

• if you are injured or fall ill due to a natural disaster your policy will cover you in the normal way;
• if your flight or accommodation is cancelled, refunds should be sought from the airline, accommodation provider or tour operator in the first instance. Any bookings made through a credit card may also have recoverable costs; and
• if your policy includes trip disruption or natural disaster cover, you should be covered if you have to cut short or cancel your holiday.

Check your policy details and speak to your insurer if you’re not sure what is included.

Are travel delays covered by travel insurance?

Some travel policies may cover disruption to travel (either automatically or as an optional extra). This usually operates only if you have been unable to get compensation from any other sources first, such as the airline or tour operator. Typically, policies will have a minimum delay period, so check you policy wording carefully.

What is a package holiday and who should I contact to make a claim?

Package holidays are usually when you’ve booked 2 or more types of travel services at the same time for the same holiday from a travel organiser, such as a travel agent. The trip has to last more than 24 hours or include an overnight stay.

Linked travel arrangement tend to be when you book 2 or more travel services for the same trip, but they’re with different companies and you pay for them separately. Such as using a travel agent for your flights and an online company for your hotel.

Make sure you know your legal rights if your travel is disrupted, which are different for package holidays, linked travel arrangements and independent travellers. Generally, package holiday providers are able to provide compensation for travel disruption. More information is available on the Citizen’s Advice website and the Civil Aviation Authority website.

Do I still need to take my EHIC / GHIC with me?

If you still hold a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) (the EHIC entitles you to access state-provided health care when visiting the EU) this remains valid until its expiry date. After then, or if you do not have an EHIC, you will need to apply in the same way (through NHS online) for a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC). There is no charge for this card.

Neither the EHIC nor the GHIC is a replacement for travel insurance as it will not cover you for all medical costs, or the cost of emergency repatriation back to the UK.

How do I make a travel insurance claim?

This information will be contained in your policy wording, so be sure to read it carefully. Take your travel insurer’s emergency contact details with you when you travel, so that you know what to do in an emergency.