Cheap travel insurance

The thought of declaring health conditions can be daunting, but if you don’t tell your insurer, any claim you make could be rejected.

Always declare all existing medical conditions, even ones you don’t think are important, as each insurer treats them differently. Be full and frank about your health history (usually the past five years), including any Covid-related issues, and let them know if you’re pregnant.

For more help – including what counts as a pre-existing condition, how to declare it, and tips to find the cheapest cover – see our Pre-existing medical conditions travel insurance guide.

Using weight-loss jabs? You must declare them

More than a million people in the UK now use drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro. If you do, you’ll need to tell your insurer when buying travel insurance as they usually treat them as prescribed medication. If you don’t declare them, your cover could be invalidated – even if your claim has nothing to do with the jab.

The free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) and its replacement, the Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC), which has been sent to new applicants since 1 January 2021, entitles you to treatment in state-run hospitals in the EU at the same cost as a local would pay. So if they pay nowt, you pay nowt.

Also worth knowing that even though Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are not part of the EU, you'll still be entitled to treatment in state-run hospitals when you use your health insurance cards in these countries.

The card is free so if a copycat site pretending to be the real thing advertises a fee (often about £35), run a mile. For full info and how to get it for free from the legitimate NHS site, read our Free EHIC/GHIC guide.

IMPORTANT. A EHIC/GHIC should be seen only as a supplement to travel insurance, not a replacement. Holiday cover protects against a much wider range of scenarios, including cancellation, possessions, delays, repatriation, personal liability and more. Even when using the card you may still face charges, which travel insurance can cover – and in many cases, presenting it means you won’t have to pay the excess.

Insurers will classify your trip as 'European' or 'worldwide'. This is often further broken down to include or exclude the US, Canada, the Caribbean or Mexico. Selecting the option to include these countries increases the premium due to the high cost of medical treatment – particularly in the US – and possible repatriation.

Annual European travel cover isn't just for Europe

If you're travelling just outside Europe, you don't always have to select worldwide cover. Many insurers actually allow you to use their European cover in a handful of non-European countries too.

If you're visiting Egypt, Morocco, Turkey or Tunisia, it's worth getting a quote for European cover first and then checking the policy's geographical area definition to see if the country you're going to is included. The following insurers – Allianz*, Insure and Go and Coverwise* – all class Egypt, Morocco, Turkey and Tunisia as Europe.

It's also worth noting that not all insurers automatically include Spain (and the Balearic/Canary Islands) in their European cover – you may have to pay extra, so do check.

Check if the Foreign Office is advising against travel to your destination

The FCDO has a list of countries which it feels are unsafe for travel. Usually, this covers areas where there's war, terrorism or other reasons not to travel, such as natural disasters or a pandemic.

Check its website for the latest as things can change quickly. You should also see if the country you're planning to travel to has restricted entry – you can usually do this via its UK embassy website. If one or the other means you can no longer take your trip, see if you can rearrange it, or if the provider will give you a refund. 

If you still want to travel (though note we're not encouraging you to do so), you'll need a specialist policy as standard insurers won't cover you, even if travel was allowed when you booked your trip.

Try Battleface*, or, for European trips, Insurefor.com* and Staysure* (with its 'European Foreign Office travel advice extension' optional add-on). 

If you’ve booked a trip more than 12 months in advance, your options depend on the type of policy.

Single-trip policies

Some insurers will let you buy single-trip travel insurance up to 18 or even 24 months ahead. That means you can get cover in place as soon as you book, which is key as single-trip policies usually include cancellation cover from day one.

If your trip is within the next 12 months, you’ll have a wider choice of insurers, including many in our Cheap Travel Insurance Finder.

Here are the insurers who will let you buy single-trip cover well in advance:

Annual / multi-trip policies

Annual (multi-trip) travel insurance can still work for holidays booked more than a year in advance – but only if you keep cover in place until you return.

If you already have an annual policy when you book a trip that’s over a year away, you’re usually covered for issues that arise while the policy is live (such as needing to cancel due to illness), even though the holiday itself is later.

However, annual policies only last 12 months. So if your policy ends before you go or return from the holiday, you’ll need to renew it or take out a new one so that cover runs straight on and continues through the trip itself.

The key rule is simple: you should have a live policy covering you from the moment you book until the day you get home. If your existing policy doesn’t do that, arrange cover to start the day your current one ends.

If you know you're going to travel at least twice in a 12-month period, consider an annual policy, often known as a multi-trip policy. This is because annual cover can work out cheaper than buying two single-trip policies. But always do the maths.

Of course, this varies depending on where you're travelling and for how long, but if you get an annual policy you also have the added comfort of knowing if you have a third trip within that 12-month period, you already have the cover in place.

