Tommy Lloyd
Author: Tommy Lloyd, Managing Director

Tommy has over 15 years experience within the insurance industry, and his primary focus is helping travellers find the right cover for their medical conditions.

Originally posted: 29th Jun 2023

How to get travel insurance online

If the idea of applying for travel insurance and having to discuss your medical history with a stranger is off-putting, then the solution lies with online medical screening. Not only is buying travel insurance online quick and convenient but with Medical Travel Compared it could be cheaper too!

Today, in this digital age, the process of finding and purchasing travel insurance online has become incredibly easy and hassle-free. There are numerous outlets to choose from, including travel insurance comparison sites or directly from the insurers themselves. With just a few clicks, you can access a wide range of options tailored to your specific needs.

At Medical Travel Compared, we have designed our website to be user-friendly, ensuring that you can easily navigate through the entire process. We provide clear and concise explanations, leaving no room for confusion. Rest assured, we have your best interests in mind.

To get started, all you need to do is click the big green button that says ‘Get a quote’ at the top of the page. This will lead you to a straightforward form that you can fill out to obtain a free quote from multiple insurance providers. We understand that having choices is important, so we ensure that you are presented with quotes only from reputable companies.

Remember, at Medical Travel Compared, we are a comparison website. While we don't offer policies ourselves, we serve as a reliable platform to help you find the best options available.

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Where to buy travel insurance online

You can buy travel insurance online from a number of outlets, including:

  • Travel insurance comparison sites
  • Direct from travel insurers
  • As part of a package holiday
  • As part of your fight reservation

It is crucial to opt for a reputable company that you are familiar with or have heard positive feedback about. Taking the time to conduct thorough research before finalising your purchase is highly recommended. The internet provides a wealth of information through reviews and customer experiences, allowing you to make an informed decision.

Being a specialist travel insurance comparison site ourselves, we believe comparing policies and prices is the best way to buy your insurance online.

One of the many great things about Medical Travel Compared is the convenience it offers. With our site, you can effortlessly compare multiple quotes all at once, allowing you to not only find the most affordable deal but also the policy that provides the most comprehensive cover tailored to your needs. By using this service, you save valuable time and effort, eliminating the need to search through each insurance website individually. Instead, you can focus on just one site that simplifies the entire process for you.

When you fill out our form, we take all your information and search for quotes from many reputable insurance providers across the country.

We don’t deal with any company we don’t consider to be trustworthy. So you can be sure that all your information is safe and secure.

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How to save money on your travel insurance

When going directly to travel insurers, they may offer you a quote, but it's important to note that it may not necessarily be the best available price on the market. Accepting the first quote you receive or purchasing through your travel agent can often lead to higher costs.

In order to save money and find the most suitable cover, it is highly recommended to compare quotes from a variety of companies. However, this process can be time-consuming, especially if you have pre-existing medical conditions that need to be declared.

This is where Medical Travel Compared comes in to assist. With access to a panel of over 30 leading travel insurance specialists, our free independent service is designed to provide you with multiple quotes in just minutes, ultimately saving you both time and money.

By using our site, you can have peace of mind knowing that you have explored a wide range of options and found the most appropriate travel insurance for your needs.

Declaring your medical conditions online

Disclosing your medical history online is a simple and user-friendly process. To begin, you just need to enter the name(s) of your pre-existing conditions. From there, you'll be prompted with a series of relevant questions that will assist providers in evaluating your current health status thoroughly.

We have a comprehensive guide available that provides a detailed explanation of the entire process. It's definitely worth reading to gain a better understanding and obtain all the necessary information you may need.

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How the premium is calculated

Contrary to popular belief, the notion that declaring more medical conditions automatically results in higher insurance premiums is a misconception. In reality, the cost of travel insurance is not solely determined by the number of medical conditions one has.

Rather, it is a combination of various factors, including the individual's current health status, the chosen travel destination, the duration of the trip, and the person's age.

These factors collectively contribute to the overall assessment of the insurance premium, ensuring a fair evaluation of the individual's specific circumstances and needs.

