Schengen area cover compared

Cover review

• Is every country you visit coveredA single trip covers only the countries written on your certificate, so a day over a land border into one you did not name falls outside it. Anywhere the Foreign Office advises against is out whatever you buy.
• Moving between countries during the trip · £500£500 with nothing to pay yourself covers extra travel and rooms when a breakdown or a late train or plane makes you miss a connection, out or back. Connecting flights need a gap of at least 2 hours between them, and you must allow enough time to check in.
• How long you can stayA single trip of up to 550 days can be covered if you are under 66 years old, and up to 366 days if you are 66 to 75, so a stay running to the 90 days the Schengen rules allow sits well inside either.
• Using the free state healthcare card (GHIC)You must use the card where state treatment is available: the policy makes that a condition, not advice. Do that and the £129 is not taken from a medical claim. But costs the card could have covered are excluded whether or not you used it.
• Passport and entry documents · £300£300 covers your money and your passport together and £129 comes off, leaving £171. It pays the travel and rooms abroad to get a replacement and a refund for the years left on the passport, both out of that one £300. Report it to the police within 24 hours, and anything left unattended is refused. Nothing anywhere says what happens if you lack the right entry papers.

Cover review

• Is every country you visit covered A single trip covers only the countries you declare, so a day over a border into one you did not name falls outside it. Anywhere the Foreign Office advises against is excluded whatever you buy.
• Moving between countries during the trip · £350 £350 covers extra rooms and travel when a late train or plane, bad weather, a breakdown or industrial action stops you boarding any international leg of the trip, not only the one out of the UK. You must leave enough time for the carrier check-in, and what you pay yourself is only on your certificate.
• How long you can stay A single trip of up to 90 days can be covered, matching the longest visa-free stay the Schengen rules allow. But cover stops on the date on your certificate: nothing extends it automatically if you cannot get home, only a request by email before it runs out.
• Using the free state healthcare card (GHIC) The free card is explained before you go, and the four Schengen countries outside the European Union are named alongside it: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. But the excess is only left off where using the card actually cut the bill, and the policy says it can sometimes be waived rather than that it will be. That amount is never printed.
• Passport and entry documents · £100 The passport limit is £100, a ceiling inside the £250 for money and papers rather than money set aside: the travel and rooms to get a replacement come out of that same £100. Being refused boarding for any reason, or failing to get the passport or visa you need, is excluded right across the policy. Report a loss to the police within 48 hours.

Cover review

• Is every country you visit covered A single trip covers only the countries you declare, so a day over a border into one you did not name falls outside it. Anywhere the Foreign Office advises against is excluded whatever you buy.
• Moving between countries during the trip · £750 £750 covers extra rooms and travel when a late train or plane, bad weather, a breakdown or industrial action stops you boarding any international leg of the trip, not only the one out of the UK. You must leave enough time for the carrier check-in, and what you pay yourself is only on your certificate.
• How long you can stay A single trip of up to 90 days can be covered, matching the longest visa-free stay the Schengen rules allow. But cover stops on the date on your certificate: nothing extends it automatically if you cannot get home, only a request by email before it runs out.
• Using the free state healthcare card (GHIC) The free card is explained before you go, and the four Schengen countries outside the European Union are named alongside it: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. But the excess is only left off where using the card actually cut the bill, and the policy says it can sometimes be waived rather than that it will be. That amount is never printed.
• Passport and entry documents · £250 The passport limit is £250, a ceiling inside the £350 for money and papers rather than money set aside: the travel and rooms to get a replacement come out of that same £250. Being refused boarding for any reason, or failing to get the passport or visa you need, is excluded right across the policy. Report a loss to the police within 48 hours.