Schengen travel insurance from the UK: who really needs it, and cover from £22.67
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P. LauroreCo-founder & Travel and Credit Card Insurance ExpertLast updated: 17 August 2026Do you need Schengen travel insurance, and how do you choose it?
Schengen travel insurance is a policy covering at least €30,000 of emergency medical care and repatriation across the 29 Schengen states. British passport holders do not need it for short trips. Anyone applying for a Schengen visa from the UK does, and cover starts at £22.67 for 15 days.
Our 2026 audit covers the seven visa-compliant plans sold through HelloSafe, read against their English policy wordings: the real ceilings, the excess nobody advertises, and the refund procedure if the consulate says no. Of the policies bought this year by our customers living in the UK, 62% were Schengen visa policies, for a median stay of six days (HelloSafe data, August 2026).
This page serves two readers. If you hold a British passport, the next section explains in one line why you are exempt and what to buy instead. If you are one of the many non-EU nationals living in the UK who still need a visa, the rest is a working manual: real sterling prices captured on 3 August 2026, the conditions the sales sheets skip, and how the certificate reaches you.
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 moreWho actually has to buy Schengen travel insurance in the UK?
Only Schengen visa applicants have to buy Schengen travel insurance. A British passport gives visa-free entry for up to 90 days in any 180, so no consulate asks you for a certificate. If you do need a visa, Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 makes the policy a condition of the application.
Visa requirement | What the consulate checks |
|---|---|
Minimum cover Emergency medical care and hospital treatment | At least €30,000, expressed in euros |
Guarantees required | Emergency medical treatment, hospital care and medical repatriation, including return of remains |
Area of validity | All 29 Schengen states, even if you only visit one of them |
Period covered | Every date of the stay you apply for, and each separate trip on a multiple-entry visa |
That €30,000 is written into EU law in euros, so it stays in euros: it is the legal floor a consulate measures your certificate against, not a price. Everything else on this page, quotes and cover limits alike, is shown in pounds at the live exchange rate, exactly as the plan cards display them to a UK buyer.
A missing or under-powered certificate is itself grounds for refusal. Two groups are exempt even when a visa is involved: holders of an airport transit visa, and family members of an EU or European Economic Area citizen. Everyone else attaches the certificate to the file, including visitors coming to stay with family.
The border rules changed in 2026 without changing the insurance rule. The EU Entry/Exit System began progressively on 12 October 2025 and has been fully operational since 10 April 2026, replacing passport stamps with fingerprints and a facial image for every non-EU passport holder, British ones included. ETIAS, the travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers, is not in force yet and asks for no proof of insurance at all. Our page on the EES and ETIAS changes follows the timetable.
Cover has to be valid across all 29 states, including the four associated countries outside the EU: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Ireland and Cyprus are not part of the area. If you are counting days rather than applying for a visa, our 90/180-day Schengen calculator does the arithmetic for you.
What is the best Schengen travel insurance in 2026?
The best Schengen travel insurance in 2026 is Gold Plan on our audit: around £67,000 of medical cover, 2.6 times the legal floor, a refund if the visa is refused, and £40.78 for 30 days from the UK. Silver Plan is the cheapest compliant option at £33.99, and Cap Schengen alone quotes up to age 86.
Our recommendation for your Schengen visa
You get treated in a Schengen hospital without paying the bill yourself, you get flown home at actual cost if it comes to that, and if the consulate says no, your premium comes back. Gold Plan does all three for £40.78 for a month, with around £67,000 of medical cover, 2.6 times the minimum a consulate accepts, for £6.79 more than the cheapest compliant plan. On a tight budget, Silver Plan gives you the same compliant certificate and the same refund clause for £33.99. Over 75, Cap Schengen is the only one of the seven that will still quote, up to age 86. Real prices captured on 3 August 2026 for a 30-day stay, departing the UK.
A. Fruchard, Co-Founder & Travel Insurance Expert at HelloSafe
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Real quotes for 1 traveller aged 35, 30 days in the Schengen Area, departing the United Kingdom, shown in pounds. HelloSafe data, August 2026. Cover limits and conditions taken from each policy's terms and conditions.
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 Schengen travel insurance cost from the UK?