You can read our guide which explains more all of the factors that contribute to calculating your insurance premium.

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How to choose the right travel insurance policy

Apart from making sure your policy includes cover for your pre-existing medical conditions and provides a good level of medical expenses and repatriation cover – here’s a few other cover options to take into consideration when comparing and buying travel insurance online:

Cancellation & curtailment

Make sure this covers the total cost of your holiday in case you have to cancel in the instance of job loss and can no longer afford the trip, an illness or injury which deems you unfit to travel or having to cut the holiday short and return home because a close family relative falls seriously ill. If you're travelling last minute with no cancellation risk, you may not feel the need to pay out for cancellation cover and choose a lower priced quote.

Baggage and personal belongings

If you already have cover with your household insurance, you may be able to exclude baggage and personal belongings when buying travel insurance online and save some money. If you are opting to include this cover, do check the single article limit will cover your most expensive items.

Personal liability

If you cause an accident, damage property that doesn’t belong to you, or cause a plane or cruise ship to divert and interrupt other peoples travel plans, they could claim against you and the costs may not be cheap! Having cover of at least £1 million is recommended.

The benefits of adding your spouse to your policy

Should you and your spouse decide to head off on that long-awaited holiday, it is usually a better idea to add your spouse to your travel insurance policy. Not only do you save time by only needing to locate one travel insurance solution, but there are also other benefits to consider.

For starters, adding your spouse to your travel insurance policy will usually result in cheaper quotes, when compared to buying two separate policies - meaning you can save a few pounds by combining your policies.

Adding your spouse to your policy also means that you only have one set of policy documents to refer to and a joint set of conditions to consider. Whilst terms between providers may be very similar, there may be certain aspects of your policy that may not be covered when compared to your spouses and vice versa. Yet having a combined policy, you and your spouse only need to adhere to one set. 

Should you both need to make a claim, that’s also two separate phone calls to two different claims teams – and two different claims processes to navigate. Again, claims processes, whilst similar, do differ by provider – meaning you could have your claim paid in a few hours, whereas your spouse may need to wait a little longer, adding unnecessary disruption to your trip. 

Why you should add travelling companions to your policy

It is a common misconception that individuals without medical conditions can get a better deal on their travel insurance. Whether your companions have pre-existing medical conditions or not, including them in your policy provides protection in the event that one of you needs to make a claim due to your medical conditions causing complications before and/or during the trip.

If your companions are insured separately, there is a risk of them incurring expenses if they need to cancel the holiday or if they have to stay with you in case you become unwell and require a later flight home.

Find out more about why you should consider adding your travel companions to a group policy.

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Understanding your policy documents

When buying any insurance policy, you must take a moment to review the policy documents before and after you purchase. Not only does it reassure you that the insurance policy you are purchasing is suitable to your needs, but will also help highlight key benefits, conditions and exclusions included within your purchase.

Five key documents are provided, these are Insurance Product Information Document (IPID), Policy Wording, Policy Schedule, Medical Declaration and Terms of Business.

Insurance Product Information Document

This document is provided to you before you purchase (and can be reviewed after purchase as well). This document provides you with a snapshot of the key benefits of the policy and their cover limits, any exclusions applied, and restrictions that are in place. It also provides you with information on your obligations of buying the policy, as well as details on how to cancel or make a claim. Reviewing this document is a great way of understanding the policy and can be used to compare the differences between policies.

Policy Wording

This is the full terms of the policy and is provided to you before purchase (and given to you when you purchase). This highlights every benefit, exclusion, and restriction involved with the policy as well as gives key information on how to make a claim, cancel, and details on how to make a complaint and the complaints process.

It is advised that if there are key areas of the policy you are concerned about, or if you are seeking more information about certain aspects of the policy, you should take the time to read the relevant section of the document.

Policy Schedule

Your policy schedule is usually provided after your purchase. This document includes all the personal information you have provided, as well as the details of your trip (e.g., destination, date of departure, return home date etc.). You should take a moment to review this document as soon as you receive it to make sure that the information you provided whilst comparing quotes is correct.

