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11 Apr 2024

Best travel insurance companies and policies 2024

We surveyed 56 UK travel insurance companies and compared 67 areas of cover for each, to help you find the right policy

Dean SobersSenior researcher & writer

In this article

How do you find the best travel insurance?
Best travel insurance policies
Best travel insurance: companies and policies compared
What's the best type of travel insurance?
How can I save money on travel insurance?
How much travel insurance cover do I need?
How to compare travel insurance companies
Why there are so few Best Buy policies?

How do you find the best travel insurance?

The best travel insurance can't stop things going wrong on holiday, but it can prevent problems – medical issues, cancellations, delays or losses – from having a huge impact on your finances.

Our experts compared over 50 travel insurance companies, scrutinising hundreds of policies, each with more than 60 areas of cover.

We've assessed information on medical expenses, Covid cover, flight cancellation, compulsory excesses and many other factors to bring you our Best Buy travel insurance policies.

Please note that the information in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the particular terms and conditions of an insurer before committing to any financial products.

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Best travel insurance policies

We looked at 56 travel insurers, comparing more than 160 policies. See our results in the table below.

We rated six policies as Best Buys – here are the three highest scoring:

NFU Mutual - Home and Lifestyle

81% policy score - 2nd out of 161 policies rated.

We like: NFU Mutual was one of a minority of providers that will pay out if your holiday supplier or airline goes bankrupt. It is one of only two providers that applies its excess (£50) once per claim (rather than per person) – which could save hundreds if you're travelling as part of a group.

We don't like: NFU Mutual's travel insurance policies are only available to customers who also hold NFU Mutual home insurance.

Read our full NFU Mutual travel insurance review.

All Clear travel insurance - Platinum

79% policy score - joint 7th out of 161 policies rated.

We like: All Clear was the highest-scoring medical specialist insurer in our analysis. Its policy covers outbound, connecting and returning flights that you miss because of delays. Missed flights cover was available in more than 90% of policies we checked – but only half of policies covered the full round trip.

We don't like: If your holiday company or airline goes bankrupt and you have to cancel the holiday, you won't be able to claim on the insurance for lost costs.

Read our full All Clear travel insurance review.

Insure and Go - Black

77% policy score - joint 10th out of 161 policies rated.

We like: If you're covering a very expensive trip, the Black policy has one of the highest cover limits for costs if you have to cancel – £10,000. You also don't pay excesses.

We don't like: If you have a dental emergency while travelling, you can only claim up to £250. As with All Clear's policies, you can't claim if your travel company or airline goes bust.

Read our full Insure and Go insurance review.

Best travel insurance: companies and policies compared

Here's the full details of our findings in the tables below – to access each table, use the 'Select a table' dropdown below.

The 'Best Buys' table shows the policies that meet our exacting Best Buy criteria. When choosing these, we check for key features of cover as well as data on complaints and claims acceptance rates.
The other tables show the top-scoring policy from every provider we've rated. Of all policies reviewed, scores ranged from 83% to 29%.

We've also written comprehensive reviews of the best 16 insurers overall – just click on the links in the table to read them.

Select a table:

Best Buy policies


best buy NFU Mutual - Home and Lifestyle	81%	£5,000,000	£5,000	£2,500	As Standard
best buy AllClear - Platinum	79%	£15,000,000	£5,000	£3,000	Not covered
best buy Insure and Go - Black	77%	Unlimited	£10,000	£3,000	Not covered
best buy NFU Mutual - Bespoke	76%	£5,000,000	£15,000	£2,500	As Standard
best buy AllClear - Gold Plus	74%	£15,000,000	£5,000	£2,500	Not covered
best buy Insure and Go - Gold	71%	£15,000,000	£7,500	£2,500	Not covered

Table note: All ratings are for policies available to new customers, and the details were gathered in a survey carried out in April 2023. The information should be considered correct to then. We will next update our policy scores in June 2024. See our full methodology.

For insurers outside our 'Best Buys' list, we've only included the provider's best scoring policy. However, they might offer other policies with fewer features, often at a lower price. We've still scored these policies: find the scores in our individual travel insurer reviews, which cover the biggest and best brands.

If a brand isn't listed in the table it means it didn't take part in our survey and hasn't been reviewed.

What's the best type of travel insurance?

When picking travel insurance consider the number of foreign trips you'll make over the next 12 months, where you'll go and who with.

