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Make sure you have the right medical travel insurance

Getting the right treatment when abroad is important, especially if you’ve got an existing medical condition. It’s important to have the right cover too.

Treatment for an unexpected illness – whether or not you have an existing condition – can quickly run into the thousands of pounds. So making sure you’ve got protection in place is vital.

Cover for common medical conditions

Diabetes

Diabetes can vary in severity which can impact other areas of health. Our travel insurance takes into account all the differing levels, how advanced your condition is, where you're travelling to and whether you have other health concerns

Asthma

This condition can range from mild to severe and might be linked to other respiratory problems. So it’s important to have the right travel insurance for asthma. We'll assess your condition on a case-by-case basis to see whether we can give you the right cover

Heart conditions

From high cholesterol to high blood pressure, we want to help you enjoy your trip. Whether we can offer you cover will depend on a variety of factors, but we’ll take everything into consideration and try to help you find cover that will offer protection should you fall ill abroad

Woman holding her mobile up to her face on a video call with a male doctor looking back at her

Medical Assistance Plus: 24/7 holiday health support

Enjoy your holiday safe in the knowledge that health professionals are just one click away.

Medical Assistance Plus, powered by Air Doctor, is an outpatient benefit included free when you take out travel insurance with us^^.

Whenever you are abroad, you can book an in-person or video consultation, and receive any medication prescriptions for collection from your nearest pharmacy.

We’ll even send an SMS reminder about the service the day before you travel (for Single-trip) or the day before your policy begins (for Annual Multi-trip policies).

^^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 person, per policy and for each medical event up to 3 appointments per person listed on the policy. All appointment charges are covered by your travel insurance policy. 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.

Ehic or Ghic aren't always enough

UK citizens travelling in EU countries can access some state-provided healthcare there for free or at a reduced cost.

You'll need a UK Global Health Insurance Card (Ghic) or, if it’s still in date, a European Health Insurance Card (Ehic). But it’s important to note:

  • neither card covers any additional cost to return you to the UK or for a relative to stay or fly out to be with you
  • in a medical emergency you may have no control over the hospital you are taken to, or the closest hospital may be private. Medical travel insurance may be able to cover some of the cost for you

The Ehic no longer provides access to healthcare services in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland for UK nationals.

We’ll look after you if you’re ill abroad

If you're taken ill on holiday and end up in hospital, our emergency medical assistance team can be contacted to assist you. We'll look for facilities available to provide the treatment and care you need. We may be able to get you home. And we may be able to pay towards your medical costs. The availability of cover options depends on the level of cover you choose. Conditions and exclusions apply. For full details of what's included with your cover, check our policy documents.

Ready to get a quote?

Let’s find the protection that’s right for your travels. Get a quote for Post Office Travel Insurance

An award-winning provider

Personal Finance Winner 2023 award

Best Travel Insurance Provider

Post Office won a ‘Best Travel Insurance Provider’ award at the Your Money Awards in 2021, 2022 and 2023

Bronze British Travel Awards 21/22 Best Company for Travel Insurance award

Best Travel Insurance Provider

Post Office won a “Best Travel Insurance Provider” award at the British Travel Awards in 2022

Defaqto expert rated Travel Insurance 5 star award

Defaqto 5-star rated cover

Our Premier level policies have a 5-star Defaqto rating

Common questions

  • At Post Office, we work hard to provide cover that’s right for you and any pre-existing medical conditions you’re living with. And we know coronavirus is a concern for many people living with such conditions.

    All new Post Office Travel Insurance policies include a level of cover against disruption or difficulty caused by the Covid-19 virus as standard. So, if there's no advice in place from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) against all travel to your destination, we'll cover the costs of emergency medical expenses and even repatriation to get you back home if you fall ill on your trip, even with coronavirus.

    Check what's covered as standard for Covid-19 on our policies. You can also add optional extra cover for coronavirus-related disruptions with our Covid-19 Cover upgrade option.

    There is no cover provided on Post Office Travel Insurance policies if current FCDO advice is in place against all travel and where any of the UK governments have implemented travel bans against travel within the UK or internationally.

