Get peace of mind for your staycation with UK travel insurance.[1]
Get quotes
Do you need travel insurance for UK holidays?
There are several advantages to a British getaway - beautiful scenery, less travel time, and no scrum at the airport, plus you can save on costs like transfers, visas and currency exchange.
But if you're not planning to take out travel insurance for your staycation, think again. It’s still worth considering protection for unexpected costs if things don’t go to plan.
You don’t need UK holiday insurance for medical cover, because your treatment’s free with the NHS. But it could compensate you for other unforeseen problems with your trip, including:
- Cancellation and curtailment
- Lost, stolen or damaged luggage
To help you decide whether you need travel insurance for a UK trip, think about what you’re taking with you and what activities you’ll be doing, as well as how much you’ve spent on travel and accommodation in advance.
If you’re driving to stay with a relative and bringing nothing of great value, it might not be worth it.
But if you’re flying within the UK with expensive items like a tablet and camera equipment, it’s definitely something you should consider.
Do I already have cover with other insurance policies?
Before you buy holiday insurance for a staycation, it’s worth looking at what cover you might already have. For example, you could find you’ve got cover through your:
Home insurance
The luggage and belongings you take with you might be covered by your home contents insurance if it includes cover for personal possessions away from home.
Breakdown cover
If you’re driving and have a breakdown policy, it might cover you for getting home or to your destination if things go wrong. Just make sure it has national cover and includes onward travel.
Annual travel insurance
If you have an annual travel insurance policy for either European travel or worldwide travel, your trip to the UK is likely to be covered.
And if you have a packaged bank account, check whether you already have travel cover.
Choose the right UK travel insurance
When you buy holiday insurance, you can take out either an annual or single-trip policy to cover you in the UK.
To get the best value, make sure you compare quotes and buy cover as soon as you book your trip. That way you’ll be protected against cancellation immediately.
It’s important to choose a policy with the right cover for your needs but be careful of adding optional extras that you won’t benefit from.
Annual policies
It can be cheaper to take out an annual travel insurance policy if you’re planning on more than one holiday a year.
UK-only policies are quite rare, but you can choose from either European or worldwide cover. These will cover you for going further afield as well as holidaying closer to home - but check if there are any exclusions for UK travel.
Find out about annual cover
Single-trip policies
Single-trip travel insurance covers one trip to a single destination and ends when your trip does.
Because NHS medical treatment is free, UK policies tend to be quite cheap.
But if you’re also planning to go abroad or on another holiday in the next 12 months, an annual policy might be better value.
Find out about single-trip insurance
Valuables cover
If you’re taking gadgets and valuables on your trip, make sure your policy has an adequate single-item limit to cover them. This is the maximum amount you can claim for each item.
You can sometimes buy optional extra cover for valuables if the policy doesn’t provide enough for your needs.
Find out about gadgets and valuables cover
Adventurous sports cover
If you’re planning on some adventurous activities while you’re holidaying in the UK, like horse riding or skydiving, make sure you find a policy that covers them.
For the most extreme sports, your insurer might be able to include them in your cover for an extra fee.
Find out about sports cover
What does UK travel insurance cover?
Always check the terms and conditions to see what’s covered by your travel insurance, but a typical holiday insurance policy that includes staycations might look like this:
Will cover
- Cancellation and curtailment cover - If you can’t travel because of unforeseen circ*mstances - like a death, injury or being called for jury service - cancellation cover could refund some of the money you’ve paid out for train or bus tickets, accommodation and planned excursions. If your trip’s cut short for similar reasons, curtailment cover can compensate you for the part of your trip you miss out on.
- Possessions - You’ll be covered if your personal belongings are lost, stolen or damaged during your trip.
- Personal liability - If you accidentally injure someone or damage property, this will cover the legal costs of a claim being made against you.
- Hospital benefit and transfer - You can’t usually make a claim for medical treatment on travel insurance in the UK because it’s free with the NHS. But some policies might include hospital benefit which is a small sum to buy things to make you more comfortable if you need to go in for treatment during your trip. There might also be cover for a private hospital transfer to take you to a hospital closer to home or family as well.
Won't cover
- Medical treatment - If you’re injured or unwell, you’ll be treated for free by the NHS.
- Travel delay and cancellation - You usually need to look to the travel operator or provider to refund you if the delay or cancellation is their fault. But if that’s not possible, for example, if they’ve gone bust, you might then be able to claim on your travel insurance instead.
- Short breaks - Some policies, especially annual ones, state you’ll need to have a minimum number of nights away for your break to count as a trip. So you probably won’t be covered for day trips.
- Staying close to home - Your UK holiday insurance might also state a minimum distance from your home address that you need to travel for it to count as a trip and be eligible for a travel insurance claim. For example, you may need to be staying somewhere at least 25 miles away. This is to stop fraudulent claims for things that have happened in everyday life rather than when you’re away from home.
- Staying with family - Check your policy terms if you plan to stay at the home address of friends or family. Some policies won’t count that as a trip away and won’t cover any claims for it.
Who might need travel insurance in the UK?
Anyone who’s travelling in the UK might benefit from travel insurance, but there are some groups of people who should definitely consider it:
Frequent business travellers
If you often travel around the country for business, travel insurance might be useful - especially if you’re self-employed and bear the travel costs yourself. You’ll need to say if you’re travelling for work when you take out the policy. Not all insurers cover UK business trips.
Golfers
If you’re planning a golfing break, standard travel insurance will cover loss or damage to your baggage, but it might not extend to golfing equipment. Some policies will include cover for golf clubs as standard. With others, you can usually add cover for a fee.
Winter sports travellers
It might be easier and cheaper to take your skis and snowboards with you and hit the slopes in this country, rather than pay out for a ski break abroad. You can usually get winter sports travel insurance as an optional extra, even for UK travel insurance.
Caravan and campervan travellers
The British countryside offers a wide range of idyllic spots for campervan and caravan holidays.
Caravan travel insurance can cover you for anything that might impact your trip. And motorhome insurance will make sure your home-on-wheels is protected.
Frequently asked questions
Yes - if you have either worldwide or European travel cover, your staycation will usually be covered. But policies can differ so always check the exclusions and keep an eye out for any restrictions around UK cover, like a minimum number of nights away.
This depends on your insurer so check your policy, but some will cover you for visiting the Channel Islands.
Jersey and the Isle of Man have a reciprocal health agreement with the UK which means you can access emergency NHS treatment if you need it while you’re staying there - so you won’t need to claim for medical costs.
But if you’re travelling from one of these places to one of the other islands that don’t have this arrangement, like Guernsey or Alderney, you’ll be covered for emergency treatment costs on your travel insurance.
This will depend on the policy and your medical condition. When you buy travel insurance you need to declare all of your existing medical conditions - some insurers will cover a wider range of illnesses and conditions than others, so it’s a good idea to shop around.
You won’t be covered for receiving medical treatment in this country, because the NHS provides it for free.
But if you become unwell, your policy may cover you for things like being transferred to a hospital closer to home or cancelling your holiday because your condition’s had a flare-up.
If you need to cancel your trip for any of the reasons listed in your policy, you should be covered for all your pre-booked travel expenses, including domestic flights.
Cancellation reasons typically include:
- Jury service
- A bereavement
- A fire or flood at your home
- An illness or injury
- Your destination becoming unsafe
If your flight’s cancelled or delayed by the flight company, you’ll need to approach it first for compensation. However, if the airline can’t reimburse you, you may be able to claim on your travel insurance instead.
Travel insurance guides and tools
Find out more
Find out more
Find out more
Find out more
Find out more
Find out more
More travel insurance guides
