Which banks offer travel insurance?

Travel insurance covers unexpected expenses when abroad including costs related to emergency medical care and repatriation. Additionally, travel insurance can provide cover for lost or stolen belongings as well as protection against cancellation and cutting your holiday short. Travel insurance is therefore an important consideration and it can be daunting trying to find the right cover. However, if you have a packaged bank account, you may find that you are already covered.

In this article, we look at which bank accounts offer travel insurance, things to check on your bank account travel insurance policy and whether packaged bank account travel insurance is worth it.

Bank accounts with travel insurance

Below we list a number of banks that include travel insurance with one of its packaged current accounts. We highlight how much you can expect to pay for the packaged account as well as any age limits or exclusions on the policy. If you find that you have a travel insurance policy with your bank, make sure that you read the T&Cs carefully before travelling so you know exactly what you are covered for before you travel, as well as the things that aren't covered. It may also be possible to have travel insurance included with your credit card and we list some of the best credit cards in our article, 'Best credit card for travel insurance'.

If your existing bank account provider doesn't currently offer a packaged bank account it may offer travel packages that can be purchased alongside your existing account. Barclays, for example, does not offer a particular packaged current account but it does offer customers the option to purchase its travel pack for £14.50 a month which includes worldwide family travel insurance from Aviva and UK and Europe breakdown cover from RAC. Additionally, it may be possible to open an alternative packaged account with your provider that includes more or less cover. Be sure to shop around and find the best bank account for your personal circumstances.

Packaged bank accounts with travel insurance - a comparison

(scroll to view the full table) 

	Co-op	Halifax	Lloyds Bank	NatWest	Nationwide	Virgin	Revolut	Monzo
Account name	Everyday Extra	Ultimate Reward Current account	Club Lloyds Silver	Reward Platinum account^	FlexPlus current account	Club M account	Metal	Max
Monthly account fee	£15	£19	£11.50^^	£22	£13	£12.50	£14.99	From £17
Travel insurance underwriter	Inter Partner Assistance	AWP P&C SA	AWP P&C SA	AWP P&C SA	Aviva	American International Group UK Limited (AIG UK)	CEG	Zurich Insurance Company Ltd
Family travel insurance								^^^
Worldwide travel insurance			European and UK only
Upper age limit	79 years old (64 years old for Winter Sports)	71 years old	65 years old	70 but may be able to purchase additional cover for over 70s	70 but it is possible to buy a travel insurance age upgrade	75 years old	76 years old	69 years old
Maximum medical cover	£10m	£10m	£10m	£10m	£10m	£10m	£10m	£10m
Cancellation cover	£5,000	£5,000	£5,000	£5,000	£5,000	£5,000	£5,000	£5,000
Baggage cover	£2,500	£2,500	£2,500	£1,500	£1,500	£1,500	£1,000	£750
Pre-existing conditions considered^^^^
Additional perks	UK & European breakdown cover, Mobile phone insurance, First three months of subscription fees paid back into your account if you apply for an account by 04/11/24	AA Breakdown Family Cover, Mobile phone insurance, Home Emergency cover, A choice between monthly rewards (terms apply), access to exclusive savings rates and up to 15% cashback	AA Breakdown Family Cover, mobile phone insurance, Lifestyle benefits e.g 12 months free Disney+, a magazine subscription, coffee and dining offers or cinema tickets, access to saving accounts and up to 15% cashback	UK car breakdown cover, mobile phone insurance, fee-free spending abroad, earn up to £5 a month in rewards	Family mobile phone insurance, UK and European breakdown cover, fee-free spending when you're abroad, access to Flex Regular Saver and Flex Instant Saver	Worldwide family mobile and gadget insurance, UK breakdown cover, No fees when travelling abroad, 1.00% interest on current account balance up to £1,000 and 2.50% interest on savings balances up to £25,000	Discounted airport lounge access, Interest on savings, fee-free spending abroad, 40% discount on international transfer fees	Worldwide phone insurance, UK & Europe breakdown cover, 4.35% AER interest (variable) on Instant Access Savings Pots, discounted airport lounge access, weekly Greggs treat, annual Railcard, fee-free spending abroad

^For existing customers only

^^Additional £3 monthly Club lloyds fee, however, this is waived every month in which you pay in £2,000 or more.

