Travel FAQs
Below is a list of common questions about our travel insurance. Please click on the question to view the answer.
If you have a question that is not listed here, please email us or call us on 0845 605 1921 and we will be happy to help.
- Can I pay an excess waiver?
- Can I ski and snowboard off-piste?
- Can I work abroad?
- Can my partner and/or children travel independently on an Annual policy?
- What is the definition of ‘couple’ on an Annual policy?
- Do I have to pay medical bills abroad?
- What sports/activities/winter sports are covered?
- Is there a 24-hour emergency service?
- Do you insure people aged 66 and over?
- Do you cover pre-existing medical conditions?
- How many days can I be abroad on an Annual policy?
- Is scuba diving covered?
- What is the definition of ‘family’?
- What is the definition of ‘adults’; ‘children’; ‘students’; and ‘senior citizens’?
- Am I insured to travel whilst pregnant?
- On a Backpacker policy, what is "Stopover cover"?
- Can I change my European Annual policy to Worldwide?
- What equipment is covered on ski trips?
- Do Annual Multi-Trip policies cover UK trips?
- Can children be insured without adults?
- Can I pay an excess waiver?
- Can I ski and snowboard off-piste?
- Can I work abroad?
- Can my partner and/or children travel independently on an Annual policy?
- How do you define a ‘couple’ on an Annual policy?
- Do I have to pay my medical bills abroad?
- What sports/activities/winter sports are covered?
- Do you have a 24-hour Emergency Service?
- Do you insure people aged 66 years and over?
- Do you cover pre-existing medical conditions?
- How many days can I be abroad on an Annual policy?
- Is scuba diving covered?
- What is the definition of ‘family’?
- What is the definition of ‘adults’; ‘children’; ‘infants’; ‘students’ and ‘senior citizens’?
- Am I insured to travel whilst pregnant?
- On a Backpacker policy, what is "Stopover cover"?
- Can I upgrade my European Annual policy to Worldwide?
- What ski equipment is covered on Winter Sports policies?
- Do Annual Multi-Trip policies cover UK trips?
- Can children be insured without adults?
An excess waiver is available on all policies apart from our Backpacker insurance. This removes all excesses on the chosen policy and can be added to your policy within our Quotation system.
The excess waiver costs:
£11 per adult and £5.50 per child/student on Single Trip insurance
£18 per adult and £9 per child/student on Annual Multi-Trip insurance.
The excess waiver is payable for all travellers and is only available at point of purchase.
All ski insurance policies include cover for off-piste skiing and snowboarding at no additional cost. This is providing you are not going against advice from a local authority.
If you are in the USA or Canada, you must have a qualified guide for any off-piste skiing or snowboarding that is outside of resort boundaries.
Under all our travel insurance policies, restaurant/bar work, chalet maids, au pairs/nannies and admin/clerical duties can be covered at no additional cost, as long as they are temporary occupations (whether paid or unpaid).
If you are working abroad and the job is not listed above, please call us on 0845 605 1921. Some occupations, such as conservation and charity work, may be covered subject to an extra premium.
Personal Liability
When working abroad, cover is restricted under the Personal Liability section of our policies - cover is excluded for bodily injury, death, illness or disease caused by pursuit of any trade, business, profession or occupation.
On all our Annual travel insurance policies, the policy holder (the person named as the lead traveller) can travel for the full trip limit, as can any other insured person travelling with them.
Any insured person that travels without the lead traveller can travel up to 21 days per trip.
On Winter Sports policies, ski trips are limited to 17 days per trip whether the lead traveller is travelling or not.
In all cases, there is no limit to the number of trips in the year.
A ‘couple’ is defined as two people who are married/co-habiting partners, both registered at the same address together.
It is often easier to pay for medical bills directly, and then claim it back once you have returned to the UK. You will need to keep any receipts to ensure you can claim.
If you’re admitted as an in-patient, or the medical treatment is too expensive, then our 24-hour Medical Emergency Service team can deal with the claim directly. They must be contacted as soon as possible and can be reached by phone - +44 (0) 1273 747 602; fax - +44 (0) 870 130 1953; or email - assistance@direct-travel.co.uk.
A wide variety of sports and hazardous activities are covered on all our policies with no additional charge.
Click to view a list of sports and hazardous activities. This lists which activities are covered at no additional costs, which involve an extra charge and which are excluded from cover.
If you need cover for an activity which involves an extra charge, call us on 0845 605 1921, or email us with your travel details and the activity that you need covering.
Direct Travel Insurance Assistance is our 24-hour Medical Emergency and Repatriation Service, and is included with all our travel insurance policies. The helpline’s multi-lingual staff are available to help you 24 hours a day. They can be contacted by:
Phone: +44 (0) 1273 747 602
Fax: +44 (0) 870 130 1953
Email: assistance@direct-travel.co.uk
Single Trip policies
We offer Single Trip travel insurance for people up to (and including) the age of 75.
Annual Multi-Trip policies
We offer Annual European travel insurance for people up to (and including) the age of 75. Annual Worldwide travel insurance is only available for those aged 65 and under.
What is a ‘pre-existing medical condition’?
