It’s easy to let your travel insurance auto-renew, year after year. But will it pay out when you need it?
Half of Which? Connect members who purchase travel insurance said they had not updated their cover to reflect changes to their trips, according to our online survey of 1,168 members carried out in April 2026.
Annual travel insurance can be a great way to save money if you take several trips a year, but changes to your health, destination, activities or trip cost could mean the cover no longer fits.
To test how far annual policies can stretch across different trips, we analysed 138 travel insurance policies offering annual cover. We looked at key areas including cancellation limits, baggage and belongings cover, medical disclosure rules, activity cover and cruise cover.
Here are the key checks to make before your next trip.
Has your health changed since you bought your policy?
If your health changes after buying an annual policy, you may need to tell your insurer before travelling.
We found that 90% of the annual-cover policies analysed required policyholders to report changes in health before renewal or travelling, making this one of the most important checks before relying on an existing annual policy.
If you don’t tell your insurer when required, you could risk a claim being reduced or declined – particularly if the claim is linked to that condition. Contact your insurer to ask whether any health changes need to be declared.
Single-trip cover can sometimes work out cheaper if you have a health condition or are elderly, so check quotes for this also.
- Find out more: Best travel insurance if you have a medical condition 2026
Is your cancellation limit high enough?
Out of the 138 annual policies we analysed, we found that two did not include cancellation cover.
Even if your annual policy includes cancellation cover, the limit might be lower than the cost of your holiday. If you’re booking a more expensive trip, check the cancellation limit before assuming you’d get all your money back if you had to cancel.
Among the 136 annual-cover policies that did include cancellation cover, limits ranged from £500 to £25,000, with a median limit of £3,000.
Around a third of policies (34%) with cancellation cover had limits of £2,000 or less, while around one in eight (12%) offered £10,000 or more.
Will your baggage and belongings be covered?
Baggage and belongings cover also varied across the annual policies we analysed. Two policies did not include this cover, while among the 136 that did, limits ranged from £500 to £10,000.
The median limit was £2,000, and nearly two thirds (65%) of policies with baggage or personal belongings cover had limits of £2,000 or less.
That may be enough for most standard trips, but it is worth checking if you’re travelling with expensive luggage, jewellery, gadgets or specialist equipment.
Also look out for any separate single-item, valuables or gadget limits, as these may be lower than the overall baggage limit.
Are activities and cruises included?
Annual policies can cover a wide range of trips, but activities and cruises are worth checking before you travel.
All 138 annual-cover policies we looked at covered hiking as standard. However, altitude limits varied from 1,000 metres to 5,000 metres, with a median limit of 3,000 metres. Some providers may offer higher altitude limits as an optional extra.
So, before you strap on your walking boots, check whether your route falls within your policy’s limit. Mount Toubkal in Morocco, for example, reaches 4,167 metres, which would exceed the standard hiking limit in many of the policies we analysed.
Cruises can also need an extra check. In our analysis, 80% of annual-cover policies offered cruise cover as an optional extra, while 11% included it as standard.
Before you travel, check whether cruise cover is included or needs to be added, and whether benefits such as missed port, cabin confinement or unused excursions are covered.
- Find out more: Best cruise insurance 2026
Are you travelling outside Europe?
Destination may not always be the biggest limitation: 134 out of 138 annual-cover policies analysed by Which? said they covered travel outside Europe.
However, policyholders should still check the exact geographical area their policy covers, especially if travelling to destinations such as the US, Canada or the Caribbean, as some policies may treat worldwide cover differently.
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When should you consider single-trip cover?
If you’re only planning one holiday this year, or a couple of short, low-cost trips, compare single-trip quotes before renewing an annual policy. A single-trip policy may work out cheaper if you don’t expect to travel again.
But don’t rule out annual cover too quickly. If you’re taking one big trip, check how much more an annual policy would cost. The difference may be smaller than you expect, and if you travel again later in the year, annual cover could work out better value.
Whichever option you choose, check that the cancellation, baggage and medical cover is high enough, and whether you need add-ons for activities, cruises or destinations outside Europe.
- Find out more: Best travel insurance companies and policies 2026
