Best travel insurance companies and policies 2025

Best travel insurance: companies and policies compared

1. Want the best travel insurance policy or insurer? Use our tables below, then go to confused.com, another comparison site or direct to the insurer.
2. Want the cheapest travel insurance policy or insurer? Follow the links to confused.com, or another comparison site, to get a list of policies. Then check what the policies scored by searching our tables.

We've also written comprehensive reviews of the best and biggest insurers – just click on the links in the table to read them.

Please note that the information in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the particular terms and conditions of an insurer before committing to any financial products.

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Best travel insurance policies

We rated 22 policies as Best Buys – here are the three of the highest scorers:

Saga - Plus

• 88% policy score - 1st out of 153 policies rated. 

We like: The provider has no maximum age limits for new customers, and offers some of the highest levels of cover for those heading off on highly expensive trips:  up to £20,000 cancellation cover and £10,000 for baggage and valuables. 

Barclays - Aviva Travel Insurance (Travel Pack)

• 84% policy score - 3rd out of 153 policies rated. 

We like: Barclays has some of the highest levels of cover for missed flights caused by delays - up to £10,000. If you live with a spouse or partner, they're automatically covered by the insurance as well as you.

• Read our full Barclays travel insurance review.

Holidaysafe - Platinum

• 83% policy score - joint 4th out of 153 policies rated.

We like: The policy has a baggage cover limit of £5,000 (£1,000 for valuables) - which is likely to more than meet most travellers' needs. If you have a dental emergency and need pain-relieving treatment, it's also one of the few policies that doesn't set a reduced cover limit for this within its medical expenses cover of £10m. Usually, dental cover is £400 or less.   

• Read our full Holidaysafe travel insurance review.

 What's the best type of travel insurance?

When picking travel insurance, consider the number of foreign trips you'll make over the next 12 months, where you'll go and who with.

• Single-trip and multi-trip (annual cover)
  Single-trip insurance is aimed at people who are making a single, one-off journey. Multi-trip (annual) provides ongoing cover for 12 months. If you take three or more trips per year, multi-trip (annual) is likely to work out cheaper. You don't have to tell the insurer specifically when or where you're travelling, although your policy will need to cover that general region - for example, Europe or 'worldwide including the USA'.
• European, worldwide and USA cover
  European-only cover is usually the cheapest type, and 'worldwide including the USA' (and often the Caribbean) is the most expensive due to high medical costs. If you have no intention of going to these destinations in the next 12 months, save money by buying cover that excludes them.
• Individual, couple or family cover
  You'll have the option to choose how many people to cover under a single policy, although if a member of your party needs specialist cover due to age or health, costs may change.
• Specialist insurance options
  If you have more specific requirements, for example due to age, or type of holiday, we've assessed the best options for you below.
  Best cruise insurance • Best travel insurance for over-65s • Best travel insurance for medical conditions • Best ski insurance
• Unexpected events cover
  Your policy may include cover for unexpected events, such as bankruptcy of the holiday supplier, strikes, civil unrest and more. We've listed which providers' policies have the best unexpected events cover.

 How can I save money on travel insurance?

While travel insurance premiums haven't gone up as dramatically as car and home cover, costs appear to have been rising in recent years.

Take these average annual prices, shared with us by the comparison site GoCompare:

These are averages, and so you're likely to pay:

• Less if just buying cover for yourself
• More if you're older
• More for longer trips or trips to certain destinations (such as the USA)
• More or less depending on your medical history

Whatever your situation, you can probably reduce costs by comparing travel insurance. An annual policy may work out cheaper if you travel multiple times a year.

When should you buy travel insurance?

You should buy travel insurance on the same day you book your holiday.

One of the best features of travel insurance is that it covers you if you're unexpectedly forced to cancel the trip and stand to lose money as a result.

If you leave buying your insurance until the last minute, you won't benefit from this protection, even if some providers might make it slightly cheaper.

With this in mind, you should buy your insurance as soon as you book your holiday – unless you already have annual cover in place.

Should you buy travel insurance from the tour operator or airline?

When you buy your holiday, whether that's through a traditional package provider or a budget airline, you're likely to be offered insurance at the same time.

But cover offered as an add-on to your trip is unlikely to be tailored to your needs and could be more expensive. Always check the wider market to see if you can get better cover for less.

If you do buy add-on insurance, make sure it covers any medical conditions that you have.

Do you already have insurance?

Some packaged bank accounts come with travel insurance as a sweetener - so if you have a packaged account, check whether cover is included.

If you do have travel insurance with your bank account, check its terms carefully and make sure it meets your needs. Does it cover you for trips outside Europe? Will it cover your medical conditions?

If it doesn't, call your bank to see if you can add the cover you need or look for a standalone policy that meets your needs.

You might also have some of your insurance needs met if you have personal possessions cover with your home contents insurance. These policies often protect things you carry on your person (such as gadgets or jewellery) around the world, from loss, damage or theft.

Do you need travel insurance if you have an Ehic or Ghic?

Yes, you still need travel insurance. 

A Global Health Insurance Card (Ghic) – the replacement for the Ehic – is a medical card that can be used throughout the EU. It entitles you to treatment in state hospitals for the same price paid by the residents of the country you're visiting. If they get free treatment, so do you.

But it won't cover the costs of medical transportation (for example, ambulance bills or being flown back to the UK where medically needed), alongside costs of cancelling your holiday or returning early, replacing lost and stolen possessions, and many other things – that's what travel insurance is for.

