For further information about the Horizon IT Scandal, please visit our corporate website

Common questions about our cover and optional add-ons

About our travel insurance

Covid-19 cover

  • All new Post Office Travel Insurance policies include a degree of cover against Covid-19 related disruptions, such as cancellation, curtailment and medical costs in some circumstances.

    You can find out more about what's covered for coronavirus on our policies on our travel insurance Covid-19 FAQs page.

    If you need additional protection for other scenarios, such as missed departures or changes in testing and quarantine rules, you can also buy our Covid-19 Cover option along with your policy.

Buying travel insurance 

  • Yes, you can buy our Travel Insurance at over 3,700 Post Office branches. If your nearest branch can’t issue travel insurance, you can buy travel cover online or by calling 0330 123 3690*.

  • We’re sorry, but no. Our policies covers UK residents only (including those in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man).

  • Family cover is available on Post Office Single-Trip and Annual Multi-trip Travel Insurance policies.

    It covers a person and their husband, wife, civil partner or Common Law Partner (who must be residing with them), and any dependent, adopted or fostered children or grandchildren aged under 18 and either in full-time education or living with them.

    Family cover is not available on our Backpacker Travel Insurance policies.

  • There’s no upper age limit for Single-Trip policies. For Annul multi-trip policies you need to be 75 or under.

  • Yes, you must be aged between 18 and 60 years of age when your policy starts.

    Backpacker policies are only available on our Economy level cover.

  • It depends on the level of cover.

    If your policy number starts with TC or TA:

    Single-trip Travel Insurance covers you for trips of up to 365 days (for persons aged up to and including 70 years), up to 90 days (aged 71 to 75) and up to 31 days (aged 76 and above). Annual Multi-Trip policies cover you for 17 days per trip (with Economy and Standard cover levels) or 31 days per trip (Premier cover). This can be extended to 31, 45 or 60 days (Economy, Standard) or 45 or 60 days (Premier) if you pay the appropriate extra premium. You can take as many trips as you like as long as you’re not away for more than 183 days in the policy year. Our Backpacker Travel Insurance policy covers you for trips lasting anything from 31 days to 18 months.

    If your policy number starts with TE:

    The single-trip policy covers individual trips of up to 63 days. Annual multi-trip policies with Lite, Prime and Elite cover levels cover you for up to 31 days per trip, which can’t be extended.

Having flight problems?

  • There’s no cover for flight cancellation on your Post Office Travel Insurance policy if you have not already started your trip. If the airline cancels your flight before you arrive at your departure point you should always discuss this with your airline or travel provider to see what options are available to you.

    Regulation EU261

    This is a regulation that protects passengers in the event of inconvenience caused by long flight delays or cancellations of European flights. It allows up to £520 compensation per passenger in the event of such disruptions.

    Entitlements are only in force if the delay or cancellation is within the airline’s control and has not been deemed an “extraordinary circumstance.”

    However, if you’re delayed at the airport on your outbound or inbound journey, several of our cover levels provide cover for the delay, any missed departure it causes and, if the delay is of a longer duration, abandoning your trip if you decide to do so. Please read the answers below for details.

  • We will be unable to process claims for delayed flights if:

    • You don’t arrive at your departure point in the recommended time for your scheduled departure
    • You claim for delays having already made a claim for missed departure
    • You’ve travelled against a non-essential travel advisory from the FCDO – and the cause of the delay is related to that advice
    • You claim for a delay less than 4 hours
    • You haven’t provided written confirmation from your travel provider of the duration of and reason for the delay
    • You were aware of the strike/industrial action (or any other listed peril) prior to buying your travel insurance policy or booking your trip
    • You haven’t provided any written confirmation of the vehicle breakdown/traffic delays
  • If you bought our Standard, Premier, Max or Extra cover, you’re covered if you arrive at the airport and your flight is delayed due to one of the following – including if this will impact a further connecting flight or flights to your final destination:

    1. Industrial action
    2. Bad weather not including anything listed as a natural catastrophe
    3. Technical fault of transportation including bird strikes 
    4. Shortage of crew

    If a flight you’re booked on is delayed for 4 hours or more for one of these reasons and you have a Standard, Premier, Max or Extra policy, you can claim for each 4-hour delay, up to a maximum of 12 hours, upon your return to the UK. Please check the policy wording for the delay benefit amount depending on the level of cover chosen.