Multi-trip cover will insure you for an unlimited number of trips over a 12-month period. However, the number of days you can be on holiday for per trip may be capped – it can often be as low as 17 days, with others setting the limit at 31 or 45 days but it can sometimes be as high as 90.

You may already have travel insurance without knowing. Some bank accounts that charge a monthly fee offer extra benefits such as holiday insurance. If you think your account offers insurance as a sweetener, check the terms to see if it is appropriate for your trip.

While travel insurance with these packaged accounts is a decent perk, do NOT confuse it with a benefit offered with credit cards called travel accident insurance. This only covers accidents on a train, plane or in a hire car paid for on the card. Never think travel accident insurance means you're completely covered.

For accounts that offer travel insurance (and other perks), see our Top packaged accounts guide.

Cold-weather sports can be dangerous, so make sure you have winter sports cover. Standard travel insurance usually won’t cover skiing or snowboarding unless you add it.

As well as covering you for the basics you’d get under a standard travel policy, winter sports cover usually includes:

• Medical costs if you have an accident, plus mountain rescue, airlift and repatriation if needed. Treatment on the slopes can be expensive – the Association of British Insurers says one Brit required £90,000 of treatment for a fractured rib and punctured lung, while a knee ligament injury can cost £1,000s to treat.

• Piste closure, if you’re unable to ski due to lack of snow or an avalanche. Insurers may pay a set amount per day (often £10 to £50), up to a limit.

• Loss of or damage to ski equipment, including hired kit, though limits vary by policy.

• Public liability, if you injure someone or damage their property while skiing.

You’re generally covered for skiing or snowboarding on the piste. Some policies will also cover off-piste skiing, but usually only if you’re with a qualified instructor, so always check the terms.

If you are planning to take part in something even more wild – such as luging or stunt skiing – specialist providers such as BMC and Snowcard may be able to offer you cover.

Most regular travel policies will only cover you for loss or theft of goods and medical costs while you're on a cruise. You may NOT be covered for other eventualities unless you upgrade your policy. These include:

• Missed departure

• Unused cruise excursions, for instance, a day trip to a city port

• Cruise itinerary change

• Cabin confinement, for example, onboard virus

To get cover for these, you can usually select an add-on to get the right protection – which won't break the bank. If you want to buy one, a quick way to get a quote is to use a comparison site such as  MoneySupermarket*, Confused.com*, Gocompare or Compare The Market.

Another one to try is Compare Your Cruise Insurance* where you select the cruise operator - including the ship and cruise - and the month of sail to get a quote.

It's also worth comparing to see if any of the top-pick policies below let you add cruise cover.

There's often a clause built in that says the policy won't cover 'recoverable costs', which essentially means you need to prove that you can't claim back those amounts elsewhere.

So you'll usually need to put in the legwork and ask the provider, for example, the airline, holiday operator or car hire firm (and in some cases the credit card company), for a refund before your insurer would even consider a claim under the travel insurance policy.

Want extra protection? Book flexibly and pay on plastic

Travel insurance provides valuable last-resort protection, but it's best used in combination with other ways of minimising the risk of losing money on a trip. For peace of mind, here are some options to consider...

• Book easily cancellable or flexible flights and accommodation. Hedge towards offers with no/low deposits or those that give refunds or let you rebook for free if you find you can't go. 

• Pay on plastic. Credit cards offer strong protection, as Section 75 refund rules mean for items costing more than £100, the card provider is jointly liable with the seller – though note that bookings via travel agents may not be covered as it usually only covers payments made directly to the travel provider.

  Debit cards also have some protection under the 'chargeback' refund rules (but these aren't legal requirements and firms sometimes challenge them).

  Yet for both schemes, you'll only be covered if the service wasn't provided, for example if the flight was cancelled or the accommodation was shut. These card schemes won't cover you if you weren't able to go.

• Package holidays can offer greater protection. If an airline or accommodation provider cancels, you're entitled to a refund. But if the trip or flight is still going ahead but you can no longer travel, then you have few or no rights. See our Cheap package holidays guide for advice on discounts, haggling and when to book.

Like all insurance policies, there are a number of things that providers won't pay out for. Here are some of the most common:

• Dangerous sports. If you're doing something a bit unusual, such as ski jumping or snowmobiling, check the terms and conditions of your policy first. If you find you're not covered as standard, or via an optional extra,  specialist providers such as  BMC and Snowcard may be able to offer you cover.
  

  Alternatively, specialist brokers can help you find insurers that cover non-standard trips. To find one, see the British Insurance Brokers' Association website.
  

