Annual travel insurance
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Get yourself covered for multiple trips with an annual travel insurance policy
Annual travel insurance - also known as multi-trip insurance - covers you for all the trips you’re planning on taking over the course of a year. Single-trip travel insurance, on the other hand, only covers you for one holiday.
If you’ve got more than one trip planned this year, it makes sense to take out annual travel insurance.
It’s there to save you money, and time too, as you’ll only have to go through the process of taking out cover once a year.
What’s covered?
Most insurers offer three different levels of annual travel insurance. They’ll all provide cover for the following things - what changes is the amount of cover you have:
- Medical expenses - Cover for emergency treatment and accessing private healthcare when needed. Unless you mention a pre-existing condition when you take out insurance it won’t be covered though.
- Repatriation - If you need to be brought back to the UK because of your health.
- Personal liability - This is cover for if you injure someone, or damage their property, and you’re legally responsible.
- Delays and cancellation - If you need to cancel your trip, or there are problems with your flights. You’ll need cover in place before you travel to be covered for cancellation.
- Lost or delayed luggage - To replace essential items on an outward journey.
- Theft or loss of personal possessions - Things like gadgets, money or travel documents. Double check you’re not covered as part of your home insurance first though, if you have it. Only one will pay out.
How much cover you have for each depends on your policy so it’s worth looking at the policy docs to see. You’ll see cover levels when you compare quotes with us too.
Depending on where you’re planning on going this year you can pick from three types of annual cover:
- European
- Worldwide
- Worldwide excluding the USA, Canada and Caribbean
Advantages
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You won’t need to purchase a new policy every time you travel. This is the main advantage - it saves you a lot of hassle
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It’s usually more cost-effective than buying multiple single-trip policies - the more trips you take, the more money you’ll save
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Policies sometimes include cover for sports and recreational activities - you’ll need extra cover for more extreme sports though
Disadvantages
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Policies can contain time limits for each individual trip. If you’ve got a longer trip planned, annual cover isn’t the answer - you’ll need long-stay travel insurance
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If you’re only taking a couple of trips, it doesn’t always work out cheaper - particularly if your second trip is in the UK or Europe - compare multi-trip versus two single policies to make sure you’re getting the best deal
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Some providers won’t offer annual cover for travellers over a certain age, so check the upper age limits – if you’re a senior, compare travel insurance policies for over-70s
Optional extras
Sometimes these are covered as standard and wrapped up in the price of your policy, and other times you can add them for a fee. If you need them, check whether adding them as an optional extra works out more expensive than having them included in your cover.
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Winter sports insurance
If you’re planning any ski or snowboarding holidays
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Gadget cover
Which can protect expensive tech - like mobile phones, cameras and tablets - against theft and accidental damage
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Golf cover
To protect you and your clubs wherever in the world you tee off
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Cruise cover
For cover needs specific to your trip like cabin confinement or falling ill while at sea
Frequently asked questions
Still have some questions about annual multi-trip insurance? Find the answers here:
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When does an annual policy start?
That’s up to you, you’ll be asked when you want the policy to start - if you’ve booked a holiday already you could set the date to today. That way, you’ll be covered for cancellation in the run-up to your holiday too.
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What happens if the policy runs out mid-trip?
If your policy is going to end in the middle of a trip you’ve got planned, speak to your insurer. Sometimes they can extend your policy to cover off the additional days. They might offer to renew your policy for another year too - just make sure you’re getting a good deal from your insurer.
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How many trips can I take with an annual policy?
You’ll usually be covered for as many trips as you like, but double check the small print. Some insurers do put a cap on the amount of trips you can take each year.
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How long can each of my holidays be with annual travel insurance?
This depends on the provider, your age, and whether you’ve taken out a more basic cover package or not. It usually ranges from 30-60 days per trip. As you get older, this does tend to reduce - sometimes to around 21 days.
If you’ve got a longer stay planned, you probably won’t be covered and might need long-stay travel insurance instead.
Travel insurance guides and tools
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