Single trip
Single trip policies cover for holidays of up to three months to a single destination. This is a good option to cover summer holidays or and is usually preferred by families that don't travel frequently throughout the year
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Family travel insurance is a type of travel insurance that will cover all of your family under one policy. If you're planning a holiday with the kids, this can be a great alternative to buying separate policies for each family member. It's easier to manage and can even work out cheaper in some cases.
Family travel insurance typically covers one or two adults and up to eight children under 18. While you're covered by the policy, you'll be protected against all sorts of misfortunes that might commonly happen while you're travelling, like lost luggage or medical emergencies.
Travel insurance policies are designed to cover you for common emergency situations while you're travelling – the sorts of emergencies that can completely ruin a holiday. Here is an outline of some of the basics of travel insurance cover:
Disruptions and cancellations: This could help if you have to cancel or cut your holiday short. Depending on your policy, you can claim for all sorts of disruptions to your travel or living arrangements, such as involuntary abandonment or missed departures, delayed flights, cancelled flights or accommodation, or a curtailed trip
Medical treatment abroad: If you or a member of your family falls ill or has an accident, travel insurance offers medical cover which can cover some or all of the cost for emergency medical treatments abroad
Repatriation: If you need to end your trip in the case of an emergency, travel insurance will help you cover the cost of arranging your repatriation
Legal cover: There are certain kinds of legal fees that your provider may cover. For example, if you are found liable for injuring someone accidently or causing property damage
Airline strikes: It's usually the responsibility of the airline to compensate travellers if flights are cancelled or delayed due to airline strikes, although travel insurance can still compensate you for accommodation in some cases if you're stuck without transport
High-risk activities: Travel insurance doesn't normally cover you for any potential dangerous activities. While you can get cover for some activities with optional adventure sports cover, there are some high-risk activities that providers won't cover altogether
Alcohol or drugs: Your travel insurance won't cover you for any incidents that happen while you're under the influence of drugs or alcohol
Children travelling without parents: Most family travel insurance policies will only cover children while they're travelling with their parents and won't cover unaccompanied children or non-family members
Depending on the types of holidays you plan to take with your family and how many holidays you want cover for, there are different types of family travel insurance policies that you can choose from that will tailor your cover to your needs.
Single trip policies cover for holidays of up to three months to a single destination. This is a good option to cover summer holidays or and is usually preferred by families that don't travel frequently throughout the year
Multi-trip policies will cover you for any holidays you take over the course of 12 months. If your family frequently travels throughout the year, multi-trip policies may work out cheaper than single trip
Long stay policies will cover you for trips up to 18 months and can cover multiple destinations in a single trip. This policy is great option if you're planning for long holidays with lots of travelling
The cost of travel insurance isn't the same for everyone. There are a number of different factors that are going to affect the price of your family travel insurance policy.
The different types of family travel insurance are all priced differently. Single trip policies are generally the cheapest but if you're planning several holidays, multi-trip or long stay might be cheaper than buying several single trip policies
While this may not apply to multi-trip policies, your holiday destination will usually affect the price of your travel insurance. This is because medical fees are more expensive in some countries and other destinations may be more dangerous
Most providers will offer you a range of add-ons to extend your travel insurance cover for certain activities or situations. Adding these options to your policy will give you and your family greater cover but will also make your policy more expensive
If you or your family have any pre-existing medical conditions, it may increase the cost of your travel insurance. However, don’t be tempted to hide from your provider to save some money because doing so will invalidate your insurance
With a single trip or a long-stay travel insurance policy, the length of the trip you're planning will affect the cost of your travel insurance. The longer you plan to stay abroad, the more expensive your insurance will be
Excess is an amount that you agree to contribute when you make a claim. A higher excess will make your policy cheaper but will cost you if you make a claim. Reducing your excess, on the other hand, makes insurance more expensive
There are a number of benefits to taking out a family travel insurance policy rather than separate policies for different family members:
Convenience: It's a lot easier to manage a policy that covers multiple people than several single policies
Cheaper: It can be cheaper to take out a group policy if you have multiple children that need cover
Kid-free travel: Some annual policies will cover parents travelling without their children during the year
Free cover for young children: Some policies will cover children under a certain age for free
Whether or not these benefits will apply to you depends on your circumstances and your chosen policy. It's important that you read your policy documents carefully when you apply for travel insurance and speak to your provider if necessary to find out exactly what your policy will cover.
