Travel insurance: what it covers and what to check

The EHIC, issued free by your national health insurance provider, gives access to medically necessary, state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland or the UK, under the same conditions and at the same cost as local residents. It does not guarantee free services, it does not cover private healthcare, and it is not valid if you travel specifically to obtain treatment.

The UK GHIC covers state healthcare that cannot reasonably wait until you return to the UK, in the countries listed on the NHS page. The NHS says a GHIC or UK EHIC does not replace travel and medical insurance, and that it will not cover repatriation, private treatment or mountain and ski rescue.

• Emergency medical costs beyond the state system, and repatriation.
• Trip cancellation or curtailment — for the reasons the policy lists, and only those.
• Baggage loss, damage and delay — usually with per-item and total limits.
• Missed-connection or delay benefits, often only after a waiting period.

GOV.UK advises taking your policy number and the insurer’s emergency assistance telephone number with you, and buying cover as soon as possible after booking. Read the policy for its own notification duty — we do not state a generic deadline, because it is set by each policy.

After a theft or loss, report it to the local police as soon as possible and ask for a statement or crime report, which you may need for an insurance claim; in most countries the report has to be made before you leave for the crime to be investigated. Keep receipts for replacements, medical bills from hospitals or doctors, and the police report.

1. 1Keep every document: policy, invoices, medical bills, police or carrier reports and proof of payment.
2. 2Tell the insurer, using the route in your policy, before you pay for anything large where the policy says to.
3. 3If you had paid for state healthcare abroad, claim the state refund separately — see below.
4. 4If the insurer rejects or under-pays the claim, use its complaints procedure; in the UK the Financial Ombudsman Service takes complaints about travel insurance once you have a final response letter, or after eight weeks without one, and you have six months from the date of that letter to bring it.

The EHIC entitles you to treatment that cannot wait until you get home, in public-system providers only. It does not cover private healthcare, and it will not help with rescue or repatriation costs. If you could not use the card, or the provider was private, you can’t be refused treatment but may have to pay up front and claim reimbursement once you are home. The GHIC works the same way in the UK: it excludes flights home (medical repatriation), private facilities and ski or mountain rescue.

To claim back a payment for state-funded, medically necessary treatment under a GHIC, the NHS Business Services Authority asks for its refund claim form with the original invoices and proof of payment; you cannot claim if you have not paid, since receipts are required, and a co-payment is not refundable. The page does not state a deadline, so check the current form.

• Exclusions: pre-existing medical conditions, activities (winter sports, hiking at altitude), pandemics, alcohol-related events.
• Limits and excesses per item, per claim and in total.
• The claim procedure and the deadline for notifying the insurer — often days, not months.
• Whether cover starts at purchase or at departure, and which trips count (single trip, annual, region).
• Whether cover applies to your age and to the countries you will visit.

For a Schengen visa application, the EU’s official page states that applicants must provide medical insurance covering emergency medical care, hospitalisation and repatriation, including in the event of death. Check the consular requirements for your specific application; this guide does not state a minimum amount.