Making a Travel Insurance Claim

Travel insurance claims can be a daunting topic. No one likes the idea of having to go down the claims route after a trip, but that is what your travel insurance is there for. We’ve put together some key facts and helpful guidance to reassure you that our insurance policies will be there when you need them most.

We’ll cover what needs to be included on a claims form and what may affect it before it’s sent off. Also, we have some insider tips to share if a claim needs to be made. These should assist in avoiding unnecessary delays during the claims process.

Will my travel insurance claim’s history affect the price of my policy?

No. It’s not like car insurance. When you purchase a travel insurance policy, we won’t request information about any previous travel insurance claims. It doesn’t matter if your previous insurance was with us or elsewhere.

If you take out travel insurance regularly, you may notice that the price of your policy can go up. This is primarily due to the number of claims that an insurer has received and their value (which the insurer may have to pay out to claimants) when compared to the premium received when customers purchase a policy.

What types of claims can be made?

If you refer to each of our policy documents, under each section, you can see what the cover limits are and what travel insurance claims you can make if you’re insured on the policy.

When taking out a quality travel insurance policy, you should be able to claim for the following:

• Cancellation or cutting short your trip
• Delayed flights, missed departures, or connections
• Medical expenses
• Loss of baggage, personal money, and documents
• Claims on gadgets

Also, before purchasing any travel insurance policy, you need to pay particular attention to what it won’t cover by referring to the benefits, exclusions, and coverage limits, plus any required waiting times under trip or baggage delay.

If a greater range of cover or cover for a specific activity is needed but is not included on a chosen policy, contact our team, who can suggest a suitable policy for the trip.

How much does a claim typically cost?

The cost of a claim depends on what type of claim is being made. To give you some examples, here are some of the highest claims paid on some of our policies:

Free Spirit: Over £360,000

Longstay & Gapyear: Over £43,600

Coach Plus: Over £43,900

These particular claims were made for various circumstances; for example, the Free Spirit claim was categorised under medical expenses. While no one likes to think that they could suffer a serious accident or medical emergency on a trip, what if the costs for treating and/or repatriating you were on your medical bill?

Is there a time limit on making a travel insurance claim?

Some policies require claims to be made within 48 hours of returning home. Always check the time limit for making a claim by reading the policy documents. Also, keeping all receipts and reports is advisable, which may need to be submitted as evidence with your claim form.

How do you claim on travel insurance?

To give you an example, the claims process for our Free Spirit policy is as follows:

1. Visit Free Spirit’s making a claim page.
2. Look for the section you are claiming under; eg medical, cancellation, curtailment/loss of holiday, personal possessions.
3. Follow the instructions, and if you are unsure what to do, refer to your policy wording or contact us.

What happens when the form reaches the Claims Handler?

• Additional information may be requested in support of the claim
• A claim will either be paid in accordance with policy terms or declined

What information will the Claims Handler need?

This information will depend on the type of claim you wish to make. Providing as much information as possible will help to speed up the claims process.

Cancellation claims generally require:

• A cancellation invoice to illustrate that the trip was cancelled or cut short. This could come from the travel agent, hotel, airline, or tour operator
• Evidence of any refund or credit that the supplier may have already given*

*Quite often, the supplier may refund a portion of the costs. However, the insurer needs to see evidence of what the supplier has (or hasn’t) refunded.

Medical claims require:

• All receipts and/or invoices for medical expenses
• The medical certification

If the traveller needs medical treatment while on the trip, the 24-hour Medical Assistance Company should be contacted as detailed in the policy. This should be done immediately, or as soon as reasonably possible, to ensure they’re happy to cover the treatment and to ensure the traveller will receive treatment from the appropriate facility.

All claims require:

• All receipts and/or invoices that relate to the claim
• The travel insurance policy schedule. For a single-trip policy, this must provide the dates the trip started and finished. For an annual multi-trip policy, the trip must have started and finished within the start and end dates of the year-long policy

What can cause a travel insurance claim to be declined?

1. Non-disclosure.

This is basically not telling the insurer all of the information. It is especially important when it comes to providing details of any existing medical conditions.

2. Not being able to provide evidence of the loss.

For example, if luggage was lost during a trip and you did not log this with the relevant authorities/airline. It’s important to do this before you start the claims process.

3. Travelling to a destination not covered by the policy.

For instance, if you buy a policy to cover Worldwide destinations excluding the USA, Canada, etc, an insurer will not pay a claim if they travel to a destination outside of this geographical area. The exception to this is if you’re transiting through a country to get to a destination. Stopover rules will vary from policy to policy, so it’s important to check the rules.

4. Exceeding the trip limits.

If you have an annual multi-trip policy which allows, for example, a maximum of 32 days for any one trip, you won’t be covered if you go on a trip that lasts for 45 days. If you contact the insurer, they can look to extend the number of days you are covered for on a trip to avoid this issue.

5. Not following the rules and laws of the country visited.

This should be obvious, but it’s important to understand the laws and local customs before leaving home. Refer to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) website to review up-to-date travel advice for each country around the world.

6. Private facilities.

You should be aware that the policy might not cover treatment in private facilities if there are medically capable public facilities available. You should contact the medical assistance team before undergoing any treatment if possible. The medical assistance team should be able to inform you where the nearest suitable facility is.

7. Expensive items.

Expensive items taken on holiday that exceed the maximum amount on the policy may not be covered. To cover such items, you may wish to source a policy with increased baggage cover or check whether you have other insurance, such as home contents insurance, to cover this.

Our Free Spirit Super Duper Policy covers gadgets up to £1,500. Plus, £3,000 worth of cover if personal possessions are lost, stolen, or damaged. However, cover for a single article, pair, or set limit is only £500.

What are the most frequently seen travel insurance claims?

Cancellation claims

Cancellation claims are quite common in travel insurance. Generally, the closer you are to your departure date, the less chance there is of you needing to make a cancellation claim. So, if you take out a policy a year in advance, it is likely to be more expensive than if you took it out a week before. This is because you have longer ‘on risk’ (more time in which something may happen that causes you to cancel your trip).

What cancellation claims would be valid?

• When a trip has to be cancelled due to a family bereavement
• If a trip is cancelled because someone insured on the policy becomes unwell due to an unexpected illness
• If an insured person is suddenly called for jury service
• In the event the insured person is made redundant

Medical claims

Medical claims relating to treatment needed on holiday, whether that’s in-patient or out-patient treatment. However, pre-existing conditions must be declared, or they may not be covered (and a claim may be refused). An exception to this is that our Free Spirit policy doesn’t require a medical declaration if you’re travelling within the United Kingdom. However, terms and conditions still apply, so be sure to check those out.

Always remember: Travel insurance covers unexpected and unforeseen risks.

Here are some figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) that were released in August 2025 to shed some light on travel insurance claims:

• One traveller needed extensive medical treatment while travelling before being repatriated back to the UK. Their insurance covered the medical bill, which was over £1 million
• Medical expenses claims were the most common claim type in 2024, making up 34% of all claims – up from 29% in 2023
• In 2024, travel insurers paid out £472 million across more than 500,000 claims

Purchase Travel Insurance with Confidence

Claiming on insurance is something you hope you never have to go through – but what would you do if something happened and you didn’t have insurance? Travel, with confidence with P J Hayman and ease your worries as we shoulder the risks.

If you or a client have recently returned from a trip and need to claim on a policy from P J Hayman, view our claims assistance page.