All fine print · Travel
The important part of a travel insurance policy
Travel insurance is sold on what it covers and decided on what it excludes. Read the exclusions first, then the medical limit, then the claims process.
The four parts that decide it
The exclusions list
Pre-existing conditions, alcohol, unattended belongings, adventure activities, and travel against official advice. This is the real policy; the cover page is the advertisement.
Medical limit and repatriation
The maximum for treatment and whether medical evacuation is included. For long-haul travel this is the number that turns a catastrophe into an inconvenience.
Cancellation cover and its triggers
What reasons are accepted, and the limit. "Cancel for any reason" is a separate and more expensive product; standard cover means the listed reasons only.
Claims process and deadlines
Whether you must call before treatment, keep original receipts, and report theft to police within a set number of hours. Most refused claims are refused on process, not on cover.
The traps
- Undeclared pre-existing conditions, which can void the medical section entirely rather than just that claim.
- Single-item limits inside a generous total, so a laptop is covered up to a fraction of the baggage figure.
- An annual policy with a maximum trip length shorter than the trip you are about to take.
Red flags
- A medical limit under a few hundred thousand for travel outside your health system.
- Adventure activities excluded when the whole point of the trip is one of them.
- A requirement to pay medical costs yourself and reclaim, with no emergency assistance line.
Three easy wins
- Declare everything, even what feels irrelevant. A higher premium is cheaper than a void policy.
- Save the assistance number offline, in your phone and on paper.
- Check the single-item limit against the most expensive thing in your bag.
Questions
What is the most common reason a travel claim is refused?
Failing to follow the process: no police report within the deadline, no original receipt, no call before treatment. The cover was there; the paperwork was not.
Does my card's free travel insurance count?
Often yes for some sections and no for others, and usually only if you paid for the trip with that card. Read its exclusions with the same suspicion as any policy.
Now do it to the actual document
Paste the contract into the tool and see which sentences it thinks matter. Then check them against the four parts above.
Open the toolNot legal advice. This is a checklist of what to look for, written to be useful in any country. It is not advice on your document, your situation or your jurisdiction, and the law where you live may say something different. For anything that matters, pay a professional for an hour of their time.