Single-trip and multi-trip (annual cover)
Single-trip insurance is aimed at people who are making a single, one-off journey. Multi-trip (annual) provides ongoing cover for 12 months. If you take 3 or more trips per year, multi-trip (annual) is likely to work out cheaper, and you don't have to tell the insurer when or where you're travelling.
European, worldwide and USA cover
European-only cover is usually the cheapest type and worldwide including USA (and often the Caribbean) is the most expensive due to high medical costs. If you've no intention of going to these destinations over the next 12 months, save money by buying worldwide cover that excludes them.
Individual, couple or family cover
You'll have the option to choose how many people to cover under a single policy, although if a member of your party needs specialist cover due to age or health, costs may change.
Specialist insurance options
If you have more specific requirements, for example due to age, or type of holiday, we've assessed the best options for you below.
Best cruise insurance • Best travel insurance for over 60s • Best travel insurance for medical conditions • Best ski insurance
Unexpected events cover
Your policy may include cover for unexpected events, like bankruptcy of the holiday supplier, strikes, civil unrest and more. We've listed which providers' policies have the best unexpected events cover providers.

How can I save money on travel insurance?

What you'll pay for travel insurance varies hugely by where you're going and for how long.

Take these average quotes, collected for us by Confused.com, for a couple of 50-year-olds with a joint policy:

Destination	Trip length	Cost of travel insurance
Spain	7 nights	£33
United States	14 nights	£234

Source: Confused.com, based on average quotes from 1 January 2023 to 20 November 2023

These are averages, and so you're likely to pay:

Less if just buying cover for yourself
Less if you're younger than 50, or more if you're older than 50
More if you have a pre-existing medical condition

Whatever your situation, chances are you can reduce costs by comparing travel insurance. An annual policy may work out cheaper if you travel multiple times a year.

When should you buy travel insurance?

You should buy travel insurance on the same day you book your holiday.

One of the best features of travel insurance is that it covers you if you're unexpectedly forced to cancel the trip and stand to lose money as a result.

If you leave buying your insurance until the last minute, you won't benefit from this protection, even if some providers might make it slightly cheaper.

With this in mind, you should buy your insurance as soon as you book your holiday – unless you already have annual cover in place.

Should you buy travel insurance from the tour operator or airline?

When you buy your holiday, whether that's through a traditional package provider or a budget airline, you're likely to be offered insurance at the same time.

But cover offered as an add-on to your trip is unlikely to be tailored to your needs and could be more expensive. Always check the wider market to see if you can get better cover for less.

If you do buy add-on insurance, make sure it covers any medical conditions that you have.

Do you already have insurance?

Some packaged bank accounts come with travel insurance as a sweetener, so if you have a packaged account, check whether cover is included.

If you do have travel insurance with your bank account, check its terms carefully and make sure it meets your needs. Does it cover you for trips outside Europe? Will it cover your medical conditions?

If it doesn't, call your bank to see if you can add the cover you need or look for a standalone policy that meets your needs.

You might also have some of your insurance needs met if you have personal possessions cover with your home contents insurance. These policies often protect things you carry on your person (such as gadgets or jewellery) around the world, from loss, damage or theft.

Do you need travel insurance if you have an Ehic or Ghic?

Yes, you still need travel insurance. A Global Health Insurance Card (Ghic) – the replacement for the Ehic – is a medical card that can be used throughout the EU. It entitles you to treatment in state hospitals for the same price paid by the residents of the country you're visiting. If they get free treatment, so do you.

But it won't cover the costs of medical transportation (for example ambulance bills or being flown back to the UK where medically needed), alongside costs of cancelling your holiday or returning early, replacing lost and stolen possessions, and many other things - that's what travel insurance is for.

Find out more: The Ehic and Ghic explained

How much travel insurance cover do I need?

While it can be tempting to get the cheapest cover you can find, this could prove a false economy. Everyone's specific cover needs will be different, but as a starting point, we recommend looking for policies with these minimum levels of cover:

Medical expenses: £5 million
Cancellation cover: £2,000 – or the full cost of your holiday (which may be higher or lower)
Personal belongings: £1,500 – or the value of your possessions
Personal liability cover: £1 million.

Many sports won't be covered as standard, such as skiing and snowboarding, so you'll need to get cover that includes this, or add it on for a fee.

Cruises requre a special type of cruise insurance. If you're considering working abroad, or spending a couple of months abroad, you may need 'backpacker insurance'.

How to compare travel insurance companies

1. Check our tables and reviews

Our experts have assigned each travel insurance policy a policy score, reflecting how comprehensive, overall, the cover is.

It's important to remember, however, that travel insurance is complex – so even providers with high policy scores won't necessarily cover everything you're looking for. For a more detailed look at some of the larger and higher-scoring providers, see our individual travel insurer reviews.

2. Get a travel insurance quote

While looking at our reviews, you can get a quote for travel insurance using the service provided by Confused.com.

You might be able to save by using multiple comparison sites.

