Travel insurance: why you need it and how to choose the right one

Travel insurance is one of those topics travellers tend to push to the end of their planning, or skip entirely. Yet it is one of the smallest line items in the budget for one of the biggest risks of any trip.

A fall on a hike, an appendicitis overseas, a flight cancelled because of bad weather, a missing suitcase, a family emergency that forces you to cancel a trip: in every one of these very concrete situations, insurance is what stands between a bad moment and a financial disaster.

This article walks through the protections that really matter, the differences between credit card insurance and dedicated policies, and the concrete criteria to make the right choice.

1. Why travel insurance isn't a luxury

In some countries, even a simple hospital stay can run into tens of thousands of euros. A serious operation in the United States can exceed €100,000. A medical repatriation by air ambulance can reach €80,000 to €150,000.

Compared with those numbers, the cost of travel insurance (typically €30 to €120 for a one- to three-week trip) is negligible.

2. What a good policy actually covers

Travel insurance policies are far from identical. Here are the coverages to check first.

Overseas medical expenses (ideally €200,000 minimum, €500,000 for the US and Canada)
Medical repatriation (no low cap)
Trip cancellation and interruption
Baggage delay or loss
Liability cover abroad
24/7 multilingual assistance
Transport delay / missed flight

3. Credit card cover vs. dedicated insurance

Many travellers rely solely on the insurance bundled with their credit card (Visa Premier, Mastercard Gold, etc.). It's a decent first safety net, but often not enough for a long-haul trip.

Credit card: cover often capped at 90 days with low ceilings (medical expenses ~€155,000 max)
Cancellation: strict conditions (trip must be paid with the card)
Sports or adventure activities: usually excluded
No cancellation cover for work emergencies in most cases

For a long, distant, or high-budget trip, a dedicated policy (Chapka, ACS, AVI, Mondial Assistance, Allianz Travel, World Nomads, SafetyWing) remains strongly recommended.

4. Cancellation, interruption, and delay

The cancellation guarantee refunds all or part of the amounts paid if a covered event prevents you from leaving: illness, hospitalisation, death of a relative, work emergency, visa refusal, damage to your home, and so on.

Check: the deadline to report the claim, the precise list of covered reasons, the deductible, and the documents required.

5. Medical expenses and repatriation

These are the two most important coverages. A few simple rules:

Minimum €200,000 in medical cover for most destinations
Minimum €500,000 for the US, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Australia
Repatriation with a high or unlimited ceiling
Advance payment of hospital bills rather than after-the-fact reimbursement
A 24/7 assistance number actually reachable from abroad

6. Baggage and personal belongings

Baggage cover is useful but usually capped (€1,500 to €3,000) with deductibles and per-item ceilings. Travellers with expensive gear (camera, drone, laptop, instruments) should check the exclusions carefully.

7. Risk-prone activities

Many tourist activities are excluded from standard contracts: diving deeper than 20 m, paragliding, mountaineering, motorised sports, high-altitude trekking.

If you're planning this kind of activity (a Nepal trek, diving in the Maldives, paragliding in Switzerland, a safari with adventure add-ons), read the exclusions carefully and consider an enhanced sports rider.

8. How to choose your policy

Rather than hunting for the cheapest insurance, focus on the one that fits your travel profile.

Short trip (1 week) inside the EU: card insurance or a basic policy can be enough
Long-haul trip: dedicated policy with €500,000 medical cover plus unlimited repatriation
Trip with sports activities: a sports rider is non-negotiable
Family trip: family bundles are usually better value than individual policies
Long stay or round-the-world: a dedicated multi-month policy

9. Common mistakes to avoid

Buying after departure (often impossible or pointless)
Skipping the exclusions (activities, pre-existing conditions, excluded countries)
Relying on card cover for a long-haul trip without checking the ceilings
Forgetting the 24/7 assistance number to call when something goes wrong
Failing to declare a pre-existing condition (grounds for exclusion)
Assuming insurance covers negligence (theft never reported to the police, etc.)

Conclusion: travel insurance, the safety net you hope you'll never need

A good travel insurance policy represents roughly 2 to 4% of a trip's total budget. That's an excellent cost-to-risk ratio, especially for distant trips or destinations where healthcare is expensive.

With a tailor-made travel-planning service, insurance is part of the pre-departure checklist. You leave with a policy suited to your destination, your activities, and your profile, and every assistance number centralised in your travel folder.