Single-trip, annual multi-trip or backpacker cover: here's how to work out which type of travel insurance suits your next trip.
Not all travel insurance policies are built the same way. The right one for you depends on how often you travel, how long you're going for and what your trip actually looks like.
At Post Office Travel Insurance we offer three main types of travel insurance policy: single-trip cover, annual multi-trip cover and backpacker cover. In this guide we explain how they differ, as well as optional add-ons you can include on any policy.
Single-trip travel insurance covers one holiday, covering you for a specific time that you choose. It's the simplest type of policy and is often chosen if you’re only going on one holiday or trip abroad within the space of a year.
With Post Office Travel Insurance, a single-trip policy can cover a holiday of up to 365 days if you're 70 or under when the policy starts. If you're between 71 and 75, the maximum trip length is 90 days, and for those aged 76 and over, it's 31 days. You can choose Economy, Standard or Premier cover, with emergency medical expenses cover of up to £5 million, £10 million and £15 million respectively.
Annual multi-trip travel insurance, sometimes called annual travel insurance, covers you for as many trips as you take over a 12-month period, rather than just one. Each trip is covered for up to 31 days as standard, which can be extended to 45 or 60 days with an optional upgrade if you need longer, at an additional cost.
It's worth considering annual multi-trip cover if you're likely to go abroad more than once in the next year, even for short breaks or weekends away, as it often works out cheaper than buying multiple single-trip policies. It also removes the admin of arranging insurance before every trip, so you don’t need to worry about ticking it off the list.
When you take out an annual multi-trip policy, you don’t need to have everything planned in advance or tell us where you’re going. You just need to make sure your destination falls within the cover area you chose: UK, Europe or Worldwide.
As with single-trip cover, annual multi-trip policies are available at Economy, Standard or Premier level, with the same emergency medical expenses limits of £5 million, £10 million and £15 million. The maximum age to take out an annual multi-trip policy is 75. Below is a table which shows whether single trip policies or annual multi-trip cover would be more cost-effective depending on which holidays you’re taking within a calendar year.
| Holidays in a year | Which product is cheapest? |
|---|---|
| 1 week in Spain | Single-trip |
| 1 week in Spain + 5 days in France | AMT Europe |
| 1 week in the USA + 4 days in Ireland | AMT Worldwide |
| 2 weeks in Turkey + 3 days in the Lake District | AMT Europe |
| 1 week in Spain + 10 days in Sri Lanka + 1 week in Norway | AMT Worldwide |
The above data is accurate as of June 2026 and is for a traveller with no medical conditions.
Backpacker travel insurance is designed for people spending a long period of time travelling, often across multiple countries. With Post Office Travel Insurance, backpacker cover is available for trips of up to 18 months, on a Standard cover level.
Backpacker policies work a little differently to single-trip or annual multi-trip cover. You're allowed up to three return visits to the UK during your trip, each lasting up to seven days, without needing to adjust your policy. That's useful if you want to fly home for a family event or a friend's wedding partway through a longer trip, though your cover is paused while you're back in the UK. Backpacker cover is only available if you're 60 or under when you buy the policy.
Here's how single-trip, annual multi-trip and backpacker cover compare at a glance.
| Feature | Single-trip cover | Annual multi-trip cover | Backpacker cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it covers | One trip only | Unlimited trips over 12 months | One long trip, with return visits home |
| Maximum trip length | Up to 365 days (age dependent) | Up to 31 days per trip as standard, extendable to 45 or 60 days (at additional cost) | Up to 18 months |
| Cover levels available | Economy, Standard, Premier | Economy, Standard, Premier | Standard only |
| Maximum age to buy | Varies by trip length chosen | 75 | 60 |
| Best for | One-off holidays or a single extended trip | Travellers going away more than once a year | Long-term travel, often across multiple countries |
Whichever type of cover you choose, you can tailor your policy with optional extras to match your trip and preferences. The following features come at an additional cost, but you can add them when you take out a policy and see how they impact the overall cost of your cover.
Whatever cover level and extras you choose, make sure you declare any pre-existing medical conditions accurately when you take out your policy. Not doing so could mean a related claim isn't paid.
You can't convert an existing single-trip policy into an annual multi-trip one, but there's nothing stopping you from taking out an annual multi-trip policy once your current single-trip policy has ended. It's worth comparing the cost of the trips you've got planned for the rest of the year against an annual policy to see which works out better value.
Yes. Annual multi-trip cover is designed for people taking several separate trips over a year, each usually up to 31 days long. Backpacker cover is designed for one long, continuous trip of up to 18 months, with return visits home built into the policy. If you're planning several short breaks rather than one long trip, annual multi-trip cover is likely to be the better fit.
If you know a trip will run longer than 31 days, it's worth adding trip extension cover for an additional premium before you travel, which increases your per-trip limit to 45 or 60 days. Travelling for longer than your policy allows without this upgrade could leave you without cover for the extra days.
Yes, this applies whether you're taking out single-trip, annual multi-trip or backpacker cover. You'll need to answer the medical screening questions fully and accurately for everyone included on the policy. Not declaring a condition accurately could mean a related claim isn't paid.
1 Medical Assistance Plus is not available for trips taken in the UK, only for international travel. The service allows up to 3 separate medical events per person listed on the policy, and up to 3 appointments per event. All appointment charges are covered by your travel insurance policy. You may need to pay for your prescription upfront and claim on your return home.