    If it’s a Premier policy, you can also make use of Flight Delay Assistance Plus if you’ve registered for it. This means that, upon a delay of 1 hour or more, you can receive either a lounge access voucher or a £50 payment into your PayPal account. All flights must be registered in advance. Please check your emails for confirmation and the link/web address needed to register your flights. 

    You must plan to leave enough time between arriving at your connection point and departing for the next leg of your journey, which should be at least the minimum time recommended for transfer by your transport provider.

    If your flight delay totals 12 or more hours and you abandon your trip you can make a claim – see the question on abandoning your trip below. 

  • If you’re a Standard, Premier, Extra and Max policy holder, we provide abandonment cover if you arrive at the airport and your flight is delayed by 12 hours or more due to:

    1. Industrial action
    2. Bad weather not including anything listed as a natural catastrophe
    3. Technical fault of transportation including bird strikes
    4. Shortage of crew

    If that happens, and you aren’t offered an alternative flight within 12 hours or provided with a refund, and you hold one of the cover levels listed, then cover is provided for your unused travel and accommodation costs.

    This policy is designed to provide a refund of your unused travel and accommodation costs, at the point we are satisfied that these expenses cannot be refunded elsewhere. If your trip has been booked or paid for via one or more of the following, you must contact them to discuss a refund before claiming from us: a tour operator; an airline; any other travel, accommodation, or service provider; a credit or debit card provider or other payment providers such as PayPal.

    You must plan to leave enough time between arriving at your connection point and departing for the next leg of your journey, which should be at least the minimum time recommended for transfer by your transport provider.

    There is no cover for delay or abandonment for trips taken solely within the UK.

  • If you have our Standard, Premier, Extra or Max level cover and are delayed on your way to your departure point in the UK due to one of the following reasons, and this causes you to miss your pre-booked transportation (such as an outbound flight), we’ll cover it:

    Delay or cancellation of public transport due to:

    • Industrial action
    • Bad weather not including anything listed as a natural catastrophe 
    • Technical fault of transportation including bird strikes
    • Shortage of crew

    The vehicle you are travelling in is involved in an accident, breaks down, or is delayed by an incident that causes traffic jams or road closures

    The flight you are travelling on is diverted 

    Please note:  Public transport includes flights

    You’ll be covered up to the sum insured for either additional travel and accommodation costs to get you to your destination. Or, if the only reasonable alternative transport means you’ll lose more than 50% of your trip, you can claim for unused travel and accommodation costs.

  • You are at the airport abroad, and there is a delay in your flight leaving to return to the UK.

    On Standard, Premier, Extra and Max policies, there’s cover if you arrive at the airport abroad and your flight back to the UK is delayed or cancelled due to:

    • Industrial action
    • Bad weather not including anything listed as a natural catastrophe
    • Mechanical fault of transportation including bird strikes
    • Shortage of crew

     Please note:  Public transport includes flights

    If you’re delayed by at least 24 hours beyond your original return date, there is cover for additional transport costs to return you home when these aren’t paid for by your travel provider, up to the limit for your level of cover.

    We’ll pay a delay benefit for each full 4-hour delay up to a maximum of 12 hours for the sum insured for your level of cover.

    If your trip has been booked or paid for via one or more of the following, you must contact them to discuss a refund before claiming from us: a tour operator; an airline; any other travel, accommodation, or service provider; a credit or debit card provider or other payment providers such as PayPal.