• Alcohol-related injury. You may be on holiday to unwind but if you are badly injured while you are more than just a little tipsy, your insurer is likely to reject your claim. The same goes for drugs. Insurers have different classifications of 'drunk', with some using blood alcohol limits, so check your policy carefully before you buy.
  

• Medical conditions. Insurers will often cover you if you have existing health conditions, but if you fail to tell your insurer and then need treatment for that condition, or a related condition, you won't be covered. You may also struggle to get a claim paid if you ignore advised medication or jabs needed to enter a country.

• Refused entry (to visiting country). It's your responsibility to check your travel documents are valid and you meet the entry requirements. Always check the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) website for the entry rules of the countries you're visiting well before travelling.
  

• Unattended possessions. Travel insurance will cover your personal possessions when you're abroad, but if you leave your items unattended and they are then stolen, your insurer will not pay for their replacement.
  

• Travel to dangerous countries. The FCDO outlines which countries it deems are unsafe for travel. If you travel to a country on its list, your cover is likely to be invalid. Check out its current travel advice for more.
  

• Private hospital treatment. Only some insurers will cover you, others won't, so double-check your policy. However, if you're in an emergency and are taken to a private hospital by the emergency services without your knowledge, you're more likely to be covered by insurance, though there is still a chance of rejection.

An excess is the amount you have to pay towards any claim you make. For example, if you cancel a trip and are entitled to £3,000 back from your insurer but have a £100 excess, you will only receive £2,900.

However, the excess amount, and if it applies per section, and if it applies per traveller, does vary from insurer to insurer.

For instance, most travel insurance providers will likely expect you to pay an excess per person. So if the policy was for a couple, and the flight was cancelled – do expect to pay an excess per person.

It is also worth knowing that an excess per section could also apply. An example could be if your suitcase was nicked and your wallet was inside you could have to pay an excess on both.

If you have a group policy you may also have to pay an excess for each person for any loss that impacts your entire party, such as cancellation. It's important to check all excesses so you know exactly what you will have to pay if you make a claim.

Hence why it is always important to check the policy cover so you know what you are getting.

Many people aren't aware that if they have an alcoholic drink on holiday, and lose something or have an accident, their insurance may not cover them – even if they only had the one drink. Insurers all have different interpretations – which we have seen in the T&Cs – ranging from "drinking too much" to "approx four pints" to "alcoholic abuse".

In practice, what most say is that it's all about whether or not the drink has affected your decision-making. As we all have different tolerances, for some this could mean that just one drink could invalidate a claim.

It's also been reported that some insurers have gone as far as testing blood samples for your alcohol level (although we wonder how this works in practice) but as stressed, this does vary from policy to policy.

Having a claim refused could hit hard, possibly excluding you from medical or possessions cover. As a general rule, use your common sense as it's about safety as well as insurance. For example, if you're skiing and have two or three glasses of wine at lunch before hitting the slopes again, you're increasing the chance of an accident – which you also may not be covered for.

When picking any policy, we look for the following minimum criteria. The vast majority of policies we list will meet these, even if we don't state it explicitly.

• Medical expenses: £2 million including repatriation

• Cancellation: £1,500 (it's designed to cover the cost of your holiday, so make sure your policy matches your holiday style)

• Baggage: £750 – if yours is worth more, go for a higher level

• Cash loss: £200

• Personal liability: £1 million

For annual policies, we only include insurers that will cover cancellation claims for holidays due to take place after your policy expires (as long as you make the cancellation claim while the policy is in place). For example, your annual policy is due to expire in June and you already have a holiday booked in August: you become ill in May and have to cancel – you'll still be covered.

Note: If you choose to use a comparison website for a holiday over a year away, check if the insurer will cover your holiday, as not all do.

If travelling with your partner or family, you have two options – you can cover everyone under one policy, or each person takes their own. It's often cheaper to get a combined policy, however, there are times when separate policies will be better (so always check, to be safe), including:

• If one of the travellers is over 65, as the group price you'll pay is based on the oldest traveller, or the person deemed to be the highest risk, so the insurer will usually hike the price for all (see our Over-65s' travel insurance guide for ways to cut costs).

• If one of the travellers has a medical condition, as it will increase the price for all.

• If just one of the travellers is going outside Europe, in particular to the US, or on a skiing trip (or even both), it could be better to have separate policies, rather than the whole family buying extended cover when it's not needed.

It depends on how long you'll be gone for. If you're going away for longer than 60 consecutive days, whether its backpacking or an extended trip somewhere, it's unlikely you'll be covered by a standard insurance policy. Specialist backpackers insurance, also known as 'gap year' or 'extended leave' insurance can offer cover for longer trips.

See our Backpacker insurance guide for more information.