• Find out more: The Ehic and Ghic explained 

How much travel insurance cover do I need?

Although it can be tempting to get the cheapest cover you can find, this could prove a false economy. Everyone's specific cover needs will be different, but as a starting point, we recommend looking for policies with these minimum levels of cover:

• Medical expenses: £5m
• Cancellation cover: £2,000 – or the full cost of your holiday (which may be higher or lower)
• Personal belongings: £1,500 – or the value of your possessions
• Personal liability cover: £1m

Many sports won't be covered as standard, such as skiing and snowboarding, so you'll need to get cover that includes this, or add it on for a fee.

Cruises require a special type of cruise insurance. If you're considering working abroad, or spending a couple of months abroad, you may need 'backpacker insurance'.

How to compare travel insurance companies

1. Check our tables and reviews

We've assigned each travel insurance policy a policy score, reflecting how comprehensive the cover is overall.

It's important to remember, however, that travel insurance is complex – so even policies with high policy scores won't necessarily cover everything you're looking for. For a more detailed look at some of the larger and higher-scoring providers, see our individual travel insurer reviews.

2. Get a travel insurance quote

While looking at our reviews, you can get a quote for travel insurance using the service provided by Confused.com.

You might be able to save by using multiple comparison sites. 

Some insurers don't sell through comparison sites - these include NFU Mutual, Direct Line and specialist medical insurers.

Both the government's MoneyHelper website and the British Insurance Brokers Association have directories of specialist medical insurers.

An insurance broker can find affordable cover for unusual scenarios that most insurers won't cover.

3. Check the T&Cs

Before you buy, check the policy wording to make sure you understand what your policy covers and what it doesn't.

If there are specific reasons you've bought the cover, check these sections to make sure they meet your expectations. Also, check the policy's general exclusions and conditions. If anything in the policy is unclear, always contact the insurer.

Finally, check what protection your holiday provider offers, because if something goes wrong, you might need to seek compensation from it first before your insurer will accept your claim.

'Great' cover isn't great if your insurer won't pay out

Dean Sobers, Which? insurance expert, says:

'According to claims data published by industry regulator the Financial Conduct Authority, travel insurers are some of the least likely to pay out. 

Roughly one in five travel insurance claims were declined in 2023 (the latest stats available). With most kinds of insurance, payout rates are above 90%.

Even if a policy appears to be brimming with features and high levels of cover on paper, it may be backed by an insurer that has a less-than-brilliant track record when it comes to honouring these apparent promises. When you claim, insurers can't technically add new exclusions or ignore commitments in their policy wording as they choose – but it's an unfortunate fact that some policies are less straightforward than others, and can prove disappointing when actually tested against the real world.

Our Best Buy endorsement primarily means the policy offers comprehensive levels of cover as written (you'll see a more detailed explanation as to what we mean by this below). 

We also check the latest available data on how often the insurers accept claims and how regularly they lose when customers bring complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service. We don't give our Best Buy badge to providers shown to be lacking when it comes to these aspects of their service.

The truth is, no policy is perfect and no provider gets it right every time with claims. But when picking a Best Buy, you get the assurance that we think its cover looks genuinely impressive – and that we haven't seen evidence suggesting it fails to do in practice what it promises.'

Frequently asked travel insurance questions

How we analyse travel insurance

Our editorial independence means we are able to work on behalf of consumers, not insurers. That means our reviews are fair and there's no hidden agenda.

Policy score

The policy score rates how comprehensive the cover is in a policy – the higher the better.

We've looked at 153 policies, examining 67 elements of cover in each.

Policies are given points for each element of cover, reflecting how competitive their cover is compared with what other policies offer. The policy score shows how well the policy did overall. 

Based on our assessment of which elements are more or less important for customers choosing and using travel insurance, we adjust the impact that points earned in each area have on the overall policy score.

Among the highest-weighted elements are medical expenses cover, cancellation cover and the compulsory excesses on the policy.

How we pick Which? Best Buys

Our 'Best Buy' badge recognises the individual products that stood out as being the most comprehensive in our analysis. 

It doesn't reflect customer service. However, we do look at claims statistics published by the Financial Conduct Authority and complaints data from the Financial Ombudsman Service, where these are available. We won't give a Best Buy badge to providers shown to reject higher-than-average numbers of claims or that have a poor track record regarding complaints.

Policies named as Best Buys did well in our analysis of cover, with a policy score of at least 69%.

Additionally, Best Buy policies scored well consistently across different areas of cover. To make the cut, a policy needs to have scored at least three out of five points in two thirds of the features we compare (see 'Policy score' for more).

Lastly, all Best Buy policies must provide – either as standard or as an option – the following levels of cover as a minimum:

• £5m cover for medical expenses – with emergency medical repatriation and some cover for emergency dental treatment.
• £2,000 cancellation and travel abandonment cover – including cancellation in the event that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advises against travel to your destination country because of natural disaster after you've insured your holiday.
• Cancellation cover because of the illness, injury or death of a close family member or a person you were planning to stay with. 
• Cover for travel delays – including cover for missing your outgoing or returning flight due to delays.
• £1,500 cover for baggage.
• £2m personal liability cover.

More questions on travel insurance? Take a look at our guides:

• Best travel insurance for pre-existing medical conditions
• Best travel insurance for over-65s
• Best cruise insurance
• Best ski insurance
• The Ehic and Ghic explained 
• Golf travel insurance explained  
• How to claim on your travel insurance