Five golden travel insurance rules if you’re planning an Easter getaway

Don’t leave cover until the last minute

You’re only protected once you buy cover, so if you leave buying it to the last minute but need to cancel your holiday for any reason before that, you won’t be protected. That’s why it’s always a good idea to buy travel insurance at the same time as you book your holiday.

Don’t feel obliged to take out cover via your holiday company however - it’s always worth seeing if you can find more cost-effective cover elsewhere first.

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Is a single trip policy or annual cover right for you?

Before you purchase travel insurance, consider whether a single trip policy is right for you, or if annual cover might be a better option. SIngle trip cover, as the name suggests, will protect you for a single holiday so if you’re going away once in 2025, you’ll want this type of cover. However, if you’re going away two or more times, it’s worth checking whether an annual policy might be a more cost-effective option.

Having annual cover can save you the hassle of booking insurance each time you go away, and you’ll usually automatically be covered for any domestic breaks too. However, it may not be the right option if you’re planning two very different holidays which will require different levels of cover - for example, if one of your holidays is skiing which you’ll need winter sports cover for, and your other break is a beach holiday.

Always declare any pre-existing medical conditions

When buying cover, make sure you declare any health conditions, even if you consider them unimportant, as failure to do so could invalidate your policy and see any claim you make rejected. It’s also vital to check you have a sufficient level of cover for medical expenses in place, as bills can often run into hundreds or thousands of pounds if you need treatment when you’re abroad.

Graham Ward-Lush, Head of Travel at Co-op Insurance, said: “All too often, people fail to check the conditions of their travel insurance policy, which can end up costing them thousands if they require medical treatment abroad that their policy does not cover.

“We urge those heading abroad to provide the correct medical details and fully understand the terms and conditions of their policy.”

Don’t rely on the Global Health Insurance Card to protect you The free Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) entitles you to the same treatment in EU and some other countries as local citizens. However, this must not be seen as a substitute for travel insurance as it won’t provide any protection against cancellation, delays, theft or losses.

It’s also worth noting that not all European countries accept the GHIC so policy holders should check before they travel.

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Check the excess

The excess is the part of any insurance payout that you must cover yourself. For example, if you’re making a £1,000 claim and the policy has a £100 excess, you’ll only receive £900 back from your insurer. It’s really important that any policy you choose doesn’t have too high an excess as this could make smaller claims pointless. If you use a comparison website to buy cover, you can usually set how high you want the excess to be when comparing policies.

Anna-Marie Duthie, Travel Insurance Expert at Defaqto, said: “Premiums tend to reduce if a higher excess is selected, with many insurers now providing various options to choose from. It can be tempting to increase the excess in order to pay less for the policy, however before you confirm which excess amount you are willing to pay, check the ‘basis’ by which these are applied. Excess amounts may be applied ‘per claim’, ‘per person’ or ‘per person, per section’ which can have a huge impact on the requirements placed upon you, should you need to make a claim.”