Admiral Travel Insurance Review (2024)

Who are Admiral?

Admiral was founded in 1993 as a car insurance provider, expanding into home insurance in 2012 and travel insurance in 2017. The provider also offers pet insurance and multi-cover insurance for car and home.

Headquartered in Cardiff, Admiral employs 11,000 staff across eight countries. It has more than a million home insurance customers and has insured over four million cars.

Admiral is a trading name of EUI Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Travel policies are underwritten by Admiral (Gibraltar) Limited.

What does Admiral travel insurance cover?

Admiral offers single and multi-trip travel insurance policies. All policies cover the following, subject to various claims limits:

• Emergency medical expenses if you are injured or unwell
• Cancellation or curtailment of your holiday
• Lost or stolen personal possessions and baggage
• Delayed or missed departure
• Personal liability and legal assistance cover
• Medical costs, cancellation or curtailment as a result of Covid-19 (find more in our FAQs).

It is also possible to get cover through Admiral for winter sports holidays, cruises, over-50s travel and also gadget cover under its specialist policies.

Admiral travel insurance pros and cons

Pros:

• High levels of medical expenses cover (basic plans start with up to £10 million cover)
• Covers travellers up to the age of 85 (single trip policies) or 79 (annual multi-trip)
• Cover for claims related to Covid-19 (treatment for illness while abroad and cancellation claims)
• Cover pre-existing conditions in some case
• Excess waiver option available (you can pay more upfront to avoid a compulsory excess on any claim, this is the first part of an insurance claim which policyholders must cover)

• Supplier failure cover included as standard (you can make a claim if your transport or accommodation falls through due to a company going bust.)

Cons:

• No long-term or backpacker cover
• Annual policies auto-renew after one year, so remember to cancel if you want to compare deals when your policy ends
• No airline failure or tour operator failure cover.

Why should I consider Admiral?

Admiral offers single trip (up to 365 days) and annual multi-trip (up to 31 days per trip) travel insurance policies. Its travel insurance is available to applicants aged between 18 to 85 as well as children. Pre-existing medical conditions must be declared.

The insurer offers three levels of cover: Admiral, Admiral Gold and Admiral Platinum. The level you choose determines your policy excess and overall cover limits. For example, Admiral Single Trip cover comes with an excess of £100, compared to £50 for Admiral Platinum.

Admiral’s single and annual policies cover emergency medical and repatriation costs, cancelling or cutting short your trip, personal belongings, missed departure, travel delay or abandonment, money and travel documents, personal accident, personal liability and legal assistance.

Admiral also offers add-on cover for cruises, winter sports, golf equipment, gadgets and excess waiver.

Policyholders can call a 24/7 emergency medical assistance helpline. Finally, Admiral’s Platinum policies are rated five-stars by Defaqto while Fairer Finance awards it a customer experience score of 63%.

Customers with travel insurance queries can contact Admiral by telephone between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday. Phone lines are closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Admiral also offers a live chat service between 9am and 5pm on Monday to Friday (but not at weekends). Existing customers can manage their travel policy online through the Admiral Travel Portal, including making changes to their policy and registering claims.

Alternatively, Admiral can be found on Twitter as @AdmiralUK and on Facebook.

How to find the best cover for you

While affordability is always a consideration when choosing travel insurance, the cheapest policy may put you at risk of being underinsured.For example, according to data from our travel insurance partner CYTI, the majority (85%) of travel insurance claims are for overseas medical treatment and cancellation of trips, both of which can amount to thousands of pounds.

The remaining portion is made up of claims for lost baggage and possessions, as well as travel disruption and delayed departures.

When comparing policies, always check the level of cover carefully so that you know how much cover is included for the most common claims.

Comparing policies and providers

Travel insurance is a competitive market, with insurers looking to win your business. Use this to your advantage by shopping around for the best deal rather than automatically renewing if your annual multi-trip cover is coming to an end.

When looking for the best policy, it’s also worth checking online reviews to see how existing customers rate the service, especially those who have made a claim.