Travel insurance for United Kingdom trips

During your trip planning process, it's important to keep an eye on travel warnings issued by the U.S. Department of State through its travel advisories website. For updates that might influence your Travelex travel insurance policy, check the Travelex website.

Also, as a Travelex insurance policyholder, you can access real-time security alerts through the Travelex Travel On app while in the U.K. should any safety risks arise.

Even if a credible business is organizing your tour, unexpected events can happen. While on an organized tour, you could find yourself getting sick or injured in Glasgow, losing luggage in Liverpool, or missing a connection in Manchester. 

So, not only is it important to have travel insurance for your U.K. trip in general, but many tour companies require proof of travel insurance before departure for you to join the tour.  

Travel insurance may also help protect you if your non-refundable tour is canceled for covered reasons, as well as provide assistance if something goes wrong during the rest of your trip. 

If you’re planning to drive a rental car while in the U.K., travel insurance can add extra protection in the case of an accident that results in damage to the rental vehicle. If you’re behind the wheel and experience a collision, vandalism, theft, or weather events, including a windstorm, fire, hail, or flood, rental car coverage through travel insurance can assist.

At Travelex, Car Rental Collision Coverage isn’t included in the base plans but can be added to the Travel Select and Travel Basic plans as an optional upgrade. Car Rental Collision Coverage is not available if traveling to Ireland. 

If you're planning to set sail on a cruise during your trip to the United Kingdom, it’s worth considering investing in travel insurance. If your cruise schedule changes, you get sick or injured on board, or you miss a connecting flight, the right coverage can help to reimburse costs of non-refundable travel bookings, medical expenses, medical evacuation, lost personal belongings, and more.   

Booking a cruise? Discover Travelex’s Travel Select and Travel Basic plans.  

If you plan to do snow sports on your vacation, it’s a good idea to make sure you have the right coverage. Travelex can provide travel insurance coverage for sporting equipment delays, emergency medical bills, adventure sports, and more to help protect you and your upcoming ski or snowboard trip investment. 

Travelex’s Travel Select plan offers comprehensive coverage for snow sports vacations in the United Kingdom. From injuries to icy conditions interrupting your travel plans, travel insurance is designed to provide 24/7 medical assistance and coverage for additional costs in the event your trip is delayed or canceled. 

From skydiving over the countryside to rafting on Scotland’s River Tay, there’s plenty of ways to put an adventurous spin on your trip to the U.K. But, it’s important to ensure you have the right coverage for all the adventure activities you plan to do while in the United Kingdom.

Travelex’s Travel Select and Travel Basic plans offer a basic level of coverage for certain activities like kayaking, skiing, horseback riding, and more. If your next trip involves any extreme sports or adventures other than what is automatically covered by these two plans – including zip-lining, mountaineering, and skydiving – it is recommended you consider purchasing the adventure sports upgrade, which can be added to the Travel Select plan.

Still have questions? You can check your policy wording or speak to a Travelex representative to ensure your policy provides coverage for your chosen adventure activity before you purchase travel insurance.

You can’t always anticipate what is going to happen in each moment—including during a vacation to the United Kingdom.

If you’re planning a trip to the U.K. and are unsure if it’ll happen, Travelex’s cancel for any reason upgrade may be a wise addition to your travel insurance policy for your U.K. vacation. Available only on the Travel Select plan, it lets you cancel for any reason – whatever reason that may be – up to 48 hours prior to your scheduled departure date. This helps ensure you’re not left completely out of pocket, as Travelex can reimburse you with up to 75% of your insured trip costs (up to $7,500).

To be eligible for reimbursement with this optional upgrade, you will need to insure all non-refundable trip costs (up to a maximum of $10,000) with your policy at the time of purchase and your trip length must be 30 days or less. Additionally, the cancel for any reason upgrade must be purchased with your initial plan and within 15 days of the initial payment made for your trip.

If you have any pre-existing medical conditions, you may also be wondering if they may cause you problems during your trip to the United Kingdom. Travel insurance for the U.K. can offer coverage for pre-existing medical conditions if all the following requirements are met: 

• The Travel Select travel insurance policy is purchased within the “early purchase window” (within 15 days of first trip payment); 

• The amount of coverage purchased equals all prepaid nonrefundable payments or deposits applicable to the trip at the time of purchase; 

• The costs of any subsequent arrangements added to the same trip are insured within the timeframe in the early purchase window; and 

• All insureds are medically able to travel when the policy is purchased. 

Trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage under the pre-existing medical condition exclusion waiver will be limited to 100% of insured trip cost, up to a maximum of $50,000. 

When getting a travel insurance quote, the main destination for your travel insurance coverage should be the location where you will be spending the majority of the trip.

For instance, if you plan a vacation where you visit the United Kingdom for a week and stopover in Iceland for three days, you should list the United Kingdom as your destination in the quote box. You will still have coverage for the entirety of your trip, as long as you are not traveling to a sanctioned destination that Travelex does not offer coverage for.

While numerous credit cards offer travel insurance, the plans offered can have lower benefit limits and often include special conditions required to activate the coverage, so it’s essential to read the coverage terms.

Comprehensive travel insurance from a specialized provider like Travelex can provide greater coverage across several important benefits—such as possible coverage for pre-existing medical conditions—allowing you to feel more in control while traveling in the United Kingdom.