Medical Declaration

This document is similar to a policy schedule; however, this record contains all of the information you have provided about your declared medical conditions and the answers you provided to the condition-specific questions. Usually, this document is only provided if you have declared a pre-existing condition – however, you may still receive a copy to confirm that you have not declared any conditions. Again, this document should be reviewed to make sure that everything is correct.

Terms Of Business

This is the terms and conditions of your chosen provider and outlines the company’s regulatory information and data protection. It also includes their claims and complaints processes. This is sometimes combined and merged to be within the Policy Wording.

When to purchase travel insurance

Once you have booked a holiday, it’s a good idea to get some travel insurance in place to protect the money you have spent, whether it be a deposit or perhaps the cost of flights.

Your cover will become active from the moment you pay for it and provided you have cancellation cover, you will be able to claim should you have to cancel the trip.

You can read more in our guide on when to buy your travel insurance.

Finding a solution if you have been declined

Although Medical Travel Compared aims to provide a solution for every applicant, unfortunately, we can’t guarantee a quote for every circumstance. There are a variety of reasons cover could be declined:

  • Awaiting medical investigation, surgery, or inpatient treatment
    If you’re awaiting a diagnosis, or under investigation, insurers may be reluctant to insure you, mainly because they don’t know what the condition is and how to assess the risk in order to provide a fair quote. The same can apply to diagnosed conditions that require surgery, and insurers prefer to offer cover after the surgery has been performed and your condition is stable. If you arrange cover before you receive a confirmed diagnosis or the investigation/ surgery is complete, your insurance is likely to exclude cover for anything related directly or indirectly to pre-existing medical conditions.
  • The combination of your medical conditions and travel destination
    Some countries operate a high level of private health care, which makes medical treatment and repatriation costs more expensive. Insurers will rate such areas as higher risk when it comes to insuring pre-existing medical conditions, and where some conditions will get accepted for say France, they may be declined for the USA.
  • Annual cover vs single trip cover
    If you have been declined Annual Cover try getting a quote for Single Trip. Sometimes the parameters for annual multi-trip policies can be narrower when it comes to accepting medical conditions, but a single trip can be far easier.

If you don’t fall into any of the categories above and have been declined cover, please contact us using the details on our Contact Us page and we will do our best to refer you to a suitable insurer.

Paying for travel insurance online

Once you have carefully selected a policy from our comprehensive search results, simply click on the ‘Proceed to Payment’ button to begin the payment process. The providers on our panel offer convenient online payment options that accept all major credit and debit cards.

As you proceed, you will be seamlessly redirected to the insurance provider's secure payment page, where you can confidently enter your payment details. After the successful completion of your payment, you will receive a confirmation email directly from the insurer, acknowledging your purchase. This email will also include your policy documents, ensuring that you have all the necessary information at your fingertips.

If you don't receive your policy documents right away, it is worth checking your junk/spam folder just in case.

 

Trust us to guide you through the process and provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision. So why wait? Take advantage of the convenience and affordability offered by online travel insurance.

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Frequently Asked Questions

A pre-existing condition is a diagnosed medical condition that existed before taking out a policy. We'll ask a series of questions about the medical history for you and any travellers on your quote. If you answer yes to any of these, you will need to tell us about the traveller's conditions. This could be a condition that a traveller has now or has had in the past. If you are not sure what conditions you need to declare, we have online support available to help you 24/7!

It is simple and quick to do! After you've told us about your trip details and answered some medical history questions you can add your pre-existing conditions, one by one, for each traveller. You'll only need to enter your details once, it's all online and there's no need to call, or provide details of your conditions in writing.

Once you've declared all of your relevant pre-existing medical conditions, we'll only show you quotes based on the conditions you have told us about.

No, unfortunately, we're unable to provide a quote if you are suffering from an undiagnosed medical condition. As soon as you have been diagnosed you can visit us and get a quote.

You can send your question to our team, or visit our Quotes and Policies help centre.

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