Top travel insurance compared

About Top travel insurance compared

Travel insurance prices vary more than most everyday money products because the same headline rate can hide a different cover limit, a different excess and a different claims route. This ranking sets out 244 brands that sell cover for trips abroad, mixing insurers, brokers and comparison sites so the reader can see who underwrites the risk and who only presents the price. The main trade-off sits between the size of the medical cover limit and the premium attached to it: a high limit costs more, while a cheap policy may leave a large gap. A second trade-off runs between buying straight from an underwriter and using a comparison site or broker that widens the choice of insurers. The brands here also differ in how claims are filed, from online forms to round the clock phone assistance, and in whether a policy is written for a single trip or by the year.

How we picked

Each brand is scored on three weighted factors. Trust carries the most weight at 40%, which reflects how the money and the claim are handled once a loss happens. Cost carries 35% and looks at the lowest premium each brand quotes against the quality of the cover attached to it. Offer carries 25% and reflects the breadth of cover limits and claim routes on offer. Public pages for each brand supply the facts used: entity type, the lowest premium quoted, the cover limit, the support and claims channels, the audiences served and the legal entity behind the name. Where a brand states an age range, that range is kept with it so the reader knows which travellers a policy is written for. Stat figures quoted in the criteria below come from this ranking's own data, not from general market averages. Partners are listed first because they hold commercial relationships with the site, and the remaining brands follow in score order behind them, so the opening names reflect those relationships and scores rather than a market-wide verdict.

Our top picks

1. 9. CHECK24

   CHECK24 closes this ranking as the broadest comparison site of the group, with auto, home and life types under one roof, so a reader who wants travel cover alongside motor, home or income protection can compare them in a single visit. Premiums start at €0.69 and monthly payments are available, and support runs on chat, email and phone, the widest mix in the ranking, with chat, email, phone and a help centre. Claims are filed through online forms, either its own or the insurer's, plus post, which suits a claim made after a return home. Against MoneySmart HK, ranked just above, CHECK24 covers many more insurance types but its published cover limit, EUR 5 million to EUR 50 million, recommended at least EUR 10 million, applies to private liability rather than to a travel medical bill.

   • Premium from: €0.69
   • Insurance types: Auto, Home, Life, and 7 more
   • Provider type: Comparison site

   Pros

   • Broker model: broker means loan, mortgage and policy terms come from partner banks and insurers rather than from a single provider
   • Daily-access savings with no notice period, cancellable at any time, at a headline rate of 3.82%
   • A single catalogue covering auto, home and life, so most household policies can be compared in one place
   • Support runs on chat, email and phone, with phone and a help centre listed alongside email and chat

   Cons

   • A comparison site rather than an insurer or lender: comparison site means the terms and the protections depend on the partner matched to you
   • The median easy-access rate across the site is 3%, under the CHECK24 headline rate of 3.82%, so cheaper listings exist
   • The listed credit check is soft prequal, which leaves any hard search to the partner bank once an offer is accepted
   • Claims run on CHECK24 Versicherungscenter online claim form, insurer online claim form and post, so a claim is filed through an online form or by post and no counter service is listed

What to look for

The medical cover limit, because it sets the real cost of a bad trip

Illness abroad is the largest single claim most travellers make, so the ceiling on medical expenses matters more than the headline premium. Across this ranking the limits reach Medical expenses up to EUR 800,000 (Totaltravel, worldwide; EUR 600,000 Europe, EUR 50,000 Portugal); up to EUR 3,000,000 in Totaltravel premium mode on the widest policy and HK$1,000,000 elsewhere. Euroasia Insurance caps travel cover at Travel insurance up to EUR 90,000.

The lowest premium, read against what it includes

Entry premiums across this ranking start at €0 and the midpoint across the brands compared here is €7.93, with the upper end reaching €43.47. Compare that figure with the cover limit before treating a low starting premium as a bargain.

How the claim is filed, since the route decides how fast money arrives

Phone remains the most common route across this ranking at 90.6%, ahead of email at 73.1% and a help centre at 74.4%. Chat reaches 50% and a community forum is rare at 5.6%.

Who stands behind the policy

Insurers write about 38.2% of the offers in this ranking, brokers about 35.3% and comparison sites about 23.9%. An insurer carries the risk directly, a broker and a comparison site place you with one.

Whether the cover is single trip or annual

Annual policies dominate this ranking, leaving 100% of the offers under that heading, and the usual length of cover runs to a median of 84 months with a midpoint of 2.28% as the headline rate.

Who the policy is written for

Age limits decide whether a policy can be bought at all. Find Forsikring DK sets a minimum age, LeLynx.fr serves seniors, and Intermundial Portugal is written for expats and seniors alike, so the traveller profile matters as much as the price.

Frequently asked questions

Top travel insurance compared by country

• Australia
• Austria
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• South Korea
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

Providers compared head to head

• MyPhysicianPlan vs HanseMerkur Reiseversicherung AT
• HanseMerkur Reiseversicherung AT vs Explorer Travel Insurance

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV