Your holiday insurance, our expertise.
If you plan on taking more than two trips this year, our Multi-Trip Annual travel insurance could help save you time and money. Customise your level of cover for pre-existing medical conditions, hazardous activities and much more without the hassle of taking out a new policy every time you travel.
Our travel insurance offers 4 levels of cover, all designed to give you peace of mind, no matter how frequent or far you travel.
* 17 days if you add Winter Sports cover
If youre likely to take more than 2 separate trips within the next 12 months, chances are you will benefit from taking out our Annual Travel insurance.
If you plan on travelling just once or twice in the next year, it may be best to take a Single Trip Policy - covering one trip up to 87 days. However, if you travel for more than 87 days consecutively, our Backpackers Insurance may be your best option - covering up to 2 years continuous travel.
Our Annual travel insurance offers 3 levels of cover - Essential, Essential Plus and Superior Essential - all of which come with the option to customise your policy - meaning winter sports, hazardous activities, weddings and much more can be added as you obtain your quote. To have a better idea about the level of cover you may require for your annual multi trip insurance, you can also dowload our policy wording.
The European Health Insurance Card or EHIC is not an alternative to a private travel insurance policy. It does not cover any private medical healthcare or costs such as repatriation, cancellation or loss of luggage. Therefore, it is important to have both an EHIC and a valid private travel insurance policy in place before you travel. An EHIC entitles the holder to free or discounted medical treatment at state run hospitals and GPs in any European Union country, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. For more information, be sure to visit our dedicated EHIC page.
It is very important you declare any pre-existing medical conditions when obtaining a quote - failure to do so may invalidate your entire policy. It is important to note that many common medical conditions such as allergies can be added to your policy at no extra cost - just ensure you declare any conditions when obtaining a quote.
If youre likely to undergo tests for any medical conditions within the next year, which you would later have to declare, an annual holiday insurance may not be the best policy for you. In this instance, to ensure you are sufficiently covered, it may be advisable to take out a Single Trip Travel Insurance declaring pre-existing medical conditions before travelling.
How many trips can you take with an annual travel insurance policy?
Our multi trip travel insurance will cover you for an unlimited number of trips during a 12 month period, as long as each trip starts and ends in the United Kingdom.
You can travel for up to 45 days on any single trip if you are 65 years or under. If you are over 65, the maximum trip duration is 31 days.
Does annual travel insurance cover winter sports?
Not automatically, but as you make your way through the booking process you will be given the option to add winter sports to your annual multi trip insurance policy. We cover 26 winter sports (below) in the same quote, including skiing and snowboarding, which will provide a maximum of 17 days cover for those aged between 2 and 65 years old.
It is important to remember that it is compulsory to wear a helmet while participating in these activities in order to be fully covered by our winter sports travel insurance policies.
If you add winter sports cover to your annual travel insurance, you are automatically covered for skiing off piste (skiing outside the boundaries of the prepared piste and marked runs, and beyond the area controlled by the ski patrol) provided you are accompanied by a qualified, resort-approved guide or instructor. If you plan to ski without a guide, you need to select Grade 4 sports cover and pay the additional premium, but please note that you are not covered for any reckless behaviour or for skiing in restricted areas.
Winter Sports covered in the same quote
What sports am I covered for on my annual insurance policy?
Essential Travel covers 110 sports as standard on an annual multi trip, at no extra cost. However if you would like to take part in more adventurous activities we provide hazardous activity cover that can be added as you make your way through the booking process.
These activities are graded 1 to 4 depending on the level of risk they pose to you. Grade 1 activities are considered low risk and will be covered on any Essential Travel Insurance policy at no extra charge, but Grades 2, 3 and 4 activities will add an additional charge to your premium. After selecting your level of cover you will be prompted to add any hazardous activities you wish to participate in while on holiday.
Please note: If you are taking a golfing holiday, we advise that you take our Golf Travel Insurance to benefit from specialised equipment and green-fee cover.
What activities and sports are covered with my Single Trip insurance?
No matter where you're travelling there is a high probability you will be taking part in some form of sport or activity. While many insurers cover a handful of activities as standard, an Essential Travel insurance policy, will cover you for over 100 sports at no extra cost, providing that you are taking part in a non-professional capacity.
