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Travel insurance: what to check

How to check a policy before you fly: cover and excess, exclusions and activities, the claim procedure, offline copies and the documents a claim needs.

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Read the policy wording, not just the sales page
Everything that matters — cover, exclusions, claim procedure — is in the wording rather than in the marketing page.

A refused claim almost always rests on a clause nobody read before the trip.
Check the cover amount for your destination
Medical costs differ enormously between countries. A visa minimum is not the same as an adequate amount.
Match the dates and territory with your route
Transit, neighbouring countries, departure and return days. The one day outside the period is the day something happens.
Find out the excess
How much you pay per claim. A cheap policy with a large excess often covers nothing that actually happens.
Read the exclusions carefully
Alcohol, pre-existing conditions, pregnancy, injuries through your own recklessness. The most informative section of any policy.
Check cover by the name of the activity With sport or activities
Skiing, diving, motorbikes, high-altitude trekking, cycling. Almost always a separate option rather than part of the base cover.

Activities are the most common reason a valid policy does not pay: they sit in separate options.
Learn the claim procedure
Call the assistance line before treatment, or pay and reclaim later. Breaking the order is a common reason for refusal.
Save the policy and assistance number offline
A screenshot on the phone, a copy in the cloud, a paper copy in the bag. At the crucial moment there is usually no internet.
Share a copy with travel companions and family
If you cannot speak for yourself, someone else will call. They will need the policy and assistance numbers.
Check what else the policy covers
Flight delays, lost baggage, trip cancellation, third-party liability. Each has its own conditions.
Understand the cancellation cover
Which reasons are covered and what documents are needed. People check this after cancelling, which is too late.
Check the terms for children and older travellers With children or older travellers
Age limits and loadings are common. Make sure every traveller is actually covered.
Know in advance which documents to collect
Contracts, receipts, prescriptions, reports, boarding passes, baggage damage forms. Claims come down to paperwork.
Check whether your conditions are covered
Chronic conditions and ongoing treatment are often excluded or need a separate option. Ask before, not after.
Set a reminder for the policy's end date
Especially on long trips and extensions. A policy that expired the day before you fly home is a classic.

Insurance is checked before the trip, not in a waiting room

A policy takes five minutes to buy and is usually opened for the first time at the moment it is needed. That is when people discover the situation is not covered, that they had to call first, and that the excess is larger than the consultation cost.

Checking takes half an hour and consists of simple questions: what is covered, what is excluded, how to make a claim and what you pay yourself. All of it is in the policy documents, and reading them before the trip is far more pleasant than after.

What to check in the policy

Item	What to look at
Cover amount	Whether it is enough in your destination
Territory and dates	Whether they match your route and travel dates
Excess	How much you pay yourself for each claim
Exclusions	Sport, alcohol, pre-existing conditions, pregnancy
Claim procedure	Call the assistance line first, or pay and reclaim
Evidence required	Which documents to collect on the spot

The classic mistake: getting treatment without calling

Most policies require you to contact the assistance service first and only then seek help. Breaking that order is the most common reason claims are refused. Save the assistance number and the policy number offline: that is exactly the moment when there is no internet.

About sport and activities

Skiing, diving, motorbikes, high-altitude hiking, cycling — these are almost always separate options. If your trip involves any of them, check the cover by the activity’s name rather than by a general feeling that “sport is probably included”.

Not only medical

A policy may cover flight delays, lost baggage, trip cancellation and third-party liability. Each has its own conditions and its own document list. Knowing what you have is useful before you spend a night in an airport.

Documents on the spot

If something happens, collect the paperwork immediately: contracts, receipts, prescriptions, reports, boarding passes, statements. Claims rarely fail on the substance; they fail on a missing document.

When your insurance is trip-ready

The policy has been read, the cover and excess are clear, activities are checked separately, the assistance and policy numbers are saved offline, the claim procedure is known, and copies are in the cloud and with someone at home.

Frequently asked questions

What should I do if something happens abroad?

Contact the assistance line from the policy first and follow its instructions: most policies require this, and skipping it is a common reason claims are refused. Then collect every document: contracts, receipts, prescriptions and reports.

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