  • What if you are delayed on your way to the airport abroad and miss your pre-booked return flight home, or you have no travel documents and are delayed in obtaining them, so are unable to make your flight?

    If you are delayed on your way to the airport and subsequently miss your return flight home, stranding you abroad, for  Standard, Premier, Extra and Max policy holders, we provide cover for delay or cancellation of public transport due to:

    • Industrial action
    • Bad weather not including anything listed as a natural catastrophe
    • Mechanical fault of transportation including bird strikes
    • Shortage of crew

    We’ll also cover if you’re delayed travelling home if:

    • The vehicle you’re travelling in is involved in an accident, breaks down or is delayed by an incident that causes traffic jams or road closures
    • Your flight gets diverted
    • Your travel documents are lost or stolen while you’re outside the UK

    You’re also covered if you arrive at the airport and a delay to your flight for one of these reasons will impact a further connecting flight/s to return back home to the UK.

    You must have a pre-booked return journey for cover to apply. And you must plan to leave enough time between arriving at your connection point and departing for the next leg of your journey, which should be at least the minimum time recommended for transfer by your transport provider.

Medical Assistance Plus

  • If you bought your Post Office Travel Insurance on or after 3 July 2023 then it includes Medical Assistance Plus.

  • Nothing. Medical Assistance Plus is included in all policies sold from the 3 July 2023, no matter the type or level of Post Office Travel Insurance you’ve purchased. It applies whether you bought your insurance on the Post Office website, in branch, via our contact centre, on the app, or even through a comparison website.

  • You can launch the service directly from our Medical Assistance Plus page on the Post Office website, then choose to continue in browser or open in app on your mobile device. 

    We’ll also send you a reminder SMS message on the day you travel (for single trip and backpacker insurance) or the start date  of your policy (for annual multi-trip insurance) with links to launch the Medical Assistance Plus service.
     

  • Medical Assistance Plus is for outpatient medical care only. This includes any non-emergency medical services, including:

    • GP (general Practitioner)
    • dentist
    • orthopaedist
    • paediatrician
    • gynaecologist

    If an online or in-person consultation concludes that in-patient care is required, your medical case will then be handed over to the Emergency Medical team in the UK to be managed for wherever you are. 
     

  • If you require immediate emergency care, you should go directly to a hospital or an emergency clinic.

    You can get further support by calling our emergency medical assistance line any time, 24/7.

    If your policy number starts with TA or TC call 0208 865 3074.

    There is no cover for trips taken within the UK.
     

  • This service is not available for trips taken in the UK, only for international travel.  The service allows up to 3 separate medical events per policy and for each medical event up to 3 appointments per person listed on the policy.

  • Firstly, verify that the policy number is correctly registered and that all your verification information is entered in the Medical Assistance Plus app.  You just need to enter in the 8 digits after the ‘TC’ or ‘TA’ in your policy number – not the / or anything after it”.

    If you’re still experiencing issues with policy registration and profile validation, please head to the “Contact us” section in the app to get assistance from our Customer Care team.   
     

  • The customer care team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year and offers multi-lingual support. 

    The customer care team can provide assistance via phone, email, WhatsApp, and live chat – available online or via app. 
     

  • The global network has over 20,000 doctors in 75 countries, including the most popular destinations such as the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, China, Japan, Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Thailand, and Nepal.

    The doctors in the network speak a wide range of languages, so travellers can find one locally who speaks either their native language or one in which they are comfortable conducting a consultation.

    When browsing for doctors in the app, simply filter your search by your preferred language. When scheduling video consultations, you can also select your preferred language when you make the appointment request. 

    If you’re unable to find a doctor who speaks your preferred language, please head to the “Contact Us” section in the app to get assistance from our customer care team.
     

  • No, Medical Assistance Plus is covered by your Post Office Travel Insurance policy, so there are no upfront fees or extra payments required. You automatically get access to Medical Assistance Plus, no matter what type or level of insurance you’ve purchased from us. 