Some insurers don't sell through comparison sites, including NFU Mutual and Direct Line, and specialist medical insurers.

Both the government's MoneyHelper website and the British Insurance Brokers Association have directories of such insurers.

An insurance broker can find affordable cover for unusual scenarios that most insurers won't cover.

3. Check the T&Cs

Before you buy, check the policy wording to make sure you understand what your policy covers, and what it doesn't.

If there are specific reasons you've bought the cover, check these sections to make sure they meet your expectations. Also check the policy's general exclusions and conditions. If anything in the policy is unclear, contact the insurer.

Finally, check what protection your holiday provider offers, because if something goes wrong, you might need to seek compensation from it first before your insurer will accept your claim.

Check you're getting a great deal and search for a new travel insurance policy using the service provided by Confused.com. Get a quote now

Why there are so few Best Buy policies?

Dean Sobers, Which? insurance expert says:

'In our tables, you'll see dozens of products brimming with features and high levels of cover – but just six Best Buys.

'Unfortunately, it comes down to the difference between what a policy promises on paper, and the depressing reality that we see in the claims statistics. Roughly a quarter of claims made on single-trip and annual European policies were declined by travel insurers in 2022 (the latest stats available). With most kinds of insurance, payout rates are above 90%.

'Not all travel insurers are the same: some – including our Best Buys – were markedly better in this data than others. But a large number of candidates clearing all other hurdles in our analysis fell flat when we reviewed their claims acceptance rates and the numbers of their claimants who'd lodged complaints.

'We'd love to be able to recommend a much wider selection of policies, as we all have different requirements and budgets when shopping around for travel insurance. Hopefully, we'll see insurers do better in future. In the meantime, the best way to avoid disappointment is to be reasonably familiar with the policy's T&Cs when you buy it, as policy exclusions are the most common single reason claims get turned down.

'Each section of a policy wording document (for example, cancellation or delay cover) will include its own exclusions. You'll also need to check the policy's section that details 'general' exclusions and conditions that apply across the policy.'

Frequently asked travel insurance questions

This depends on whether you can no longer make your flight or the airline has cancelled it.

If the airline cancels your flight, it is generally their responsibility to find an alternative flight or to give you a full refund.

If you can no longer make your flight, perhaps due to illness or accident, then it is not the airline's responsibility. If you have taken out a travel insurance policy and depending on the reason you can no longer fly, you may be able to claim some of the flight costs back.

You should also check the airline's conditions of carriage if you are going to miss your flight last-minute to see whether you can be moved to an alternative flight.

Yes you can - but you'll need to get a special type of policy called 'post-departure insurance'.

Unfortunately, you're likely to pay more and get less cover than if you had bought standard travel insurance.

Post-departure insurance won't cover incidents that have already happened, such as a delayed flight on the way out. It generally applies from the day after buying, not the same day.

Even though you'll need to cover fewer days, the specialised nature of post-departure insurance means it's likely to cost more per day and overall.

The best approach is to buy standard travel insurance on the same day you book your holiday. Although the insurance only needs to cover the dates of your holiday, from the moment of buying it you'll be covered if, for instance, you need to cancel your trip.

Buying insurance just before you travel effectively means missing out on months of cover.

You can get travel insurance if you're pregnant, especially if your trip is less than 28 weeks into your pregnancy.

Many insurers still offer cover for trips after that point, but check with them before buying, and bear in mind airlines may request extra details such as a letter from your doctor.

Pregnancy is not considered a pre-existing medical condition so you shouldn't have to tell your insurer or pay more.

Standard travel insurance will cover emergency medical care, but ask insurers if antenatal care after premature births will be covered, or cancellation due to pregnancy-related complications.

In general, travel insurance won't pay out if you cancel a trip simply because you're pregnant - it's worth asking airlines and accommodation providers if you can reschedule.

Potentially, depending on the type of trip you've booked.

Many travel insurers will cover the UK; if you have an annual policy check if it includes UK travel.

The main advantage of travel insurance for the UK is cover if you need to cancel your trip (such as because of illness) or lose baggage.

In general, travel insurance only covers paid-for accommodation, sometimes with a minimum duration. So stays with friends and family wouldn't be covered.

Nor will you need travel insurance for medical cover, due to the NHS - though visitors to the Isle of Man and Channel Islands may need insurance for repatriation to the mainland.

Your home contents insurance may cover personal possessions outside the home, but you may have to pay high excesses.

Yes, travel insurance is essential for European holidays.

The European Health Insurance Card (Ehic) and Global Health Insurance Card (Ghic) only entitle you to public medical care at the price locals pay.

That's only in the EU, Switzerland and a few other countries however, and won't cover associated - and very high - costs such as for rescue from ski slopes or repatriation to the UK.

