UK travel insurance
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COMPARE GROUP TRAVEL INSURANCE QUOTES
A group travel insurance policy can cover a group of up to 10 people travelling together.
You could choose cover that extends to your whole family, a group of friends or anyone you’re travelling with.
And you’ll usually get a discount for insuring everyone under the same policy.
Although anyone in the group with a pre-existing condition should think about taking out cover separately, or it could make the group policy more expensive for everyone.
Just like individual travel insurance, a group policy is designed to cover you against unexpected events that might affect your trip.
This includes things like holiday cancellations, medical emergencies abroad, and lost or stolen money, possessions or baggage.
Some insurers will also cover a range of adventure activities or winter sports as standard, but others might have to be added to your policy for an additional cost. Always check the terms and conditions to be certain.
You can also choose whether you’d like to be covered for European travel or if you’ll need a worldwide policy (including or excluding the USA, Canada and the Caribbean).
Your group can be a mix of adults and children, or just adults. And everyone named on a group policy will be given the same level of cover.
Group travel insurance can be bought as single-trip, multi-trip or annual cover - handy if you’re planning several trips with the same group during the year.
However, you don’t always have to travel together. Depending on your insurer and whether you’ve bought annual cover, anyone over 18 named on your policy may also be covered to travel alone.
But some policies insist that children under 18 must travel with a parent or guardian.
Group travel insurance makes it quicker and easier to insure everyone in one go. It’s also likely to be cheaper than everyone taking out individual policies.
Plus, children are often included for free. And you may get additional benefits, like a higher level of baggage cover.
Having one group policy can also mean less hassle if you need to make a claim.
For example, if one of your group became ill and you needed to cancel the trip, you’d only need to claim once rather than everyone having to claim separately.
But it’s important to compare costs and policy details to find cover that’s right for everyone.
In some situations, particularly if one of you has pre-existing medical conditions, individual travel insurance policies may be a better option.
There are some circumstances and situations that a group travel insurance policy is unlikely to cover, including:
If you travel to destinations the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advises against
Some policies won’t cover members of the group getting a different flight or arriving from different airports
If you have elderly family or friends travelling with you, check the terms and conditions as they may need to take out separate specialist cover
If one of you has a serious health condition it can bump up the cost of a group travel policy or they may need to take out specialist insurance. It’s important to disclose conditions though
You’ll usually only be covered if you’re all travelling from and returning to the UK
Injuries caused because of excessive alcohol consumption or from taking drugs won’t usually be covered
According to consumer group Which? you should look for policies offering £5 million medical cover per person and cover for at least £2,000 (or the value of your trip) for cancellation, curtailment and missed departure.[2]
Check your policy details to find out what you’ll be covered for in an emergency. For example - treatment, accommodation and returning home expenses.
You should also check the cover limits for baggage and belongings to make sure it’s adequate per person.
To get the best price for your travel insurance try to:
Opt for the highest excess everyone can comfortably afford to reduce the premium amount
Get quotes for a wide range of policies and check the terms and conditions
Look for group travel insurance deals that cover children for free
Compare individual cover against a group policy to see which offers the best deal
If you’ve booked a package holiday, make sure its covered by ABTA or ATOL - check for the logo on the holiday company’s website and your documentation.
This can help provide you with a refund if the tour operator cancels your trip or goes bust, so you may not need to claim on your travel insurance.
On the other hand, if you’ve booked your own group travel it’s even more important to have the right cover.
Make sure you get a travel insurance policy that covers self-booking. And consider the type of policy you need, as well as the destination and cover limits.
If you’ve booked your flights directly with the airline you won’t get ATOL cover, so make sure your travel policy includes scheduled airline failure insurance (SAFI).
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Page last reviewed: 17 January 2023
Page reviewed by: Jasmine Hembury
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[2]Which? Travel insurance explained. February 2022