Compare travel insurance UK: best cover and cheapest price from £15.80 a week
A. FruchardLast updated: 28 July 2026Is it worth comparing travel insurance in the UK, and how do you do it right?
Yes. Comparing travel insurance is worth it because cover and price vary far more than the headline figure suggests, and a single overseas medical bill can run into thousands of pounds. To compare travel insurance well, line policies up on medical limit, cancellation, excess and exclusions before you look at the price.
The numbers make the case. In 2024, UK insurers paid £472 million in travel claims and the average overseas medical claim reached £1,528, according to the Association of British Insurers. Medical costs were the single biggest category, and a serious case abroad can cost far more: repatriation from the United States now averages more than £192,000.
Price still matters, but the cheapest policy is rarely the one that protects you. Official foreign travel insurance guidance shows why: a leg fracture in Spain can cost £25,000, and a stomach infection in the United States £150,000 or more once treatment and a flight home are added up. A plan that saves you £10 but caps medical cover too low can leave you paying the difference.
One point of honesty before you start. The plans on this page are European policies we can quote for UK travellers in pounds, with an instant certificate. They are underwritten by insurers in France and Portugal rather than by a UK-authorised company, so it is worth comparing them alongside a domestic UK insurer too. The cover figures below are shown in pounds, as sterling equivalents of policies written in euros, and every price is a real quote captured in July 2026.
Every year, our experts audit each plan against its binding policy wording: coverage, limits and exclusions, cross-checked with real customer feedback and live market prices. The analysis is fully independent, with zero paid placements and no insurer able to pay to influence a rating. We compare travel insurance across every country and currency, using the plans, prices and cover actually offered in your country, not a single guide translated.
Learn moreWhich travel insurance policies should you compare first in 2026?
For most UK trips, start by comparing three plans: WorldSecure Platinum, WorldSecure Basic and Safe Start. Between them they cover the cheapest week of protection, from £15.80, the best-value mid-price all-rounder, and the highest medical ceiling of the group.
Antoine's pick for UK travellers
My pick for most travellers is WorldSecure Platinum, at £31.37 for a week in Spain. It is the only mid-price plan here that pairs around £250,000 of medical cover with a cancellation option, extreme-sports cover and the strongest personal liability of the group, so you are not trading protection for a low price. If you are under 40 and do not need cancellation, WorldSecure Basic at £15.80 is a genuine budget option, as long as you accept its smaller baggage limit and that phones and laptops are excluded. Safe Start suits older travellers, with cover to age 69 and the highest standard medical ceiling. Whichever you choose, compare the medical limit and the excess first, then the price.
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Price for 1 traveller aged 34, 7 days in Spain, departing from the UK. Prices calculated by HelloSafe, July 2026. Cover figures are sterling equivalents of euro-denominated policies, so your price depends on age, trip length and destination.
HelloSafe is available as an app inside ChatGPT. Install it from ChatGPT’s Apps tab, then type @HelloSafe followed by your destination and dates to compare travel insurance.
How much does travel insurance cost when you compare quotes?
A week of travel insurance for a solo UK traveller in Spain costs from £15.80, about £2.26 a day, for a budget plan. Mid-range cover is around £31, and the median quote across these plans is near £43. The price then rises with your age, how long you are away, where you are going and the level of cover you choose.
Four things move the price when you compare quotes: your age, the length of the trip, the destination (the United States and Canada cost the most to insure) and whether you add cancellation. Adding cancellation to a plan such as WorldSecure Platinum raises the premium but protects your prepaid trip cost if you have to call the holiday off. Our live quotes for a short single trip span roughly £16 to £62, depending on the plan and the traveller.
Traveller profile | Budget | Average | Premium (best value) | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Solo, single trip 1 adult, 7 days | £15.80 WorldSecure Basic | £42.60 | £31.37 WorldSecure Platinum | Platinum adds around £250k medical, a cancellation option and extreme sports |
Couple 2 adults, 7 days | £31.59 WorldSecure Basic | £83.29 | £62.72 WorldSecure Platinum | Cancellation covers both tickets; Basic has none |
Family 2 adults, 2 children, 7 days | £63.18 WorldSecure Basic | £137.87 | £125.44 WorldSecure Platinum | Priced per traveller, so children are not free |
Senior 1 adult aged 65, 7 days | £31.37 WorldSecure Platinum | £51.70 | £38.29 Safe Start | Safe Start covers to age 69; Basic stops at 39 |
Backpacker 1 adult, 30 days, multi-country | £53.13 WorldSecure Basic | £87.12 | £94.09 WorldSecure Platinum | All plans price a 30-day, four-country trip |
What cover should you compare in a travel insurance policy?
