Travel policies are sold on headline limits and decided by exclusions, and the two live in different documents. Comparing them properly takes about fifteen minutes if you know where to look.
The six numbers that matter
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| Medical expenses limit | The catastrophic cost |
| Repatriation limit | Air ambulance runs into six figures |
| Excess, per section | What you pay before they do |
| Cancellation limit | Should cover your actual prepaid costs |
| Personal liability | Rarely used, occasionally enormous |
| Trip duration cap | Many policies cap a single trip at 30 or 60 days |
Medical and repatriation come first. Baggage and cancellation are what marketing leads with and are the smaller risks — a policy with a generous baggage limit and a thin medical limit is priced for the wrong thing.
Where the exclusions are
In the policy wording document, not the summary page.
Insurers are required to publish the full wording, and it is the only document that determines what is covered. The comparison table on an aggregator is not.
Look under general exclusions, and then again under each section, since sections carry their own.
The exclusions that catch people
Adventure activities — trekking above a stated altitude, climbing, diving beyond a certain depth, off-piste skiing, and motorcycling without the correct licence category.
Alcohol. Many policies void cover for incidents where you were intoxicated, which is relevant to a large share of holiday accidents.
Pre-existing medical conditions, unless declared and accepted — and the definition of pre-existing is broader than people assume.
Unattended belongings, which is how most baggage claims are refused.
Countries your government advises against travel to, which voids cover entirely and changes without notice.
Trip duration — many single-trip policies cap at 30 or 60 days.
The excess
What you pay toward any claim before the insurer contributes.
Applied per person and frequently per section, so one incident can trigger several excesses — a family of four having bags stolen can face four.
A cheap policy with a high excess costs more than a dearer one with none, for any small claim.
The questions to answer before comparing
Where are you going? US and Caribbean medical costs make policies covering them substantially more expensive, and many European policies exclude them.
How long? Against the single-trip duration cap.
What will you actually do? Listing the activities honestly, including the scooter you might rent.
What have you prepaid? Which sets the cancellation limit you need.
Any medical history? Which must be declared.
What price does not tell you
Premium reflects the risk profile the insurer has assessed as much as the cover offered.
A cheap policy may be entirely adequate for your trip; an expensive one may still exclude the activity you booked. The exclusions decide it, not the price.
What this article cannot do
Name a best policy.
Products, limits, exclusions and prices change continuously and vary by country of residence, age and destination. Any specific recommendation ages within months.
The method above does not. Read the wording for the policy you are actually considering, for the trip you are actually taking.