    All appointment charges are covered by your travel insurance policy under Medical Assistance Plus.

    You will not need to pay any excess fees for this service.  For any online appointments or where the appointment was held at your accommodation, where a prescription is issued, you will need to pay for any medication and claim upon your return home.

    No excess will be applied for any prescription charges.  

    If your appointment takes place at a clinic and they have a dispensing chemist, you will not need to pay for your prescription and all charges will be covered by your policy at the point of appointment.

    If there is no dispensing chemist at the clinic, you will either be given a prescription, or the prescription will be sent to a chemist by the treating Doctor and you will need to pay for any medication and claim upon your return home.

    If your medical situation needs to be handed over from an outpatient case to an inpatient case and requires hospital admission, you will be handed over to our emergency medical assistance team in the UK.  For any inpatient cases, no excess will be applicable.
     

  • You’ll be able to check with your doctor if they can prescribe a valid prescription in your current location. Make sure with the selected doctor before your consultation if they can provide a prescription based on your electronic prescription.  There is no cover for trips made in the UK and you should see your GP practise that you are registered with in the UK for any appointments or prescriptions.

  • Yes, our app works 24/7 – as well as our customer care team – to ensure you can access timely medical services. If you require immediate emergency care, you should go directly to a hospital or an emergency clinic.

Flight Delay Assistance Plus

Registering your flights

  • We'll send you an email with details of how to register for the service online as soon as you buy our Premier travel insurance.

    If you arranged your policy in a Post Office branch or don't have an email address, all the information you need will be in your policy confirmation pack.

    You can only register your flight via the special link provided to you.

  • Flight Delay Assistance Plus is built to track almost all major commercial airline flights, but there are limitations against airlines/airports that do not report data regularly.
    You can register any flight where the airline accurately reports the announcement to FlightStats. If you try to register a flight that does not meet these conditions, the system will inform you of this and you will not be able to register.

    Where the flight is departing from an airport with a lounge that's part of the LoungeKey network you’ll be offered the choice of a lounge voucher, or PayPal payout in the event of a delay.

    Not every airport has a lounge and if this is the case the PayPal option will be selected for you.

  • Yes, you can include up to four additional passengers who are named on your Post Office Travel Insurance policy when you register. Make sure the names you register match exactly those included on your flight booking or boarding passes.

  • Registering your flights could fail for two reasons:

    • You're attempting to register less than 24 hours before your scheduled departure time
    • Not all airlines provide timely and accurate flight tracking data which is necessary for us to trigger compensation and issue your benefit

    As such, we restrict registrations for airlines that do not provide reliable tracking data. This is done to ensure the best possible experience for customers.

  • Yes, you can cancel a flight registration up to two hours before your scheduled departure time. Please do this via the link in your registration confirmation email.

LoungeKey lounge access

  • It's a global network of over 1,100 airport lounges.

  • During your flight registration you’ll be provided with the lounge access option at the "Select Your Benefit" stage. If you have selected this option and a qualifying delay is met, we'll send an SMS text and email message with a PDF voucher attached, so you'll need a mobile device with you that can accept them. These messages are sent if:

    • You register the flight online at least 24 hours before its scheduled departure time
    • There's an announcement about a minimum one-hour delay (either a single delay or an accumulation of multiple shorter delays amounting to two or more hours)
    • You selected lounge as your benefit option
  • You'll need a mobile device that can receive SMS texts and emails with PDF attachments. If your flight's delayed by one hours or more, we'll automatically send you:

    • A text notification, which includes a link to your PDF LoungeKey voucher
    • An email with a PDF attachment containing your free LoungeKey voucher
    • The SMS and emails will also contain the vouchers for any other passengers you registered

    Please see our terms of use.

  • We'll let you know how to locate your lounge when we email your access information. The voucher itself will also contain a link to the lounge finder and access information.