You have a pre-existing medical condition if you answer ‘yes’ to any of the following:
1. Is anyone in the party waiting for:
a. a diagnosis;
b. investigations or test results?
2. Has anyone in the party ever been diagnosed or treated for:
a. a heart or circulatory condition, including high blood pressure, stroke or mini-stroke;
b. a lung or breathing condition;
c. any form of cancer;
d. a psychiatric or mental illness, including anxiety, stress or depression;
e. a back condition?
3. Has anyone in the party ever had any other disease, illness or injury that has not been fully resolved or still requires medication and/or medical supervision?
We are happy to provide policies if you have pre-existing medical conditions but do not require cover for them. Anything related to the medical condition(s) will be excluded from cover. The rest of your travel insurance will remain unaffected.
How can pre-existing medical conditions be insured?
If you require cover for pre-existing medical conditions, please call us on 0845 605 1921 and one of our Sales team can run through some medical questions with you.
All our Annual Multi-Trip travel insurance policies cover unlimited trips throughout the year – you can travel as many times as you like.
The maximum length per trip varies depending on your policy type, and are as follows:
Standard policy: 30 days per trip;
Premier policy: 45 days per non-ski trip, 17 days per ski trip;
Premier Plus: 62 days per non-ski trip, 17 days per ski trip;
Senior Citizens policy: 31 days per non-ski trip, 17 days per ski trip.
The Premier Plus Annual Multi-trip policy is only available to purchase by phone (0845 605 1921)
All our travel insurance policies automatically cover scuba diving with no additional premium, as long as you’re diving under the guidelines of the relevant diving or training agency/organisation and with an accredited dive marshal/guide/instructor.
Scuba diving depth limits
The depth limits for scuba diving are as follows:
| For unqualified scuba divers (must be with a qualified instructor): |
18 metres; | |
| For BSAC qualified divers: | Ocean Diver: Sports Diver: Dive Leader: |
20 metres; 35 metres; 50 metres. |
| For PADI qualified divers: | Open Water: Advanced Open Water: Advanced Plus: Deep Diver Specialty: |
18 metres; 30 metres; 40 metres; 40 metres; |
If you have a different scuba qualification please call us on 0845 605 1921 or email us and we can find out if we can cover you.
For Single Trip policies
For Single Trip policies, a ‘family’ is:
A couple and their dependent children or students (see FAQ 14), all travelling to the same destination for the same duration;
For Annual Multi-Trip policies
For Annual Multi-Trip policies a ‘family’ is:
A couple and their dependent children or students (see FAQ 14) on one policy; or
A couple and their dependent grandchildren, all travelling to the same destination for the same duration; or
A single parent and their dependent children or students (see FAQ 14) on one policy.
The age group categories are defined as follows:
Children: Aged 0-18 inclusive (infants: Aged 0-2 inclusive)
Students: Aged 19-22 inclusive and in full-time education.
Adults: Aged 19-65 inclusive (19-36 on Backpacker policies).
Senior Citizens: Aged 66-75 inclusive.
Child and student rates are available when there is an adult on the same policy.
For Single Trip travel insurance polices, the age group categories are those that apply at the policy purchase date.
For Annual Multi-Trip travel insurance polices, the age group categories are those that apply at the policy start date.
All our travel insurance policies cover pregnancy/childbirth, providing your due date is more than 12 weeks after the date you arrive back at your home in the UK. You must not be travelling against the advice of your doctor.
All our Backpacker insurance policies include free Stopover Cover. This means that if whilst you’re away, you decide you want to travel to a different ‘geographical area’ to the one that you originally purchased, you are covered to do so. Areas of a ‘higher risk’ are included in this (i.e. an area that would normally be more expensive to insure you for), as long as the time you spend within higher risk areas is no longer than 14 days maximum during your whole trip. Areas of ‘lower risk’ than you have paid can be visited for as long as your policy allows.
We are able to upgrade Annual policies in most cases, however this must be done over the phone. If you wish to upgrade, please call us on 0845 605 1921.
‘Ski equipment’ (your own and/or hired) is defined as the following:
Skis, poles, boots, bindings, snowboards, ice skates, crampons, skins, shovels and avalanche probes and all other ancillary winter sports equipment.
If you wish to cover your Ski equipment if it is lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed, ensure you select the correct cover option in our quote process.
Our Annual Multi-Trip travel insurance policies cover UK trips as long as you have pre-booked accommodation for at least two nights and/or you have paid for public transport (i.e. coach, train, plane etc) that verifies that your journey is for at least two nights.
Single Trip policies
If a child (aged 0-18 inclusive) is travelling on a policy without any adults, we can still offer them a policy. They will be charged the full adult rate. The child will be classified under the ‘adults aged 19-65’ age group on the policy schedule and there will also be an endorsement to show this.
When two or more children are travelling without any adults, the one named as policy holder will be charged the adult rate, and the other child(ren) will pay the child rate.
Annual Multi-Trip policies
A child that is named on an Annual Multi-Trip policy is automatically covered to travel alone for up to 21 days. As with all our Annual policies, there is no limit on the number of trips during the year.
