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Travel insurance covers unexpected events while travelling, including medical emergencies, trip cancellation, lost luggage and personal liability. For travel within Europe, a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) provides access to state healthcare but does not cover repatriation, private treatment or non-medical costs, so insurance is still essential. What you pay turns mainly on the destination, the length of the trip, your age and the level of cover you pick.

Policy types include single trip for one journey, annual multi-trip covering everything you do in a year, usually capped at 31-45 days per trip, and backpacker or long-stay cover for extended travel. Annual multi-trip is typically better value if you travel more than twice a year. The cover levels worth checking first are medical expenses, with a minimum of £2 million for Europe and £5 million for worldwide trips, then cancellation and baggage. Cruises fall outside standard wordings and need a specialist policy, usually £20-£100 more.

Age is a significant cost factor, with premiums rising sharply over 65. A week in Europe for a family of four might cost £15-£35, while a fortnight worldwide runs to £30-£80. Annual multi-trip cover for a family sits somewhere between £40 and £200, with Europe-only policies at the £40-£90 end and worldwide versions at £80-£200. Priced individually, travellers under 35 pay roughly £8-£20, those aged 55-65 pay £15-£40, and over-70s can be quoted £50-£200 or more.

Winter sports, adventure activities and travel to the USA or Canada raise the price substantially, mainly because treatment costs there are so high. Skiing on its own adds 30-100%. Pre-existing medical conditions have to be declared and will either add £20-£200 to the premium or push you towards a specialist insurer such as AllClear or Saga. Insurers generally ask about the past 2-3 years, and an honest answer at the quote stage is what makes the policy worth having later.

Typical UK policies carry medical cover of £5 million to £15 million, cancellation and curtailment of £1,500 to £10,000, and personal belongings of £1,000 to £3,000 with single-item sub-limits of £200-£300. Delay cover pays around £20-£50 an hour once you are held up for 8 hours or more, and personal liability is usually £2 million or above. A standard excess of £75-£150 applies per claim, and accepting a higher one lowers the premium. Exclusions worth reading are dangerous activities such as paragliding and skydiving, pre-existing conditions, travel to regions the FCDO has warned against, and alcohol-related incidents.

The Global Health Insurance Card replaced the EHIC after Brexit. It is free from gov.uk, covers state healthcare in the EU and Switzerland, and lasts 5 years, so apply 2-4 weeks before you go. What it will not do is fund repatriation, private hospitals, mountain rescue, lost luggage or cancellation. An existing EHIC stays valid until it expires, and a GHIC is a straightforward replacement. The card and the policy work together rather than as alternatives, and the card does nothing at all beyond Europe.

Buy the policy when you book the holiday rather than the week before you fly, because cancellation cover starts from the purchase date. Book a Christmas trip in June, fall ill in October, and only insurance bought back in June will pay out. Paying for the trip by credit card adds Section 75 protection on top, giving you two routes to a refund. Claims that fail usually do so for avoidable reasons. Belongings left unattended on a beach are excluded, valuables such as jewellery or cameras worth more than £200-£300 have to be listed individually, and a passport lost from an open bag can fall foul of the reasonable care test.