Best UK Travel Insurance: Coverage Tips & Plans October 2024

Do I need travel insurance to visit the United Kingdom?

Travel insurance to the UK isn’t legally required for U.S. citizens visiting the country as a tourist. However, not buying a travel insurance policy could leave you in a bad position should you run into issues with your trip itinerary or happen to have a medical incident while abroad.

It’s important to note that most private US medical insurance won’t cover you while you’re traveling abroad. This is also true for Medicare, and Medicaid. That means without a travel insurance plan you run the risk of paying out of pocket if you require emergency medical treatment while visiting the UK.

How much does travel insurance for the UK cost?

According to official sales data from Squaremouth, UK travel insurance averages around $309.28.

Based on our own official sales figures over the past year, our customers paid, on average, $191.47 for UK travel insurance.

The cheapest travel insurance for UK visits can cost as little as around $1 per day. For more comprehensive coverage, you can expect to pay around $8 to $10 per day or even more depending on your trip parameters and coverage levels.

To give you a ballpark estimate of how much travel insurance for visitors to UK can cost, we got sample quotes from three different providers.

We applied this information to the quotes:

• Age: 35 years old
• Destination: United Kingdom
• Trip Length: 7 days
• Trip cost: $2,000
• Date: September, 2024

This table displays three quotes for medical-based travel insurance plans that don’t reimburse the full trip costs:

If you want your policy to include trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage, you will need to purchase a more comprehensive plan.

For the following table, we have quotes for plans that reimburse you if your trip to the UK is canceled or interrupted.

As you can see, adding trip cost reimbursement can double or triple the cost of your travel insurance policy.

It’s important to note that these prices are for example purposes only. Actual plan costs will vary depending on your own unique circumstances.

All of the following factors impact the cost of travel insurance:

• Trip cost: 
  The more expensive your trip is, the more coverage you’ll need. This increases the cost of your travel insurance.
• Age:
  As you get older, your risk of developing a serious medical condition increases. Therefore, older individuals tend to pay more than younger people for travel insurance and other types of insurance coverage.
• Location: 
  Each state has its own rules regarding travel insurance coverage. This has a direct impact on how much you pay.
• Coverage limits:
  Although your destination doesn’t have a direct impact on the cost of travel insurance, you need higher coverage limits for international travel. A plan with high limits costs more than one with low limits.

Who should get travel insurance when visiting the UK?

Anyone who doesn’t have a health insurance plan that works in the UK should consider opting for travel insurance when visiting the United Kingdom.

This is especially true for people traveling with an older person or anyone who may be at higher risk of needing medical care while abroad.

In this case you may wan’t to opt for a special travel insurance plan for seniors or a travel insurance plan that covers pre-existing medical conditions.

If you have a lot of high-dollar nonrefundable expenses for your trip to the UK, it’s also a smart idea to take out travel insurance. While you may be able to cover these costs out of pocket, for a few extra dollars you can typically get these costs refunded if you face unforeseen cancellations or interruptions to your vacation.

Common reasons you may need travel insurance for the UK

The UK is generally a safe country to travel to. It’s developed and they also speak English which means that American travelers typically shouldn’t have to much trouble navigating through the UK while visiting.

However, there are a number of situations that are unique to traveling in the UK that may not cross your mind initially and can pose a risk to unprepared travelers.

A UK travel insurance plan can protect you in the following situations:

1. Transportation strikes are common in the UK

As per the official National Rail website, the UK has experienced a sustained period of strike action by the railway unions over the past two years - with the most recent being in February of 2024. If you plan to travel across the UK, rail strikes could affect your travel plans no matter how short the journey is. Strike actions often come with little notice and can have huge repercussions on the effectiveness of services all over the country.

A travel insurance policy can easily cover travel delays, missed connections, or cancellations and interruptions to your travel itinerary due to a strike.

2. Pickpockets often target foreigners

Pickpocketing is a common phenomenon in Europe and the same is true across major UK cities like London, Manchester, and Birmingham. Thieves often operate in busy tourist spots in London, especially in crowded areas such as Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square, and Piccadilly Circus. The London Underground is also regularly frequented by thieves during rush hour, and let’s be honest, Americans are easy to spot when traveling, even in a country full of native English speakers.

Comprehensive travel insurance to the UK covers lost, stolen, and damaged personal items in case some something happens. Therefore, we recommend reviewing the plans just in case you need one.

3. Much of the UK is rural & relatively isolated

Many people don’t think of the UK as a predominantly rural nation. However, the same is true about the U.S. when you actually stop to think about it.

Alongside the UK’s numerous cities and urban areas, there is a plethora of isolated rural and idyllic locations across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland which make amazing travel destinations. That said, rural areas are not always well connected to hospitals and present an ideal landscape for requiring evacuation crews in an emergency. As official UK government statistics show, From March 2022-March 2023 there were 1,316 rescue/recovery operations carried out across the UK.