^^^Add your family to your travel, phone and breakdown cover by paying an additional £5 monthly 

^^^^Most insurers require pre-existing conditions to be declared prior to taking out cover. In some cases, you may be required to pay an additional premium in order to get cover for your particular condition or you may be rejected entirely. Some pre-existing conditions may not need to be declared if they fall under an insurer's list of waived conditions, you will be able to find additional information in the policy documents. If you are refused cover for pre-existing conditions, our article 'Best travel insurance for pre-existing conditions' can provide additional information.

What to consider before buying travel insurance with your bank

Before taking out a travel insurance policy with your bank there are a few things to consider to ensure you are getting the best policy for your trip. These include:

• Is your destination covered? - Your packaged bank account may offer travel insurance that only provides cover for travel to Europe or within the UK. If your trip is to any country outside of Europe you will not be covered. NatWest's Silver packaged bank account only covers travel to Europe for example, while its Platinum and Black packaged accounts cover Worldwide trips.
• Are there any trip limits? - Some insurers may enforce a maximum period of time for which they will cover you. For example, Virgin Money only insures trips for up to 31 days as standard but it is possible to increase the trip length to 45 or 62 days at an additional cost.
• Is there an age limit? - Some travel insurance policies included with your bank may enforce an upper age limit, meaning once you exceed this age you will no longer be covered to travel. The age limit will vary between providers so you need to ensure you read your policy documents carefully. For example, Lloyds Bank Silver account has an upper age limit of 65 years old on its travel insurance policies while NatWest has the option for travellers over 70 to pay an additional premium to be covered.
• Are pre-existing conditions covered? -If you have any pre-existing conditions you will need to check your policy documents to ensure you are covered. Some insurers may have a list of conditions that do not need to be declared as long as you have been symptom and treatment-free, while others may refuse cover altogether unless a condition has been declared and accepted by the insurer. You need to ensure you check and declare every condition to ensure you are suitably covered before you travel.
• Is it the best cover? - Check the policy cover levels to see if it offers the appropriate cancellation, baggage and medical cover you require for your trip. Additionally, if you intend to take part in any winter sports or adventurous activities, you'll need to ensure that these are covered. Take a look at the cover levels offered by the providers; a number of providers offer up to £10 million of medical cover, whereas it is possible to get more cover with other providers on the market.
• Is it the best value for money? -You should always shop around and compare cover when taking out a travel insurance policy. When you sign up for a packaged bank account it is a good idea to check that the benefits included are worth the monthly fee or if it would be cheaper to buy these policies separately. You can compare the cost of travel insurance with a comparison site to find out how much a travel policy would cost on its own, you can then consider if the other benefits on top are worth the monthly cost overall. We have partnered with Quotezone* so that you can search and compare quotes from up to 35 UK travel insurance providers. One thing to consider, however, is that most comparison sites are not whole of market so you may benefit from a better deal elsewhere.

Are packaged bank accounts worth it?

Before opting to take out a packaged bank account you need to consider if the monthly cost and the benefits it includes are worth it. As most of the packaged accounts come with a monthly fee between £10 - £20 a month you need to consider whether it would be cheaper for you to purchase individual travel, breakdown and phone insurance policies or if you will use the benefits included with the account. A number of the packaged accounts do, however, offer cover for your entire family which can be a cheaper option, particularly if there are a number of you living at the same address. It is worth thoroughly reading the T&Cs of the accounts however, as most of the travel insurance policies only cover partners living at the same address or only cover children under the travel insurance policies when they are travelling with you.

You should always compare the best packaged bank accounts as well as some of the best current accounts before making a decision, especially as a number of current accounts now offer benefits such as cashback and interest on current account balances without the high monthly fee. Additionally, it is worth looking to see if you can get a cash bonus for switching to a new packaged or current account before doing so, as a number of banks regularly offer up to £200 just for switching. Find out more in our article, 'Best current account switching offers, rewards and incentives'.

 

 

 

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