What to declare on your travel insurance
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What to declare on your travel insurance
What you need to declare on your travel insurance: a guide to total cover
Travel insurance is very personal. It’s impossible to have a one-size-fits-all approach because everyone has different circumstances such as:
- Medical history
- Age
- Length of their trip
- Destinations
- Planned activities
Insurers use this data to do complex calculations so they can set your premiums. If you’re ever wondering, ‘why is travel insurance so expensive?’ It's probably because your insurer has looked at your information and classed something as ‘high risk’ or the healthcare costs in the country you’re visiting are high, or sometimes both things can be true.
The global rise in medical costs means that if you’re not covered, a medical emergency can financially set you back thousands, or in some cases, tens of thousands of pounds. That’s why declaring all your medical history is the best decision, to have both peace of mind and save yourself thousands of pounds in medical bills.
Key medical declarations for travel insurance
Disclosing medical information is crucial for being able to make a successful claim on your travel insurance. Failing to disclose any relevant medical information can lead to your policy being invalid.
You need to declare the following for your travel insurance:
- Any chronic illnesses (both mental and physical)
- Any recent trips to the hospital
- Any recent surgeries
- All the current medications you’re taking
Key non-medical declarations for travel insurance
You’ll need to declare some key non-medical information about your trip to help make sure you get the right policy. This includes:
High-Risk Activities | If you’re planning on doing activities such as quad biking, high-altitude hiking, or skiing, you’d need to check that your policy covers it before you buy. This is because you may need a specific activity add-on to make sure you’re covered for these. |
All Destinations (If using an annual multi-trip policy) | Even if you’re only spending a few days or even a few hours in a country, it’s important that you’re covered in case something goes wrong. |
Trip Duration | Many standard annual multi-trip policies have a maximum trip duration of 31 days. If you’re planning on travelling for longer, you will need a single trip policy. |
Cruises | Similar to high-risk activities, cruises are exempt from most standard policies. It’s important to declare it so that you can get a ‘cruise add-on’ that will cover you for cruise-specific risks. |
Why honest disclosure is more important in 2026
Medical costs are rising steeply across the world, with global average increases of 10% in 2026. This increases travel insurance premiums, as insurers now have to be able to cover the cost of even more expensive healthcare.
The ‘Repatriation Gap’ refers to the large gap between the basic healthcare that a GHIC can give you access to and the cost of medical repatriation. Medical repatriation is the process of flying you back to the UK in an air ambulance or another form of medical supervision. As you can see in the table below, which compares the average cost of medical repatriation from 3 popular tourist destinations, it is getting increasingly more expensive to do so.
| Year | USA | Spain | Thailand |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | £97,000 | £39,000 | £152,000 |
| 2024 | £159,000 | £45,000 | £177,000 |
Data sourced from – https://www.staysure.co.uk/discover/rising-repatriation-costs/
Another factor affecting premium prices is the Pound’s relative volatility against the Euro and Dollar. This means that a claim settled in a foreign currency can cost your insurer significantly more than it would have two years ago, which pushes up premium prices.
In 2026, there is an extensive amount of real-time digital auditing. Insurers now use AI-driven tools to cross-reference declarations against global medical databases and digital footprints. This makes it much easier for them to see if you haven’t declared a pre-existing health condition, for example.
Factors to declare on your travel insurance
Medical screening requirements do differ dependent on the insurance provider, so you should make sure that you take time to understand the questions and answer as honestly as possible. Also make sure that you’re declaring all medical conditions that you think are necessary based on the questions.
Medical History
When it comes to your medical history, you should be as honest as possible. This means that when we’re comparing products and brands, we’re pulling the most appropriate for you.
Mental Health
You should declare any mental health issues you have, including anxiety, depression, and ADHD.
Age
The cost of travel insurance will increase substantially once you reach the age of 65, 70, and 75. This is because it’s statistically much more likely you’ll have to make a claim due to your age.
Destinations and Activities
It’s not just about who you are, where you go, and what you do also matters when it comes to the price of your policy. For example, the USA has the highest medical costs in the world, so if you’re visiting, your premium price will reflect that. If you wanted to go skiing in Colorado during your trip, that would require a specialist activity add-on to cover you for winter sports, increasing the price even further.
Tips on finding affordable travel insurance
- Choose the right region: Only pay for the region that you are visiting. For example, do not choose "Worldwide" cover if you are only visiting Europe. Some insurers even classify countries like Egypt, Morocco, and Turkey as "Europe", which can make it cheaper for you.
- Annual Multi-Trip (AMT) policies: If you plan to travel more than twice in 12 months, an Annual Multi-Trip policy can often be cheaper than buying separate single-trip policies.
- Group/Family Policies: Family or group policies can be cheaper than buying individual plans.
- Adjust Your Excess: Raising your voluntary excess (the amount you pay toward a claim) from £50 to £250 will lower your upfront premium. Make sure that this amount is affordable before doing so.
- Exclude Unnecessary Add-ons: Check if your planned activities are covered as standard by the policy before looking into additional cover options. Think about the cover you require for your trip - for example, if you’re not going on a cruise holiday you won’t need specific cruise cover.
Do your own research and make sure you find the right travel insurance policy for you by comparing quotes now.