While the picturesque landscapes of the English Lake District, Scottish Highlands, and Welsh National Parks welcome thousands of visitors every year, they are not without incident.

We recommend having travel insurance in the UK that covers you for emergency medical treatment and emergency medical evacuation in case you have an accident or fall ill while enjoying the isolated countryside of the country.

4. Heathrow has a reputation for lost & delayed baggage

London Heathrow is one of the busiest airports in Europe and has the largest share of lost luggage claims in the UK, according to Statista. It’s also no surprise to most Americans that US airports aren’t exactly great at avoiding baggage issues either.

Including baggage insurance as part of your UK travel insurance policy will ensure you are covered for any losses during your journey to the UK.

What types of coverage do you need for traveling to the UK?

Travel insurance plans can largely be grouped into two categories:

1. medical-based travel insurance
2. comprehensive travel insurance

Naturally, what your travel insurance covers depends on the type of policy you purchase.

Medical-based travel insurance

At the most basic level, we recommend opting for medical-based travel insurance for UK visits. These travel insurance policies are typically the cheapest and are also the most important, since most U.S. health insurance doesn’t work outside of the United States.

Although the UK provides free medical treatment for UK residents, the US Embassy notes that American tourists will be charged for any medical services they receive.

The UK government further notes that non-UK visitors will be charged at 150% of the cost for treatment by the NHS if they are treated by UK hospitals. This can leave you paying large amounts out-of-pocket if you don’t have medical travel insurance in place to pick up the bill.

Typically medical-based travel insurance policies will include two separate coverage limits for medical emergencies and emergency medical evacuations:

• Emergency medical insurance will cover the costs of receiving medical treatment for accidents, injuries, and illnesses while abroad.
• Medevac insurance covers the cost of transporting you to a medical facility that’s capable of providing an appropriate level of care. It may also cover the cost of flying a family member to the UK to be with you while you’re recovering.

Since the cost of treatment is so high for visitors to the UK, and the distance to evacuate you back to the US is so far, we recommend opting for at least $100,000 in medical coverage and at least $250,000 in medical evacuation coverage.

Medical plans typically won’t include wide-reaching coverage for other things like trip cancellations or trip cost reimbursement. For this, you may need to opt for a more comprehensive travel insurance plan with trip cost reimbursement.

Comprehensive travel coverage

When choosing travel insurance, you have the option of buying plans that reimburse your for non-refundable prepaid trip expenses, and plans that don’t. To get insured for things like trip cancellations, interruptions, delays, and your personal items, you typically need to purchase a travel insurance plan that offers trip cost reimbursement.

Some medical-based travel insurance policies may reimburse your for a cancelled or interrupted trip if it comes as part of your medical care resulting from a covered injury or illness. However, if you have to cancel your trip due to unforeseen events like natural disasters, or terrorism, you can typically only be reimbursed if you have chosen a comprehensive travel insurance policy that includes trip cancellation and interruption coverage for prepaid, nonrefundable expenses.

Below, we walk through a cost example that shows the difference in prices of medical based plans versus comprehensive travel insurance coverage.

Optional Add-ons

As a side note, some insurance providers may also offer optional add-ons like cancel for any reason (CFAR) insurance. This allows you to cancel your trip for any reason and claim back around 50% to 75% of your prepaid travel expenses. Including CFAR insurance within your policy will ensure you are covered should you decide to change your plans and cancel your trip to the UK.  

What isn’t covered by travel insurance for UK visits?

As a general rule, most travel insurance policies exclude coverage for the following scenarios:

1. Claims resulting from illegal activities
2. Claims related to medical tourism
3. Injuries resulting from intoxication from drugs or alcohol
4. Cancellations due to fear COVID-19 (See COVID-19 travel plans)

While these may be rather obvious to some people, many travel insurance plans also include restrictions for the following:

• Adventure activities & sports:
  For those who wish to enjoy activities such as hiking, climbing, kayaking, winter sports, and more a far more comprehensive coverage plan is needed. You should ensure that your plan includes coverage for the specific adventure activity or sport you plan to do.
• Pre-existing Medical Conditions:
  As noted above, standard travel health insurance typically doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions. This includes pregnancy, although you may be able to use your cancellation coverage if you become pregnant after you book your trip and pay for an insurance policy. See our article on pregnancy travel insurance for more info.
• Certain age limitations:
  Some travel insurance plans stop insuring people after a certain age. Therefore, if you are traveling with a senior citizen, you may wan to look at specific travel insurance plans for Seniors, which will allow you to get coverage at any age.

Tips for choosing the best UK travel insurance

To find the best insurance policy for your needs, follow these tips:

Tips for visiting the UK