Top 5 Travel Insurance Tips Every Traveller Needs

By Amelia Bristow

Last updated: 8th August 2024

The summer travel season is upon us! Hopefully you’ll be thinking about what to pack and doing your final holiday shopping before heading to the airport, to make sure you’re ready for your trip. 

There is one crucial purchase that some people forget before they travel and that’s insurance. Buying appropriate travel insurance is crucial in case you have any problems whilst abroad, giving you the peace of mind you deserve whilst on your epic summer adventures. If you do not have appropriate insurance, you could be liable for emergency expenses. For instance, if you have a stomach infection treated in a hospital in the USA and potentially will need medical repatriation or evacuation, you could be liable £150,000+ in expenses. 

To turn you into an insurance expert, we’ve spoken to our partners at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to share our top tips for buying your next insurance policy:

Top 5 tips

1. Declare medical conditions 

If you have a pre-existing medical condition or any pending treatment or tests, it is important that you declare this fully when buying your travel insurance. If you buy a basic policy that does not provide enough medical coverage and have an unexpected health issue on holiday, you might not be covered and could receive a big bill.

2. Check that your policy covers you for the full length of your trip 

If your policy doesn’t run for the duration of your trip, you won’t be covered if anything happens on the days you aren’t insured for. The last thing you need is to purchase a policy just for something to happen on your last day and find out you aren’t covered. Additionally, some policies also have an annual limit on the number of days you can spend outside of the UK.

3. Check your insurance policy covers all planned holiday activities

Planning a trip abroad that’s full of adventure? Some policies won’t cover you for activities such as water sports, bungee jumping or quad biking. Check your policy before you travel to make sure all your planned activities are covered.

4. Does your policy cover medical evacuation and repatriation?

An often-overlooked requirement when choosing insurance is medical evacuation and repatriation cover. Having this on your policy means that if you do have a medical emergency and you can’t get the treatment you need locally, your provider will arrange for you to be taken to a location where you can. Medical evacuations can cost thousands of pounds so check your policy covers medical evacuation before travelling.

5. Keep a copy of your policy with you

If you do need to use your policy, you’ll likely have to provide proof of your cover. This is why it is important to have both a physical and digital copy of your insurance company’s 24/7 emergency contact details and your policy number to hand. This should be easy to access from your phone and whilst printing a physical copy may seem like overkill, future you will thank you if you break or lose your phone. To be extra safe, we also recommend that you share your policy details with a family member or close friend too.

Alongside following our top tips above, check FCDO Travel Advice and sign up to email alerts for your destination before step foot abroad. Any changes to FCDO Travel Advice for your destination could potentially impact your insurance cover, so it’s important to stay up to date. There is also lots of interesting and useful information about all destination countries from entry requirements to laws and cultural differences, so it’s worth cluing up.

Follow these simple steps and you should feel well prepared ahead of your summer trip of a lifetime!

Gap 360 have teamed up with respected insurance provider World Nomads, get a quote here.

World Nomads provides travel insurance for travellers in over 100 countries. As an affiliate, we receive a fee when you get a quote from World Nomads using this link. We do not represent World Nomads. This is information only and not a recommendation to buy travel insurance.