Travel insurance is one of those things easy to overlook when booking a trip, until something goes wrong and you realise how much it matters. A good policy can save you from bills running into tens of thousands of pounds. This guide explains what travel insurance is, what a good policy covers, and how to choose the right cover.

What travel insurance is

Travel insurance is a policy that protects you against the financial costs of things going wrong before or during a trip. You pay a premium, and in return the insurer covers certain costs, such as emergency medical treatment abroad, having to cancel or cut short your trip, lost or stolen baggage, and more. It is designed to turn the unpredictable, and potentially huge, costs of travel problems into a single, manageable upfront price.

Why it matters

The single biggest reason to have travel insurance is medical cover. If you fall ill or have an accident abroad, treatment can be extremely expensive, especially in places like the United States, and getting you home safely, known as repatriation, can cost a great deal more. Without insurance, you would face these costs yourself, which can be financially devastating. Travel insurance exists precisely to protect you from this kind of unexpected, large expense.

Emergency medical cover

The most important part of any travel policy is emergency medical cover. This pays for treatment if you become ill or are injured abroad, including hospital stays, and crucially for repatriation, bringing you home if needed, which can be the largest cost of all. A good policy provides a high medical cover limit, often millions of pounds, so when comparing policies, the medical and repatriation cover is the first thing to check.

Cancellation and curtailment

A good policy also covers cancellation and curtailment: getting back the money you have paid for a trip if you have to cancel before you go, or cut it short, for a covered reason such as illness or a family bereavement. This protects the prepaid cost of flights, accommodation and other bookings, as our guide to cancellation cover explains. It is a major reason to buy insurance as soon as you book.

Baggage, belongings and money

Travel insurance typically covers your baggage and personal belongings against loss, theft and damage while travelling, up to set limits, often with caps on individual items and on valuables. Many policies also cover lost or stolen money and passports. These limits matter: if you travel with expensive items, check whether they are covered and whether you need to specify them, since standard limits may not be enough for high-value possessions.

Other useful cover

Beyond the core elements, policies often include personal liability cover, if you injure someone or damage property abroad, cover for travel delay and missed departures, and emergency assistance helplines you can call when something goes wrong. The exact mix varies, so it is worth checking what is included. Together, these features mean a good policy supports you across the range of problems a trip can throw up, not just medical emergencies.

Single trip or annual cover

You can buy travel insurance for a single trip or as an annual multi-trip policy covering all your travel in a year. Which is cheaper depends on how often you travel, as our guide to single trip versus annual cover explains. If you take more than a couple of trips a year, annual cover often works out cheaper, while for a single holiday, single trip cover is usually the better value.

Declaring medical conditions

When you buy travel insurance, you must declare any pre-existing medical conditions, as failing to do so can invalidate cover for related claims. This applies to physical and mental health conditions alike, as our guides to declaring pre-existing conditions and mental health conditions explain. Being honest and thorough when answering the medical questions is essential to making sure your policy would actually pay out when you need it.

The GHIC is not a substitute

If you are travelling in Europe, a free Global Health Insurance Card, or GHIC, gives access to state healthcare at local cost, but it is not a replacement for travel insurance. It does not cover repatriation, cancellation, lost baggage or treatment outside the countries it covers, so you need both, as our guide to worldwide versus European cover and the GHIC explains. The two work together rather than one replacing the other.

When to buy

It is best to buy travel insurance as soon as you book your trip, not just before you travel. This is because cancellation cover starts from the moment you buy the policy, so buying early means you are protected if something forces you to cancel in the weeks or months before departure. Leaving it until the last minute means missing out on that cancellation protection for the period before you go.

Personal liability and legal cover

Many policies include personal liability cover, which protects you if you are held responsible for injuring someone or damaging their property while abroad, paying compensation and legal costs up to a limit. Some also include legal expenses cover to help you pursue a claim against someone else. These elements are easy to overlook, but they can matter a great deal if an accident abroad leads to a dispute, so it is worth knowing they are there.

How much medical cover do you need?

Because medical and repatriation costs can be enormous, you want a generous medical cover limit, often running into millions of pounds. A high limit costs little more but provides a much bigger safety net for a serious emergency. When comparing policies, do not be drawn only to the cheapest premium; check that the medical cover limit is high enough, as this is the part of the policy most likely to save you from financial disaster.

Reading the policy

As with any insurance, the detail matters. Check the cover limits for each section, the excess you would pay on a claim, and the exclusions, since these determine what you are really buying. A very cheap policy may have low limits, a high excess or wide exclusions. Taking a few minutes to read the key facts before buying ensures the cover matches your trip and you are not caught out when you come to claim.

In short

Travel insurance protects you against the costs of things going wrong before and during a trip, above all emergency medical treatment and repatriation, which can run to huge sums abroad. A good policy also covers cancellation, baggage, personal liability and delays. Buy it as soon as you book to get cancellation cover, declare any medical conditions honestly, and remember the GHIC complements but does not replace travel insurance.

Where to get help and next steps

Choose the right type with single trip versus annual cover, see whether you need it in do you need travel insurance, and understand cancellation cover. This is general information, not financial advice.