When you compare travel insurance, check five things before price: the medical limit (aim for at least £2 million including repatriation), the cancellation cover, the excess, the geographical area, and the exclusions. These decide whether a policy actually pays out.
- Medical cover of at least £2 millionEnough for treatment and a flight home from anywhere, including the United States.
- Repatriation at actual costAll six plans here pay the real cost of bringing you home, with no fixed cap.
- Cancellation of at least £1,000Refunds your prepaid trip for a covered reason. WorldSecure Platinum offers up to about £7,500 per person as an option.
- Baggage of at least £500Check the single-item and valuables limits in our guide to baggage cover: WorldSecure Basic excludes phones, laptops and cash.
- Personal liability around £1 millionCovers you if you injure someone or damage property. World Travel goes up to about £1.7 million.
- 24/7 assistance with no upfront paymentA helpline that arranges and pays for treatment so you are not left out of pocket.
- An undeclared medical conditionNot declaring a condition or medication from the last five years can invalidate the whole policy.
- Alcohol-related incidentsClaims made after heavy drinking are commonly refused.
- Unattended belongingsBags left unattended are almost never covered.
- Sports you did not addSkiing, quad bikes and jet skis must be selected, or they are excluded.
- Travelling against FCDO adviceCover usually falls away in areas the Foreign Office advises against.
- Treatment in your home countryWorldSecure plans exclude medical costs in your country of residence, so a UK resident is not covered in the UK.
The excess is the part of a claim you pay yourself. It is easy to miss and it changes the value of cheap cover. On WorldSecure Platinum the excess is about £25 per luggage or cancellation claim and £85 on liability; on World Travel it is a flat £420 per claim. A low premium with a high excess can cost you more after a small claim.
This is where reading the policy wording pays off. WorldSecure Platinum lets you set the medical limit up to about £420,000 and add extreme sports; Safe Start carries the highest standard medical ceiling and an optional cancel-for-any-reason extension including Covid; World Travel raises medical cover to about £590,000 for the United States and Canada and accepts travellers up to age 84. Each strength lines up with a gap the others leave open.
What does travel (holiday) insurance actually cover, and what should you compare?
Travel insurance, called holiday insurance in the UK, covers emergency medical care and repatriation abroad, cancellation and cutting a trip short, lost or delayed baggage, personal liability and travel delays. It does not cover events you could foresee or bring about yourself.
Cover | What it pays for | What to compare |
|---|---|---|
Emergency medical Treatment abroad | Doctors, hospital, ambulance and emergency dental | A limit of at least £2 million, £5 million outside Europe |
Repatriation Getting you home | A medically supervised flight or transport home | Paid at actual cost, not a fixed cap |
Cancellation and curtailment | Prepaid costs if you cancel or come home early for a covered reason | A limit that matches your trip price and the list of covered reasons |
Baggage and belongings | Lost, stolen or delayed luggage | Single-item and valuables limits, and whether electronics are included |
Personal liability | Injury or damage you cause to others | Around £1 million to £2 million |
Travel delay and missed departure | Costs from long delays or a missed connection | The delay threshold and the amount paid |
Two choices shape every quote. The area, Europe or worldwide, sets the price and where you are covered, so buy worldwide only if you are leaving Europe. And the trip type, a single holiday or a year of trips, decides whether a single-trip or an annual policy is cheaper, which the next section covers. A GHIC or EHIC card is not a substitute: it gives state healthcare in the EU but pays nothing towards private care or a flight home.
Which travel insurance should you compare for your trip?
The right travel insurance to compare depends on your trip. Choose a single-trip policy for one holiday, an annual multi-trip policy if you travel two or more times a year, and add a family, backpacker or over-70s option where it fits.
Policy type | Who it suits | What to check |
|---|---|---|
Single trip | One holiday or one booking | That it covers your full trip length |
Annual multi-trip | Two or more trips a year | The maximum days per trip and the area |
Family | Adults and children on one policy | Each traveller is priced, so children are not free here |
Couples | Two adults travelling together | Whether cancellation covers both tickets |
Backpacker or long stay | A month or more, several countries | A high days-per-trip limit and small baggage caps |
Seniors, over 70s | Older travellers | The age ceiling: Basic stops at 39, Safe Start 69, World Travel 84 |
Our own quotes show why type matters. A family of four pays from £63.18 for a week because every traveller, including the children, is priced individually. A 65-year-old can no longer take WorldSecure Basic and is better served by Safe Start or World Travel, which accept older ages. A backpacker on a 30-day, four-country trip is quoted by all six plans, but the tiny baggage caps on the Go Explore plans, around £210, make them weak for anyone carrying a laptop.
For a specific trip, compare the dedicated cover instead. Our guides to the best travel insurance overall, to road trip travel insurance, to cruise insurance and to travel insurance for Thailand price the same plans against those needs.
