Travel Insurance UK

Although holidays are meant to be relaxing, unfortunately, sometimes things go wrong. That’s why you should always cover yourself first by having the right protection before you go. Whether you’re travelling across the globe, or just within the UK, ensuring you have the best travel insurance will give you the peace of mind to enjoy your trip to the full!

Why You Need Travel Insurance

Travel cover protects you when you’re travelling, either on holiday or for a business trip. Having the right protection gives you peace of mind against unforeseen events like cancellation, theft, loss of baggage, flight delay, accidents or illness. Protecting yourself and your travel companions against these sort of events is essential wherever you’re travelling, even if it’s just within the UK.

Staycations, or business trips in the UK need travel insurance just like any other. After all, we know how unpredictable British weather can be. There are some truly beautiful locations in the UK to travel to, so it makes sense to protect your trip against unpredictable upsets.

Annual vs Single Trip Travel Insurance

Depending on how often you travel you should think about whether you need annual Multi-trip travel insurance or single trip cover.  

An annual multi trip policy will cover you for a year for a single fee and you can take as many trips as you like, as long as each journey begins and ends in the UK and each trip does not exceed the maximum trip length covered by your policy. If you take several holidays a year or just love to get away, this could be a great option as it could save you money.

Single trip covers you just for the holiday or trip you are taking, but these trips can last anywhere between 1 and 365 days. If you know exactly when you are travelling, then a single trip policy could be for you.

Family Travel Insurance

Making sure your whole family is protected when you go away on holiday is why we always recommend purchasing travel cover.

Purchasing a family travel policy can present some big savings, especially if you’re taking all the kids with you! With Columbus, each family member named on the policy is insured to travel independently - useful for child-free getaways, business trips and overnight school trips.

How to Choose the Right Cover

Exactly what insurance you will need depends entirely on the trip you are making. Whether you’re flying the whole family away for the summer or hopping on a short flight to Europe for the weekend, going skiing with friends or anything in between, your cover will be different.

Making sure you have the best travel insurance before you leave the UK means you can relax knowing, should the worst happen, you’re in safe hands.

Some policies will cover you for certain sports and activities, for example, whilst others will not. So, if you’re planning an active break then make sure you check before you buy which sports or activities are covered.

You should always check to make sure of the travel of medical cover offered by any insurance policy. Most pre-existing medical conditions can be covered, but you should always check this with your provider at the time of purchasing your policy.

Special Types of Holiday Insurance

Whilst most holidays and trips will be covered by standard travel policies, some trips require special insurance. Depending on what you’re planning to do when you leave the UK, your insurance may need some extras added in.

The most common example of this is winter sports insurance which you should always get if you’re going on a skiing or snowboarding holiday. A winter sports policy will provide medical cover for accidents on the slopes, and give you lift pass cover as well as cover for any specialist equipment you take with you.

If you’re off on a cruise holiday then it may be worth considering cruise holiday insurance to protect you against cruise-specific risks. Our cover can protect you against risks such as missed connections, unused excursions or cabin confinement.

Students from outside the EU who are studying in the UK can also benefit from things like Schengen travel insurance. This is special insurance designed for travellers visiting the Schengen Agreement countries in Europe. As this is specific cover please call us to speak to a member of our team about your requirements first.

If you’re going on holiday soon, then make sure you don’t leave the UK without insurance. Even if you’re travelling within the UK you may want to consider getting cover depending on your trip!

The right level of cover leaves you free to relax and enjoy your trip with your friends and family, knowing that we are there for you should anything happen.