Travel insurance pricing varies from £10 to £400 for the same trip. The cheapest policies often have exclusions that make claims worthless; the most expensive cover things very few travellers ever claim. The middle ground costs £30-80 for a single trip or £40-120 for annual coverage, and covers what matters.
What you actually need covered
Medical emergencies
Minimum £2 million coverage including repatriation. Medical evacuation from remote areas can run £100k+. Not optional.
Cancellation
If the trip is non-refundable above £500-1000 and circumstances might change (family illness, work), this matters. For cheap trips that flexible booking already covers, less essential.
Lost luggage and personal items
Worth having but typical coverage (£1,500-3,000) won't cover high-value items — those need separate jewellery/electronics insurance.
Travel disruption
Flight cancellation, missed connections, strike disruption. Useful for international trips, less for short Europe trips where alternatives are easy.
What's often oversold
Hijack/kidnap coverage (extraordinarily rare). Specific named-peril add-ons (the standard policy already covers most). Coverage for activities you won't do. Excessive personal liability (your home insurance often already covers you abroad).
Where annual policies win over single-trip
If you take 3+ trips per year, annual multi-trip is cheaper. UK examples: Post Office Annual Multi-Trip (£40-100/year depending on coverage tier), Direct Line, Aviva. Read the activity list — annual policies often exclude winter sports, scuba, climbing without an add-on.
Specific pre-existing condition handling
Most standard policies exclude pre-existing conditions unless declared. Some specialist insurers (Free Spirit, World First, AllClear) cover pre-existing conditions for slightly higher premiums. Worth the few extra pounds — undeclared conditions leading to a hospital claim get rejected, leaving you with a £20k+ bill.
Travel insurance is one of the few insurance products where reading the policy actually matters. Spend 10 minutes on the exclusions list before buying — saves real money on bad policies.