Compare Single Trip Travel Insurance
Buying travel insurance might be far less exciting than booking a holiday, but it can be a vital tool for protecting your finances should your plans go awry.
If you’re taking a holiday or two over the next 12 months, single trip travel insurance can offer the protection you need, should you fall ill while away and require medical treatment. It can also cover trip cancellation and loss or theft of your baggage and belongings.
When choosing a single trip policy, there are a number of factors to consider. These include price, cover levels, excess (the first part of the claim that comes out of your pocket) and whether there’s the option to waive the excess by paying an additional premium.
Bear in mind however, that if you are taking more than two holidays in a year, annual multi-trip insurance may be a more suitable and cost-effective option.
- Why you can trust Forbes Advisor's ratings
- Our top single trip travel insurance policies
- Methodology
- What are the best deals for single trip travel insurance by destination?
- What is single trip travel insurance?
- Do I need single trip travel insurance?
- How many people does single trip travel insurance cover?
- What does single trip travel insurance cover?
- What extras can I add to my single trip policy?
- What does single trip insurance exclude?
- Should I check government advice to travel?
Our top single trip travel insurance policies
On this basis, we’ve listed what we consider to be the top five single trip travel insurance policies, below. All include at least £2 million in cover for emergency medical treatment, £2,000 for trip cancellation and £1,500 for lost or stolen baggage and belongings. You can find more information on how we scored the policies in our Methodology section.
Methodology
We used data (September 2024) from our travel insurance partner to review single trip travel insurance policies for a family of four (two adults, both aged in their 40s and two teenagers) who are travelling to Spain for seven days.
We’ve assumed no members of the family have any pre-existing medical conditions.
All policies include at least £2 million in medical and repatriation cover and £2,000 in cancellation cover, as well as 1,500 in baggage and belongings cover.
We scored each policy on the following factors:
- Price: we awarded policies points on a scale of one to five. Those offering more competitive prices scored more points,
- Excess: (a set amount that the policyholder must pay on each claim): we awarded policies points on a scale of one to five. Those levying a lower excess on medical claims earned more points,
- Excess waiver: we awarded policies five points if they offered the option for policyholders to waive the excess levied on claims by paying an additional premium (that is, paying more towards the cost of the policy).
The scores for each policy were totalled and converted to Forbes Advisor star ratings out of a potential five stars. Policies with matching scores were ranked based on price.
What are the best deals for single trip travel insurance by destination?
The price of a single trip policy will be determined by a number of factors, a crucial one being the country the policyholder is travelling to.
Below we’ve listed the minimum travellers are likely to pay for a single trip policy, and the average policy price, based on holiday destination.
It’s also common practice for insurers to raise premium costs with the age of the traveller. This is because they view older travellers as more likely to claim for medical costs while away.
Here is what a single trip policy can cost for a couple travelling to Spain, depending on age:
Source: Moneysupermarket.com Financial Group Limited
What is single trip travel insurance?
Single trip travel insurance provides cover for one holiday usually lasting no more than 30 days, but some policies provide cover for up to 60 days or longer.
Single trip travel insurance can pay out for cancellation, emergency medical expenses, lost luggage and repatriation (getting home to the UK in a medical crisis).
Do I need single trip travel insurance?
Buying a travel insurance policy for each single trip is likely to work out the cheapest option for travellers planning to take one or two holidays a year.
For travellers hoping to travel more than twice a year, an annual multi-trip travel insurance policy is likely to be the better option as far as price is concerned.
Be aware that many travel insurers do not offer cover to older travellers. The age cut-off varies but is typically 75 or 80, at which point it will be necessary to use a specialist insurer offering cover at a higher price, possibly with additional conditions and exclusions.
Any traveller aged over 60 will find their premiums tend to increase as they get older – this is because of the perceived increase in the risk of their falling ill or needing medical attention.
Buying insurance as soon as a trip is booked will ensure cover for trip cancellation due to illness, bereavement, redundancy or other unavoidable life events as specified by the particular insurance company.
Even if it’s a holiday in the UK, travellers will still need insurance to ensure their trip is fully protected.
How many people does single trip travel insurance cover?
Travellers can take out single trip travel insurance whether they’re travelling solo, as a couple, as a family or as a group. They’ll usually find that a group policy works out cheaper than arranging separate policies for each person.
Different insurers have different limits on the size of any group – this is usually eight or 10 people.
What does single trip travel insurance cover?
A single trip travel insurance policy will typically cover the following as standard:
- medical expenses (£2 million in Europe and £5 million worldwide)
- personal liability (£1 million)
- cancellation, curtailment and missed departures (£2,000)
- baggage and personal belongings (£1,500).
When taking belongings away, it’s important to check the ‘single item limit’ on a policy – this is the amount that will be paid for any one possession if it is lost or stolen, and is typically £500. Extra cover may be needed to take items worth more than the cap stated, such as a laptop or other device, and these will need to be listed on the policy when you buy your insurance.
What extras can I add to my single trip policy?
Some comprehensive policies will offer greater levels of protection than the cover mentioned above. Others, however, will require an extra payment to bolt on additional cover.
Extras typically include:
- Travel delay: offers an inconvenience benefit up to a pre-specified amount if the booked outward or return journey is delayed for a set period of time (typically 12 hours) after checking in
- Missed departure: covers the cost of additional accommodation and travel should an emergency cause the policyholder to miss their departure journey
- Scheduled airline failure: protects the policyholder if the airline they’ve booked with goes bankrupt
- End supplier failure: protects the policyholder if a hotel, travel company or airline goes into administration
- Loss of passport: Helps cover the cost of replacing a passport and travel documentation, if they are lost or stolen
- Personal money: The amount that can be claimed if the policyholder’s money is lost or stolen
- Personal accident: covers an accident resulting in personal injury or death
- Legal expenses: covers legal fees for an incident that wasn’t the policyholder’s fault
- Hospital benefit: covers the cost of necessities such as food while the policyholder is in hospital
- Gadget cover: pays out if items such as the policyholder’s laptop or mobile are lost or stolen.
What does single trip insurance exclude?
It’s crucial that you check the terms and conditions of single trip travel insurance before buying a policy as there are likely to be a number of exclusions.
While these will vary depending on the insurer and the policy, common exclusions include:
- medical treatment for pre-existing conditions
- some high-risk and winter sports such as skydiving, bungee jumping, skiing and snowboarding (additional cover is typically required)
- intentionally causing yourself or someone else harm
- claims resulting from being under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- claims because you didn’t get the vaccinations required for your trip
- claims arising from travel to a destination the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) has said to avoid for all but essential reasons.
Should I check government advice to travel?
Travellers should follow advice from the Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) which states which countries are safe to visit based on a range of factors such as the threat of terrorism or political unrest.
Travel insurance policies are often determined by the FCDO’s advice. Travelling against the FCDO’s advice will render your policy invalid unless it covers this specific risk.
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