Most providers offer a range of additional cover options that you can add to your travel insurance policy to extend your cover:
This optional cover will protect you for all sorts of winter activities, like skiing, sledding, or ice skating and give you extra cover for piste closure and winter sports equipment. Most standard policies won't normally cover these activities
Baggage cover has a per-item pay-out limit that may not cover expensive gadgets like smart phones and laptops. This optional cover will make sure that your gadgets are fully protected while you're abroad
Providers won't usually cover risky activities with a standard travel insurance policy. If you're planning some adventure activities for your holiday, like rock climbing, mountain biking, or horse riding, this optional cover will ensure you're protected
Cruise holidays require special travel insurance to cover unique circumstances. This optional cover will give you special protection specifically for cruises, covering cabin confinement, missed excursions, and missed departure/ port
It's not typical, but in some cases your family travel insurance will allow cover to people travelling without the rest of the family. However, there are limits to this and not every provider will offer this cover.
Single trip family travel insurance policies will not cover solo travellers because the policy is designed to cover family holidays. Annual multi-trip travel insurance policies may cover parents travelling without children during the policy's term but won't cover any children travelling alone or with other people.
It's very important that you read your policy documents carefully to find out whether you have cover for solo holidays included with your policy.
You can choose the range of countries that your family travel insurance policy will cover. Multi-trip and long stay policies will cover travel to any destinations within the cover range during the term of your policy. Below are the two main policy options to choose from:
Europe only travel insurance will cover you for travel to all European countries as well as some non-European destinations, such as Turkey and Egypt
A worldwide policy can cover either all countries or sometimes exclude cover for the USA, Canada, and the Caribbean due to particular high medical fees
"Family travel insurance can save you money if you have several children to insure. However, if you have only one child, separate policies for parents and children may be the cheaper option. The same can be said for multi-trip travel insurance – it's only after you take three or four holidays during the year that you see money saved on your policy. For these reasons, it's worthwhile to take the time to compare quotes and see for yourself where money can be saved on your insurance. At MoneySuperMarket, we can make that task quick and easy by fetching quotes for you from the top UK travel insurance providers.
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At MoneySuperMarket, we’re here to make sure your holiday planning is a breeze. Here’s what you’ll get:
We search through leading insurance providers, so you can find great deals to match your needs.
Simply pop in a few details about where you’re off to next, pick the best deal for you and get insured for your next trip.
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There are a few steps that you can take when shopping for family travel insurance that can help you cut down the cost of your policy:
You can get cheaper insurance by increasing your excess, but be careful. If your excess is too much you may find yourself covering most of the cost of your claims, which defeats the purpose of insurance
There's lots of choice out there when it comes to policies and not every provider offers the same cover as standard. You can find some of the best deals by shopping around
Certain policy types may be cheaper depending on your circumstances. For example, single trips can sometimes be cheaper than multi-trip policies if you're only planning one or two holidays during the year
Give a few details about you, your travel plans, and what you need cover for.
We’ll put together a list of travel insurance quotes, so you can pick one that works for you.
Once you’ve chosen, you can purchase your policy and you’ll be covered for your trip.
Some age limits will apply to qualify for a family travel insurance policy. For children included in the policy, there is an age limit of 18 years old. If they are over 18 years of age, they will need to have a separate travel insurance policy.
For parents, there isn't typically an age limit but some providers may have upper age limits for their annual multi-trip policies.
It's not typical that family travel insurance policies cover nieces or nephews, but some providers may allow it. Most travel insurance providers require the policy holder and the children covered to permanently live together while others may require the policy holder to be a legal guardian.
This means that you can add biological children as well as step children, foster children, and adopted children to the policy. Whether or not you can add non-immediate family members or unrelated children will depend on your chosen provider and your living arrangements.
Yes. A pre-existing condition shouldn't stop you or your family from getting cover. However, it can make travel insurance more expensive.
Most travel insurance providers are willing to cover minor pre-existing conditions for an extra cost. However, if you or any of your family members has a severe condition – one that may require you to bring medical equipment or seek medical care while you're abroad – you may need to buy a specialist travel insurance policy. Special travel insurance for pre-existing conditions is more expensive than a standard policy but providers of these policies are are more willing to cover serious medical conditions and may even offer you extra cover for your medical needs.
GHIC will allow you to get medical care at state-run hospitals and GPs in the EU. This primarily covers emergency care but in some cases you can use your GHIC for help with pre-existing conditions or pregnancy complications while you're abroad.
While the GHIC is a valuable resource that you should take with you while you travel, it cannot replace the cover provided by a family travel insurance policy.
Family travel insurance can cover you for care outside of the EU and also provide protection for your belongings, for the money you spend on accommodation and activities, and can cover the cost of repatriation if an emergency requires you to return home.
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