Schengen travel insurance costs from £22.67 for a 15-day stay to £40.78 for a full month on the highest medical ceiling we found, so roughly £1.35 a day. Length of stay, the number of travellers and your age at the top of the range move the price far more than the cover level does.
Profile | Budget | Median* | Best value | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Short stay 1 traveller aged 32, 15 days | £22.67 (Go Schengen) | £30.34 | Gold Plan: £30.34 | All seven plans clear the legal floor, and the certificate is emailed at once |
Typical applicant 1 traveller aged 35, 30 days | £33.99 (Silver Plan) | £41.83 | Gold Plan: £40.78 | Around £67,000 of medical cover for £6.79 more than the cheapest plan |
Family 2 adults and 2 children, 15 days | £90.63 (Go Schengen) | £121.31 | Gold Plan: £121.31 | Priced per insured person, and a partial visa refusal is not refunded |
Older applicant 1 traveller aged 65, 30 days | £34.00 (Silver Plan) | £42.63 | Gold Plan: £40.80 | One penny more than at 35, but Schengen Annual drops out above 59 |
Over 75 1 traveller aged 76, 30 days | £47.06 (Cap Schengen) | £47.06 | Cap Schengen: £47.06 | Only one plan of the seven still quotes; the other six refuse on age |
British passport 1 traveller aged 32, 7 days in Spain | £15.82 (WorldSecure Basic) | £42.67 | WorldSecure Platinum: £31.42 | No certificate needed and around £250,000 of medical cover; only WorldSecure Platinum adds cancellation |
Two findings come out of those runs. Age barely matters until it suddenly does: the same 30-day cover costs £33.99 at 35 and £34.00 at 65, then at 76 six of the seven plans refuse outright and only Cap Schengen is left. And a family is priced per insured person rather than per household, so check any quote against the real make-up of your group before you compare.
What does Schengen travel insurance leave out?
The headline ceiling is not what decides a claim on Schengen travel insurance. What decides it sits in the terms of business: an excess on every medical act, a hard exclusion for anything you already knew about, and no cancellation cover at all.
Here is what to demand from a policy, then the traps we found reading the seven English policy wordings in August 2026.
- Medical cover above the legal floor : all seven plans clear it, and Gold Plan more than doubles it at around £67,000.
- Repatriation at actual cost : consulates require it, and every one of the seven includes it with no cash ceiling.
- Direct billing for hospital treatment : all seven settle the hospital directly, so you are not asked to advance the money.
- A named certificate, emailed at once : the PDF must carry your name, your dates, the Schengen area and the medical ceiling.
- A refund if the visa is refused : written into Cap Schengen, Silver Plan and Gold Plan; read the clause before you pay.
- An age limit that fits : 59 on Schengen Annual, 69 on Schengen Start, 75 on Gold Plan, Silver Plan, Go Schengen and Go Schengen +, and 86 on Cap Schengen.
- An excess on every medical act : around £67 per person per act on Silver Plan and Gold Plan, around £25 per condition on Go Schengen, taken off each claim (policy wordings, August 2026).
- Pre-existing and chronic conditions : anything needing ongoing treatment, plus heart disease or cancer diagnosed before you booked, is excluded on Silver Plan and Gold Plan, even where no formal diagnosis was made.
- Care that could wait : treatment the insurer's own doctors judge can be given at home after you return is not covered.
- Trip cancellation : not one of the seven Schengen plans refunds a cancelled trip, so a lost flight is your loss unless you buy separate cover.
- Anything more than token dental care : Silver Plan and Gold Plan cap emergency dental treatment at around £125, with the same excess applied.
On Cap Schengen, Silver Plan and Gold Plan the written request has to reach the insurer before the start date printed on your certificate, with the consulate’s original refusal letter attached; the recorded-delivery postmark is the proof, and the premium comes back within 30 days. A refusal affecting only some of the people named on the contract gives no refund at all, because every insured person must be refused (policy wordings, August 2026). The other plans set their own rules, so check yours before you buy.
A refusal can also be challenged. Our list of the most common Schengen visa refusal reasons is where to start before you file again.
How do you get your Schengen travel insurance certificate?
Your Schengen travel insurance certificate is a named PDF, emailed the moment you buy, showing your name, your travel dates, the area of validity and the medical ceiling. This is the whole route, from comparison to the appointment.