For the more adventurous travellers, you will be able to add higher risk sports and activities to your policy as you make your way through the booking process.
All sports and activities are assigned a sports grade that corresponds to the level of risk involved. The more extreme the sport, the higher the grade you will need.
As a guide, below you will find the type of activity you can expect from each sports grade:
Do I need to declare a pre-existing medical condition?
It is very important that you declare a pre-existing medical condition when you take out an insurance policy with us. Failure to declare a medical condition which you later claim on could invalidate your entire policy. If you are unsure if your condition is covered, follow the online medical screening process with our insurance partner - Latitude Travel Insurance - who specialise in medical cover for travellers.
What is a pre-existing medical condition?
Pre-existing medical conditions are those that existed before an insurance policy was taken out. Any disease or illness for which you have ever received medication, advice or treatment or experienced symptoms for.
How many people can be included on a policy?
With Essential Travel you can add up to as many as 8 people with our Single Trip insurance, just can select the number of people you wish to cover at the start of your quote and they can all be added to the one policy.
Is a Single Trip policy suitable for a business trip?
Whether you are off on holiday or a business trip, our Business Insurance add-on is the ideal choice. It offers comprehensive cover for a trip in the UK, to Europe or Worldwide and provides additional extras such as protection for cameras, mobiles and laptops.
When should I buy travel insurance?
It is best to buy travel insuranceas soon as you have booked any accommodation and transport to ensure you benefit from immediate cancellation protection. Our cancellation and curtailment policy can cover events such as the death, bodily injury or serious illness to you, a travelling companion and close relatives. For a full breakdown of what is covered, please read our Policy Guide.
Does my EHIC work in Turkey?
No - Unfortunately, the UK does not have an agreement in place with Turkey regarding health care. As a result, an EHIC will not be valid, so it is important to remember to buy a comprehensive travel insurance policy when visiting turkey.
Do ensure you buy or renew your EHIC through an official website such as the NHS website, where the service is free. Some websites will charge.
As you make your way through the booking process you can customise your annual holiday insurance policy - with the option of adding extras such as winter sports, hazardous activities and business trip cover.
Adding Winter Sports cover to your Single, Annual or Backpacker insurance policy allows you to take part in over 25 winter sports, as well as providing:
Medical Cover: you will be covered for emergency medical expenses that occur should you have an accident and require medical attention including cover for mountain rescue, helicopter rescue costs and repatriation
Equipment: Winter Sports cover also provides peace of mind against any theft, loss or damage to your personal or hired equipment as well as any pre-paid fees.
winter sports cover →Regardless of your handicap, cover for your golf equipment and pre-paid green fees can be added to your policy giving you nothing else to work on except your game.
Simply add extra golf protection to your Single, Annual Multi or Backpacker Trip policy to add extra protection for:
Self employed or working for a company, if you travel for work you can add extra protection against accidental loss, theft or damage to your business equipment to your Single, Annual Multi or Backpacker Trip policies.
Business cover protects equipment such as cameras, mobiles, laptops that you may need to work or have with you in meetings.
business trip insurance →Sail the seas worry-free by adding extra cover for missed port and cabin confinement to any of our Single, Annual Multi or Backpacker Trip travel insurance policies.
Cruise cover will add extra protection for:
If you're planning on tying the knot abroad, extra cover for accidental loss, theft or damage to your wedding clothes, rings, gifts and photos can be added to your Single, Annual Multi or Backpacker Trip policy, to help ensure that your special day is everything its meant to be.
Should you need to claim on your travel insurance an Excess is the amount that you'll have to pay before we pick up the rest of the bill.
Avoid paying any excesses by adding the Excess Waiver option to your Single, Annual Multi or Backpacker Trip policy.
find out more →If you've packaged your holiday yourself (without the help of a travel agent) add the Indepentent Traveller add-on will provide cover for additional scenarios such as:
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Essential Travel is a trading name of Holiday Extras Cover Ltd. Holiday Extras Cover Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is registered in England and Wales. Registered address: Ashford Road, Newingreen, Kent CT21 4JF. Company number 05058680.
Holiday Extras Cover Ltd is underwritten by Travel Insurance Facilities plc which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered address 2nd Floor, 1 Tower View, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent. ME19 4UY. Company number 03220410.