Other lounge access questions

  • Not all lounges are open to younger passengers. You can check out the lounge policies at your departure airport.

  • There are a number of reasons why you might not be able to access a lounge, even if you have a valid voucher:

    • If the lounge is closed when the delay occurs – during the night, for instance
    • If the lounge is at full capacity
    • If the passenger names on the boarding passes don't exactly match those on the LoungeKey voucher
    • If you or a member of your group doesn't meet the lounge terms and conditions, such as dress code or minimum age
  • Although lounges at different airports have their own policies and services, most have free Wi-Fi. Discover more about the lounge at your departure airport.

    Please see our terms of use.

About PayPal

  • PayPal is a payment platform for payments and money transfer. It’s a secure way to send and receive money online.

    PayPal allows any individual with an email address to securely send and receive payments online without having to enter your financial details.

    You can use PayPal to shop online, or to send money quickly to anyone with an email address or transfer money to your bank account. You can also use PayPal on the high street where the number of shops accepting PayPal is growing.

    Once you’ve linked your card or bank account to your PayPal account, you won’t need to provide all of your card details every time you shop online. PayPal remembers all your financial details, so you don’t have to, and they do not share them with sellers.

    PayPal is available worldwide and in all major currencies.

  • If you’ve selected PayPal as your benefit during the registration journey, in the event that you experience a qualifying flight delay, we’ll compensate you with a PayPal payout to use at your leisure.

    We’ll pass your email address to PayPal, who will then instantly credit your wallet with your compensation.

    If you don’t have a PayPal account linked to the email address you used for registration, PayPal will send you a link to register for an account.

  • You don’t need to have an existing PayPal account. A wallet will be credited with your compensation and an email will be sent to you with a link to PayPal to register and create an account. Your PayPal account will need to be linked to the email address you used to register your flight.

  • You can contact PayPal by text, email, on the phone or via the PayPal help page.

About PayPal payouts

  • We’ll provide a compensation payment of £50 per passenger into your PayPal account.

  • All eligible additional passengers that were registered will also receive a PayPal payout, but the payout will be made to the main customer.

  • Yes, we’ll send you an email and SMS to let you know the PayPal payout has been issued.

What we share with PayPal

  • We’ll pass your email address to PayPal when we trigger the PayPal payout request. 

  • We’ll send PayPal the email address you used to register your flight. They will use your email address as the account to credit with the payout. PayPal will also send out communications to this address to confirm the payout.

Gadget Cover optional add-on

  • Gadget Cover is an optional add on available for an additional premium.

    The Gadget Cover add on covers mobile/smart phones, tablets, computers, laptops, smart watches, drones, games (including handheld) consoles, all accessories for these items, plus wearable activity trackers. (See the policy wording for full terms).

  • Mobile and smartphones are covered under the personal possessions of our Travel Insurance policies up to £100.

    If you need more cover for your phone, you could add our Gadget Cover add on for an extra premium. and increase the cover up to £1,000 per policy for theft, damage or loss during your trip. (Please note this benefit is per policy and not per person).

  • Gadget Cover provides cover to include mobile/smart phones, tablets, computers, laptops, smart watches, drones, games (including handheld) consoles, all accessories of these items, plus wearable activity trackers.

  • If you add the Gadget Cover option it provides a benefit per policy, not per person.

Claims, cancellations, renewals and complaints

  • The way to make a claim is different depending on your policy type, as they’re provided by different underwriters. First, check the letters your policy number starts with.

    If your policy number starts with TC or TA:

    The easiest way is to make a claim online. It’s secure and available 24/7. There’s a handy checklist of everything you’ll need. And, for some claims, you’ll get a decision straight away. 

    You can also call us 0333 333 9702*.

