Travel insurance for unaccompanied minors

What is an unaccompanied minor?

If your child is between five and 15, and they’re flying on their own (without a parent or guardian), they’re classed as an “unaccompanied minor”. Their travel insurance should protect their solo trip, wherever they’re going.

Are children allowed to travel alone?

The minimum age for flying solo varies by airline, so always check before you book. British Airways, for example, doesn’t allow under 14s to travel alone.

Travel insurance for unaccompanied minors

If you already have annual family travel insurance in place, check the small print to see if it covers your child when they’re travelling without you.

Some policies insist children under 16 are accompanied by a responsible adult, like a teacher or grandparent.

Single trip insurance

If your current policy doesn’t cover your child on their own, you’ll need to take out a separate single trip policy for them.

Multi-trip insurance

If they have several trips booked throughout the year (for example, if they’re at boarding school or go abroad regularly to stay with relatives), an annual travel insurance policy can work out better - you won’t have to take out single trip insurance each time they travel and it can be a more cost-effective option too.

Is travel insurance for children travelling alone more expensive?

A policy for your child shouldn’t be any more expensive than an adult policy, but compare several travel insurance policies to make sure you’ve got the right level of cover for the right price.

If your child’s going away as part of a group, like a school exchange trip, the premium can be cheaper if you buy a group travel insurance policy - always give exact details of the trip and who they’re travelling with before you buy.

Check that your child’s covered for extreme sports if they’re planning on activities like skiing or scuba diving while they’re abroad.

As with all policies, if they have any pre-existing medical conditions make sure you declare them upfront when buying the policy, otherwise your insurer can refuse to pay out if you have to make a claim.

Unaccompanied Minor Service

You probably won’t be able to take your child to the boarding gate without buying your own plane ticket, but most airlines offer an Unaccompanied Minor Service (UMS).

This means your child will be looked after by the airline from the check-in desk right up until they’re collected by an adult (who must show ID that matches what you’ve put on the UMS booking form) when they arrive at their end destination. Book them onto UMS at least 24 hours before they’re due to fly to give the airline enough time to get the relevant staff in place.

Is UMS compulsory?

This depends on the airline’s rules - it’s usually compulsory for children under a certain age, but the age varies between airlines.

You can request UMS even if the airline doesn’t say it’s compulsory.

Some airlines will allow your child to travel, but only if they pay a fee for UMS. The fee depends on the airline but is usually around £50 each way.