It’s not a legal requirement for visitors to Europe to have travel insurance, but it will provide you with a financial safety net if you fall ill or have an accident, your belongings are lost or stolen, or you have to cancel your holiday.
Having a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) will cover you for emergency medical care in the local version of an NHS hospital, but not if you’re taken to a private hospital.
As the Foreign and Commonwealth Office states, an EHIC ‘is not an alternative to travel insurance’. It recommends having both an EHIC and separate travel insurance when visiting Europe. You can apply for an EHIC on the government’s website.
European travel insurance covers visitors to all member states of the European Union.
However, some non-EU states may also be covered under European travel insurance, so it’s worth checking your policy before you travel.
Non-EU states often covered under European travel insurance include:
Unless you’re travelling alone, you may be able to save money with couples travel insurance or a family policy
If you’re travelling to Europe for a business trip, you’ll need business travel insurance to protect any expensive equipment, like smartphones or laptops, and to make sure you’re reimbursed for hotel and flight costs if your travel is disrupted.
Replacement colleague cover is also offered by some policies, allowing a colleague to take your place if you can’t attend the trip.
If you’re employed by a large company, you may be covered by its own travel insurance. If you’re self-employed, it'll be up to you to organise cover.
There are two main types of business travel insurance:
If you’ve got two or more trips planned this year, compare taking out two single trip policies with annual cover – sometimes it works out cheaper, other times not.
According to theidol, the average annual policy price was £92.90, whereas two single trip policies cost £80.62 – that’s a £12 saving against annual cover[2]
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[2]Average purchase price data recorded by theidol between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2018