    If your policy starts with TE:

    If you need to make a claim you can:

    Submit a claim online here

    Email info@csal.co.uk

    Or call +44 (0) 1403 330 233*

    You’ll need to provide your valid policy certificate and any necessary information requested to assist the processing of the claim. All claims must be notified within 3 months of the incident occurring.

  • Please call the emergency medical assistance line that’s correct for your policy as soon as possible. It’s open 24/7.

    If your policy number starts with TA or TC the number to call is 0208 865 3074

    If your policy number starts with TE, the number to call will depend on where in the world you’re calling from. For calls from anywhere except the USA, Canada or Mexico it’s +44 (0) 1403 163. From the USA and Canada call toll-free on +1 877 324 0460. Or from Mexico call +1 819 780 0644.

  • When you buy an Annual Multi-trip policy, it’s your reassurance of continuous cover for all the trips you’ll take in a year. For reassurance that extends beyond that, your policy can be renewed automatically or manually. You can also make sure your policy doesn’t renew if you don’t need it to. Whatever you choose, we’ll write to you around 28 days before your current policy’s end date with details of any changes we’ll make should you wish to renew it and a quote for the next year’s cover.

    Automatic renewal: when you buy your Annual Multi-trip policy, it will be set up so that it automatically renews at the end of its term to keep you covered. If you want to opt out, you can do so then or at any time during the policy. Equally, you can turn auto renewal on later, by calling our contact centre.

    Manual renewal: if you’ve opted out for auto renewal, you can opt in manually later, such as when we send your renewal reminder or by calling our contact centre to set this up. It’s easy to renew through your online account or by calling our contact centre. If you miss the renewal date, you can still take out a new policy later. You’ll need to start a new quote, as the renewal quote is only valid until your current policy’s expiry date. This may also mean a gap in your cover until the new policy starts.

    Turning off auto-renewal: if your policy’s set to renew automatically but you change your mind later, you can turn it off at any point during the life of the policy. You can do this yourself in your online account or call our contact centre team. If you’re within the last 8 days of your policy, you’ll need to call our contact centre to do so. The later you do this the greater the chance a renewal payment will be taken by the bank. If this happens before your renewal cancellation is processed, we’ll make sure your payment is refunded.

  • For complaints about the sales literature or information about your policy, how it was sold to you on the phone or online, or the Medical Screening Service, please call 0330 123 1382*, email travelinsurancefeedback@postoffice.co.uk or write to:

    Post Office Travel Insurance
    67 Hope Street
    Glasgow
    G2 3AE

    Please head any written correspondence "COMPLAINT" and include copies of supporting material.

    If your policy number starts with TC or TA:

    For complaints about a claim or assistance you received while travelling, please write to:

    Quality Department
    Collinson Insurance Services Limited
    Sussex House
    Perrymount Road
    Haywards Heath
    West Sussex RH16 1DN

    If your policy number starts with TE:

    For complaints about a claim, please email contact@ervuk.com or write to us here so we can investigate:

    The Managing Director
    ERV,
    Afon House,
    Worthing Road, Horsham,
    West Sussex RH12 1TL, England

    Please quote the claim number in all correspondence or phone calls.

    If you’re not satisfied with our response

    If you’re still not satisfied or don’t get a final answer from us within eight weeks of us receiving your complaint, you may have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for consideration. You can contact the FOS here:

    Financial Ombudsman Service
    Exchange Tower Harbour Exchange Square
    London
    E14 9SR
    Call: 0800 0234 567 or 0300 1239 123*

    Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsmans.org.uk 

Need more help and support with travel insurance?

If you didn’t find what you need these other pages may help.

For emergency assistance, to make a claim, complaint or manage your policy online: Visit our travel insurance support page

For questions about the coronavirus cover on our policies: Visit our travel insurance Covid-19 FAQs page

Call charges: calls to 03 numbers will cost no more than calling a standard geographic number starting with 01 or 02 from your fixed line or mobile and may be included in your call package dependent on your service provider. Calls may be monitored or recorded for training and compliance purposes.