- Compare on your exact dates : the certificate has to cover precisely the dates written on your visa application form.
- Buy online : it takes a few minutes, and most plans have to be bought at least the day before departure.
- Check the certificate the moment it arrives : name, dates, the Schengen area and the medical ceiling should all match your application.
- File it with the rest of the paperwork : alongside the other documents required for a Schengen visa, at your TLScontact or VFS Global centre, or at the consulate itself.
- If the visa is refused : send the refund request before the policy start date, if your plan carries the clause.
Two guides go deeper on the rest of the file: how to apply for a Schengen visa from the UK step by step, and our dedicated analysis of Schengen visa insurance from the UK if your question is purely about consular compliance.
Does a GHIC replace Schengen travel insurance?
No. A UK Global Health Insurance Card is not Schengen travel insurance, and no consulate accepts it as a substitute. The NHS states it plainly: the UK GHIC is not a replacement for travel insurance.
What the card does is give you state-provided healthcare that cannot reasonably wait until you get home, across the European Economic Area and, for British nationals, Switzerland, on the same terms as a local resident, which often means paying whatever share a local would pay. What it does not do is cover medical repatriation, treatment in a private facility, or ski and mountain rescue. Those are precisely the lines a Schengen visa certificate has to show.
The claims data says the same thing. UK insurers settled more than 500,000 travel claims in 2024, worth £472 million, of which £262 million was medical, the single largest category at 34% of all claims, with an average medical payout of £1,528. A card that pays only the state share, and nothing towards getting you home, does not carry that. HelloSafe holds no cover data on UK-issued credit cards, so we make no claim here about what your bank card includes.
If you hold a British passport and simply want cover for a European trip, compare travel insurance in the UK with the standard plans instead: seven days in Spain starts at £15.82 with around £250,000 of medical cover on WorldSecure Basic, and WorldSecure Platinum adds trip cancellation up to around £7,500 for £31.42. Neither of those is available on a Schengen visa plan.
What else should you know about Schengen travel insurance?
Not for a short trip. A British passport allows visa-free entry to the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180, and no consulate asks a visa-free traveller for an insurance certificate. Cover is still strongly advisable, because the NHS does not pay for treatment or repatriation abroad.
€30,000 of emergency medical and hospital expenses, set by Article 15 of the EU Visa Code, together with medical repatriation. The figure is fixed in euros by law. Gold Plan goes further, at around £67,000 of medical cover.
From £22.67 for 15 days (Go Schengen) to £40.78 for 30 days with the highest ceiling (Gold Plan). A family of four pays from £90.63 for 15 days, and an annual multi-entry policy runs to £652.72. Real quotes captured on 3 August 2026.
No. The UK Global Health Insurance Card covers state healthcare that cannot wait, but not medical repatriation, private treatment or mountain rescue, and it is not accepted as a visa certificate. The NHS says the card is not a replacement for travel insurance.
Yes. All seven Schengen plans on our comparison quote for a UK resident, and the Silver Plan and Gold Plan wording states the contract is for people residing outside the Schengen area who travel into it, which is exactly the position of a UK resident.
Cap Schengen, Silver Plan and Gold Plan refund the premium if the written request reaches the insurer before the policy start date, with the original refusal letter attached, and the money comes back within 30 days. A refusal covering only some of the insured people gives no refund.
All 29 states of the area: 25 EU members plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Ireland and Cyprus are outside it. The Schengen plans on our comparison cover exactly that footprint.
Yes, and it bites hard. Schengen Annual stops at 59 and Schengen Start at 69. Gold Plan, Silver Plan, Go Schengen and Go Schengen + stop at 75. Above that, Cap Schengen is the only plan still quoting, up to age 86.
No. None of the seven visa-compliant plans refunds a cancelled trip, because the consulate only requires medical cover and repatriation. If your flights and hotel are not refundable, buy a separate cancellation policy alongside the certificate.
No. The Entry/Exit System has been fully operational since 10 April 2026 and simply digitises border crossings. ETIAS is not yet in force and requires no proof of insurance. The visa insurance requirement is unchanged.
Before, because the certificate is part of the file you hand in. Buy as soon as your dates are fixed: the PDF must match the dates on the application form exactly, and it is issued by email straight away.
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