Travel insurance: what it actually covers, and the medical number that matters most

You are hospitalised on a trip abroad. The treatment is routine, but the bill is in a currency where a single night costs more than your flight. You reach for your travel policy, the one you bought in five minutes for the visa, and find the medical cover ran out halfway, or that the cause was quietly excluded. Nothing failed. You just never read the one section that mattered.

Travel insurance is the policy people buy fastest and read least. Most of it is genuinely useful, but only one part protects you from disaster, and it is not the part the marketing leads with. Here is what a travel policy actually covers, and where to look before you fly.

What travel insurance covers

Cover	What it does
Emergency medical and hospitalisation	Treatment for illness or injury abroad. The core cover.
Trip cancellation or interruption	Non-refundable costs if you cancel or cut short for covered reasons
Baggage loss or delay	Compensation for lost, delayed or damaged baggage
Passport loss	Help and costs to replace a lost passport abroad
Flight delay	A fixed payout for long delays
Personal liability	Damage or injury you accidentally cause to others abroad

All of these are worth having. But there is a hierarchy, and most buyers get it backwards.

The medical cover is the part that matters

Everything else on that list is an inconvenience if it goes wrong. A medical emergency abroad is a financial catastrophe. A hospital stay in a high-cost country can run to figures that would be a serious debt back home, and no travel booking refund comes close to that risk.

So the number to check first is the medical sum insured, and the rule is simple: match it to the destination. A short regional trip needs less than a trip to a country famous for expensive healthcare. Do not size the policy to its premium. Size it to the worst hospital bill you could plausibly face where you are going.

The Schengen rule, if you are going to Europe

If your trip needs a Schengen visa, travel insurance is not optional. The visa requires medical cover of at least 30,000 euros, valid across the Schengen area for your whole stay, and you must show proof at application. Many travellers buy the cheapest plan that clears this bar, which is fine for the visa but may be thin for the actual trip. The 30,000-euro floor is a minimum, not a recommendation.

The exclusions that catch people

This is where an unread policy turns into a nasty surprise. The common exclusions:

• Pre-existing conditions, unless declared and accepted or specifically covered. If you have a condition, this is the clause to check first.
• Adventure sports, skiing, diving, high-altitude trekking, often excluded without a specific rider.
• Alcohol or substance-related incidents.
• Self-inflicted injury and travel against medical advice.
• Claims without documentation, so keep every report, bill and police record for lost baggage or passport.

None of these are hidden in bad faith. They are standard. But they decide whether the policy actually responds when you need it, so a two-minute read before you travel is worth more than the premium.

How to pick the right cover

1. Start with the medical sum insured, and match it to your destination's costs.
2. Meet the visa minimum if there is one, then decide whether to go higher.
3. Check the pre-existing-condition clause if it applies to you.
4. Add an adventure-sports rider if your trip involves them.
5. Read the cancellation cover's reasons, since it only pays for the specific situations listed.
6. Keep documentation for anything you might claim.

Rather than read the fine print yourself, FinDecode reads your travel policy against the rules and flags the medical cover, sub-limits and exclusions, every figure from your own document. Decode a travel policy → · See how we check our work →.

FAQ

What does travel insurance actually cover? The core is emergency medical treatment abroad. Most plans add trip cancellation, baggage, passport loss, flight delay and personal liability. The medical cover is the part that protects you from a catastrophic bill.

How much cover do I need? Match the sum insured to your destination's healthcare costs, not to the premium.

Is it mandatory for a Schengen visa? Yes. A Schengen visa requires travel medical insurance with a minimum of 30,000 euros, valid across the Schengen area for your stay.

Does it cover pre-existing conditions? Usually not by default. Check the clause and buy specific cover if you need it.

Does it cover adventure sports? Often no, unless you add a rider. Confirm before you travel.

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FinDecode provides AI-assisted analysis to help you understand your policy. It is not legal or financial advice. The 30,000-euro minimum medical cover for a Schengen visa is a published Schengen visa requirement. Policy cover, sum insured and exclusions vary widely by insurer and plan, so confirm the exact terms on your own document before you travel.