Nor will the Ehic and Ghic cover cancellations or lost baggage, unlike the best travel insurance policies.

Find out more: The Ehic and Ghic explained

Covid isn't the menace to travel that it was a year or two ago, but it's still around and retains the potential to scupper your plans.

Fortunately, all policies we examined provide at least a basic level of Covid cover - covering you if you get ill while travelling and require emergency medical care or medical repatriation to the UK.

Some 98% of those we checked also cover cancellation costs if you can't travel because you're ill with the virus.

From here, the degree of Covid cover varies significantly between policies - meaning you can't make assumptions about what's covered and should check very carefully if Covid cover is a priority for you.

Of the policies we analysed, fewer than one in ten will pay if your hotel closes because of Covid and you can't get your money back.

And only a handful of providers cover you if you choose to cancel your plans because the FCDO advises against travel to your destination due to Covid. At the time of our analysis in April 2023, these were:

Any current or recent medical conditions that haven't been disclosed to your insurer will almost certainly be automatically excluded from your policy.

In recent Which? research, we found that pre-existing medical conditions were the second most common reason for claims being turned down.

When you declare a condition, you'll go through a medical screening process where you give the insurer information about your medical history. When you buy insurance by itself, this will usually form part of the application process.

With some providers (for example where the cover is included with a holiday or a bank account), you'll need to contact the insurer separately to have the conditions added. If you're uncertain about what needs to be declared, it's best to contact the insurer.

Find out more: Best travel insurance if you have a medical condition

Travel insurers only expect you to claim with them if you've been unable to recover your money through other channels.

Book with a Which? Recommended holiday provider

If a package holiday firm cancels your holiday, or airlines can't fulfil flights, you're entitled to a refund by law.

Unfortunately, in the wake of Covid, not all travel providers fulfilled their legal obligations. For peace of mind, opt for one of our Which? Recommended Providers.

Find out more: Your legal rights with package holiday companies

Atol protection

If you buy a package holiday that includes flights from an Atol-protected firm, you'll get your money back if it goes bust. You'll also be repatriated if this happens while you're on holiday.

Find out more: how do I know if my holiday is Atol protected?

Your credit card provider

If you can, pay for your holiday with a credit card.

If you pay with a credit card for services costing more than £100 and less than £30,000 that aren't provided as advertised, you can claim the money back from your card supplier if the seller (ie the holiday company) won't refund you.

Find out more: Section 75

Your bank

Banks have similar schemes to help you recover money for services that haven't been fulfilled as paid for. These are known as chargeback.

Chargeback can be used to recover debit and prepaid card payments, as well as credit card payments below £100.

Banks aren't legally bound to do this in the same way as credit card providers are under Section 75, so you should always pay for amounts over £100 with a credit card if possible.

How we analyse travel insurance

Our editorial independence means we are able to work on behalf of consumers, not insurers. That means our reviews are fair and there's no hidden agenda.

Policy score

The policy score rates how comprehensive the cover is in a policy – the higher the better.

We've looked at 161 policies, examining 67 elements of cover in each.

Policies are given points for each element of cover, reflecting how competitive their cover is compared with what other policies offer. The policy score shows how well the policy did overall.

Based on our assessment of which elements are more or less important for customers choosing and using travel insurance, we adjust the impact that points earned in each area has on the overall policy score.

Among the highest-weighted elements are medical expenses cover, cancellation cover and the compulsory excesses on the policy.

How we pick Which? Best Buys

Our 'Best Buy' badge recognises the individual products that stood out as being the most comprehensive in our analysis.

It doesn't reflect customer service. However, we do look at claims statistics published by the Financial Conduct Authority and complaints data from the Financial Ombudsman Service, where these are available. We won't give a Best Buy badge to providers shown to reject higher than average numbers of claims or that have a poor track record when it comes to complaints.

Policies named as Best Buys did well in our analysis of cover, with a policy score of at least 66%.

Additionally, Best Buy policies scored well consistently across different areas of cover. To make the cut, a policy needs to have scored at least three out of five points in two thirds of the features we compare (see 'Policy score' for more).

Lastly, all Best Buy policies must provide - either as standard or as an option - the following levels of cover as a minimum:

£5m cover for medical expenses - with emergency medical repatriation and some cover for emergency dental treatment
£2,000 cancellation and travel abandonment cover - including cancellation in the event that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advises against travel to your destination country because of civil unrest, war, terrorism or natural disaster after you've insured your holiday
Cancellation cover because of the illness, injury or death of a close family member or a person you were planning to stay with; cover for travel delays - including cover for missing your outgoing or returning flight due to delays
£1,500 cover for baggage
£2m personal liability cover