    If the FCDO have advised to only undertake essential travel to a destination and your trip is not essential and you choose to travel, we will only cover a claim if the cause is not linked to the reason for the FCDO advice. This limitation applies even if you've purchased an optional Trip Disruption or Covid-19 Cover upgrade. You may be able to travel with full cover if we authorise in writing that your trip is essential before you depart. Should you like to request this, please email travelinsurancefeedback@postoffice.co.uk

  • To make sure your travel insurance policy fully covers you for your trip, it’s important you tell us the full details of any medical condition affecting the health of the people travelling or anyone else on whom your trip may depend.

    Tell us about heart conditions like high blood pressure and cholesterol, respiratory conditions such as asthma, and other illnesses such as diabetes. We’ll assess the condition and confirm whether we can issue a policy to cover claims for that particular condition or any associated condition.

  • Yes, it’s very important that you fully declare any pre-existing medical conditions when applying for your Post Office Travel Insurance policy. You won’t be covered for anything that arises from, is related to or has been caused by any pre-existing medical conditions unless you’ve told us about them, we have agreed in writing to cover them, and any additional premium has been paid.

  • The questions in your medical screening will vary depending on your conditions. We’ll take some background information about your recent medical history. If you tell us that you’ve had a medical issue within that timeframe, we’ll go into more detail about how it has been treated, what medicines you’ve taken and procedures you’ve undergone, and what treatment you’re expecting in the future. There may be other questions too.

  • Medical travel insurance provides cover tailored to your trip, including cover for your existing medical conditions. Travelling with medical conditions carries more risk than that of a person who has no medical conditions.

    Accidents completely out of anyone's control, where you may require medical attention, are usually covered on a normal travel insurance policy. However, if you have an existing medical condition, the amount of medical treatment you may require could be more extensive and more expensive.

    We offer a policy that considers all medical conditions to give you the level of cover that you need. This provides cover if you incur any medical expenses or need to be repatriated back home or to another medical facility if the one you’re in isn’t suitable for your conditions. Based on the severity of your conditions, you may need to pay an additional premium.

  • If you’re travelling within the EU, then it's important to take your existing European Health Insurance Card (Ehic) if it's yet to expire or apply for its replacement, the UK Global health Insurance Card (Ghic). These provide access to emergency and necessary state healthcare in EU countries for free or at a reduced cost. But there are certain things they don't cover – such as medical repatriation – that make it vital to have travel insurance too.

    Consider a combination of a valid Ehic or Ghic and good travel insurance. Please note the Ehic no longer provides access to healthcare in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland for UK citizens in most cases, making the need for travel insurance with health cover all the more important.

  • Read more travel insurance FAQs

Need some help?

Travel insurance help and support

For emergency medical assistance, to make a claim, find answers to common questions about our cover or get in touch:

Visit our travel insurance support page

Travel insurance policy types

  • Single-trip Travel Insurance

    • Cover for a one-off trip in the UK or abroad
    • Perfect for one-off trips or longer holidays of up to 365 days*
    • No age limit
  • Annual Multi-trip Travel Insurance

    • Cover for multiple-trips for a 12-month period
    • You can go away multiple times in the policy year with various trip durations available**
    • Available for everyone aged up to 75 years  
  • Backpacker Insurance

    • Cover for a one-off trip up to 18 months
    • Option to return home for up to 7 days on 3 occasions.
    • For people aged 18 – 60 wanting to travel the world for a gap year or career break

* For Economy, Standard and Premier policies, the Single-trip policy will cover you for one trip up to:

365 days for persons aged up to and including age 70

90 days for persons aged between 71 and 75

31 days for persons aged between 76 and above

** For Economy, Standard and Premier policies under Annual Multi-Trip although you can take as many trips as you want within the policy year, there is a maximum duration for each individual trip. This limit varies depending on the cover level chosen and will be 17 or 31 days. On some policies the limit can be extended to 31, 45 or 60 days for an additional premium.

About our travel insurance

Post Office® Travel Insurance is arranged by Post Office Limited and Post Office Management Services Limited.

Post Office Limited is an appointed representative of Post Office Management Services Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 630318. Post Office Limited and Post Office Management Services Limited are registered in England and Wales. Registered numbers 2154540 and 08459718 respectively. Registered Office: 100 Wood Street, London, EC2V 7ER. Post Office and the Post Office logo are registered trademarks of Post Office Limited.

The above details can be checked on the Financial Services Register by visiting the Financial Conduct Authority website and searching by Firm Reference Number (FRN).