Our Pick Of The Best Travel Insurance For Europe (2024)

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When planning an overseas trip – whether it’s a beach holiday or a city break – travel insurance is a must. It offers a vital safety net should you need medical treatment while abroad, if you lose your luggage, or even if you have to cancel the entire trip due to an emergency. In short, travel insurance provides peace of mind that you are financially protected and won’t be left out of pocket.

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Travellers staying in Europe will need a policy designed for this part of the world.

To help with choosing a suitable one, we have analysed the offerings of our panel of travel insurance providers. We compared policies based on key factors such as price, excess (the set amount that must be paid following a successful claim) and whether the policy offers the option to waive the excess by paying an additional premium.

All policies include at least £2 million in emergency medical cover, £2,000 for trip cancellation due to an emergency such as illness or bereavement, and £1,500 for lost or stolen baggage and belongings.

You can find out more about how we scored the policies in the Methodology section below.

We used data (February 2024) from our quotation journey to review single trip travel insurance policies, for a family of four (two adults, both aged in their 40s and two teenagers) who are travelling to Spain for seven nights.

We’ve assumed no members of the family have any pre-existing medical conditions.

All policies include at least £2 million in medical and repatriation cover and £2,000 in cancellation cover as well as 1,500 in baggage and belongings cover.

We scored each policy on the following factors:

• Price: we awarded policies points on a scale of one to five. Those offering more competitive prices scored more points
• Excess: (a set amount that the policyholder must pay on each claim): we awarded policies points on a scale of one to five. Those levying a lower excess on medical claims earned more points
• Excess waiver: we awarded policies five points if they offered the option for policyholders to waive the excess levied on claims by paying an additional premium (that is, paying more towards the cost of the policy).

The scores for each policy were totalled, and converted to Forbes Advisor star ratings out of a potential five stars.

Policies with matching scores were ranked based on price.

All premiums and policy details correct at the time of publication.

When choosing a policy, one of the decisions you need to make is whether to go for ‘Europe-only’ or ‘worldwide’ cover.

If you’re not planning on travelling too far afield, a European policy may suffice as these can be cheaper. Here we take a closer look.

This type of policy only offers cover for travel within Europe. With a Europe-only policy, it’s especially important to check the T&Cs to ensure the country you’re travelling to is included, as the definition of what constitutes a ‘European country’ can vary from one insurer to the next.

While policies will cover all countries in the European Union (EU), some policies may extend the boundaries to include Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Turkey – and some may even cover Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia as well.

If you’re not sure, check your policy before you travel, or speak to the insurer to clarify this. This will help avoid any nasty surprises.

European destinations are by far the most popular among UK tourists, with trips to Europe accounting for 79% (56.1 million visits in real terms) of all travel made in 2022, according to travel statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Spain, France and Italy are the most popular European countries for British holidaymakers, as the chart below shows.

The alternative to ‘Europe-only’ travel insurance is ‘worldwide’ insurance, which covers all destinations, and ‘worldwide excluding the US, Canada and the Caribbean’ cover, which excludes trips to North America.

Excluding North America can bring down the premium as medical and liability costs are particularly high in that part of the world.

Remember that, if you journey to a country where the Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office has advised against travel, you risk invalidating your travel insurance.

• Typically cheaper than worldwide cover
• Some insurers will cover certain ‘non-European’ destinations, such as Morocco and Egypt

• More limited than a worldwide policy
• Requires you to think in advance whether you are going to be travelling outside of Europe
• If your plans change, you’ll need to spend time and money arranging another policy

Given that medical treatment in Europe can be very costly, a high level of medical cover is crucial.

Travel statistics compiled by Forbes Advisor using data from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), show that British holidaymakers travelling to Spain made the highest number of medical claims last year at 20,000. This compares to 10,520 for those visiting the US, 8,492 for Greece and 7,480 for France.

So what should you look for in a policy that covers Europe? Hospital treatment can be costly, so you’ll need a high level of medical cover. Around £2 million is a good guide. The policy should include repatriation which is the cost of getting you home if you get injured or ill.

When it comes to cancellation and delays, around £2,000 is considered a decent minimum level of cover, while for baggage and personal belongings look for cover no less than £1,500. Personal liability (in the event you injure another person and they sue you for damages) should ideally be a minimum of £1 million.

Depending on the provider, other types of protection may be included. For example:

• Travel delay, in the event an emergency such as industrial action delays your departure
• End supplier failure, in case the travel company or hotel goes bust
• Scheduled airline failure, should the airline go into administration
• Personal accident cover, if you are injured or die abroad
• Hospital benefit, for essentials such as meals and drinks, if you hospitalised during your trip
• Personal money cover, if you lose cash while away
• Gadget cover, which protects devices, such as smartphones and laptops.