How do you compare cheap travel insurance without losing protection?
To compare cheap travel insurance safely, lower the price by raising the excess or dropping extras you will not use, never by cutting the medical limit or skipping repatriation. The cheapest useful plan here is WorldSecure Basic at £15.80 a week, but only for under-40s who need no cancellation.
- Buy as soon as you bookCancellation cover starts the day the policy begins, so buying early is free value.
- Go annual if you travel oftenTwo or more trips a year usually make a multi-trip policy cheaper.
- Match the area to the tripEurope-only cover is cheaper than worldwide, so do not overbuy.
- Raise the excessA higher excess lowers the premium if you can cover a small claim yourself.
- A low medical limitSaving £10 is no bargain against a £150,000 US hospital bill.
- No cancellation on an expensive tripYou lose the prepaid cost if you cannot travel.
- Not declaring a conditionIt voids the policy, so you end up paying for everything.
- Ignoring baggage sub-limitsWorldSecure Basic excludes phones and laptops, and Go Explore caps baggage near £210.
How do you compare travel insurance with a pre-existing condition?
To compare travel insurance with a pre-existing condition, declare every condition and medication from the last five years, then compare the medical limit and whether the condition is accepted. Failing to declare can invalidate the whole policy, the FCDO warns.
A GHIC or EHIC card helps but does not replace insurance. The FCDO is explicit that the card is not an alternative to travel insurance: it does not cover private healthcare, repatriation, or costs such as mountain rescue in a ski resort. You still need a policy on top.
For a straightforward, stable condition, look for the highest medical ceilings: Safe Start and Go Explore + reach around £420,000, and World Travel rises to about £590,000 for the United States and Canada. Be aware that the WorldSecure and Go Explore plans exclude conditions that are not yet stabilised, and none of the six specialise in serious or complex cases. If yours is complex, a dedicated UK medical travel insurer may cover you better, so compare both.
Declare pregnancy and any mental health condition too, as the FCDO lists both among the details travellers most often miss. Newer weight-loss medications such as Ozempic also count as medication you must declare.
Does your bank account cover you, or should you still compare travel insurance?
Some UK packaged bank accounts, the kind with a monthly fee, include travel insurance. It is often basic, capped by age and may exclude pre-existing conditions, so compare it against a standalone policy before you rely on it.
Before you count on account cover, check three things: the medical limit, the upper age limit (packaged cover often stops around 65 to 70) and whether your destination and activities are included. If any fall short, a standalone policy like the ones above may cost only a few pounds more for far higher limits. Unlike in France or the United States, UK credit cards rarely include standalone travel medical cover, so a packaged account is usually the only card route worth checking.
Comparing travel insurance: your questions answered
Compare policies on cover before price: the medical limit (aim for £2 million including repatriation), cancellation, the excess, the area and the exclusions. Only then compare the premium. The cheapest plan is rarely the one that pays out.
Cheap travel insurance is worth it only if the core cover holds up. A low premium with a tiny medical limit or a high excess can cost you more after one claim. Cut the price by raising the excess or choosing Europe-only cover, not by dropping medical cover.
No. A GHIC or EHIC gives access to state healthcare in the EU, but the FCDO confirms it does not cover private treatment, repatriation or mountain rescue. You still need travel insurance on top.
A single-trip policy is cheaper for one holiday. If you take two or more trips a year, an annual multi-trip policy usually works out cheaper. Compare the maximum days allowed per trip on annual cover before you buy.
Aim for at least £2 million of medical cover including repatriation, £1,000 of cancellation, £500 of baggage and around £1 million of personal liability. Outside Europe, look for £5 million of medical cover.
Yes, but you must declare every condition and medication from the last five years. Compare the medical limit and whether the condition is accepted. For complex conditions, a specialist UK medical travel insurer may offer better cover.
Buy as soon as you book. Cancellation cover starts the day the policy begins, so buying early protects the money you have already paid if you have to call the trip off.
The excess is the amount you pay towards a claim before the insurer pays the rest. A higher excess lowers the premium but costs you more on a small claim, so factor it in when you compare prices.
Keep the evidence: receipts, a police report for theft within 24 hours, and any medical paperwork. Contact the insurer’s 24/7 assistance line before major treatment so costs are arranged directly, then submit the claim within the policy’s time limit.
No. The six plans on this page are European policies, underwritten in France and Portugal and priced in pounds. They are not UK-authorised insurers, so it is worth comparing them alongside a domestic UK provider.
Travel insurance is not legally required to leave the UK, but some countries and visas ask for proof of cover, and the FCDO strongly advises it. Without it, you are liable for medical and repatriation costs that can reach six figures.
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