Compare Annual Travel Insurance

We ran a quote using our travel insurance service for annual multi-trip policies for a solo traveller aged in their 40s.

We looked for at least £2 million for medical and repatriation and £2,000 for trip cancellation and £1,500 for loss or theft of baggage and belongings, as recommended by the government-backed site, MoneyHelper.

We scored each policy across the following data points:

• Price
• Maximum days of cover for each trip
• Excess: (a set amount payable on each claim)
• Excess waiver: Whether there is an option to waive the excess by paying an additional premium

We then converted the totals into Forbes Advisor star ratings.

Annual multi-trip travel insurance is a type of policy that covers you for multiple holidays throughout the year.

However, there’s a limit to the amount of time each trip can last. Typically, this is set between 30 and 45 days although it will vary between providers.

There are three types of annual travel cover; European, Worldwide, and Worldwide which excludes the USA, Canada, the Caribbean, and sometimes Mexico. That’s because medical expenses in these destinations are particularly high.

As well as for medical expenses, annual travel policies include financial protection against cancellations and lost or stolen baggage.

Travel insurance should be a holiday essential as it will ensure financial protection if something goes wrong.

But whether it makes sense to buy annual (or ‘multi-trip’) cover or a single trip policy will depend on how often you go away.

As a general rule of thumb, if you travel more than twice a year, annual cover is a more cost-effective option. It also saves time and hassle having to buy policies multiple times.

Annual travel insurance for Europe is suitable if all the trips you make within the 12 months of cover will be within Europe.

An annual travel policy for Europe will cost more than the equivalent single trip travel insurance, but the more you travel, the more cost-effective it becomes.

However, the destinations included under European policies vary between insurers. Some include Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, for example whereas others will only offer cover to those destinations under their worldwide policies.

Note also that there will be a time-limit on the duration of any one trip during the 12-month insured period, typically between 30 and 60 days.

Other than European travel cover, there’s also:

• Worldwide
• Worldwide (excluding the US, Canada, the Caribbean and sometimes Mexico)

This means you will need a good idea of where you will be travelling before buying one-off annual travel cover.

On a like-for-like basis, worldwide cover is generally more expensive than European cover, but check the insurer’s list of covered destinations before committing.

Travellers can buy annual travel insurance whether they’re travelling as an individual, a couple, a family or a group.

A family or group policy usually works out cheaper than buying separate cover for different individuals, but always compare prices to check.

The usual limit on group size may be eight, 10 or 12.

Annual travel insurance typically covers the following as standard:

• medical expenses (£1 million in Europe and £2 million worldwide or more)
• personal liability (£2 million or more)
• cancellation, curtailment and missed departures (£2,000 or more)
• baggage and personal belongings (£1,500 or more).

The above cover levels are as suggested by the MoneyHelper site, but the amount of cover offered will depend on the type of policy.

There are usually different levels of annual travel insurance, with the highest level potentially offering as much as £15 million for medical expenses, £5,000 for cancellation cover, and £2 million for personal liability.

Generally, the higher the level of cover, the more expensive the policy will be.

As well as the above cover, travellers can also choose from a range of optional extras for an additional cost – although some more comprehensive policies may include these as standard. 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 the policyholder can claim if their 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.

As with any insurance policy, it’s important to check the terms and conditions carefully for any exclusions. Usually, cover won’t extend to the following:

• medical treatment for pre-existing conditions
• high-risk and winter sports such as skydiving, bungee jumping, skiing and snowboarding (additional cover will be required)
• incidents that happened when the policyholder is under influence of alcohol or drugs
• intentionally causing self harm or someone else harm
• claims resulting from not getting the vaccinations needed for the trip
• travel to a destination where the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office has advised against all but essential travel (for example, due to political unrest, war or the threat of terrorism).

Check 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.