- Coverwise Limited is an insurance intermediary registered in Gibraltar (company number 103717, head office 2 Irish Town, Gibraltar GX11 1AA); its policies are underwritten by Inter Partner Assistance S.A., part of the AXA Group, which holds firm reference number 202664.
- Holiday Extras Cover Limited is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 828848 and is based at Ashford Road, Newingreen, Hythe, Kent CT21 4JF; its travel cover is underwritten by Great Lakes Insurance UK Limited, firm reference number 955859.
- Holiday Extras publishes three named tiers with emergency medical limits of 15 million pounds (Bronze), 20 million pounds (Silver) and unlimited (Gold).
- Coverwise publishes five tiers: Standard Plus, Bronze, Silver Plus, Gold and Platinum, across single trip, annual multi-trip, ski and business cover.
- Both providers offer single trip and annual multi-trip cover; Holiday Extras additionally sells a dedicated cruise product, while Coverwise lists ski and business cover as named lines.
Coverwise and Holiday Extras at a glance
Coverwise and Holiday Extras are both distributors of travel insurance rather than insurers in their own right, but their regulatory structures differ in a way that is worth understanding before comparing cover.
Coverwise Limited is an insurance intermediary registered in Gibraltar under company number 103717, with its head office at 2 Irish Town, Gibraltar GX11 1AA. The policies it sells are underwritten by Inter Partner Assistance S.A., which is part of the AXA Group and holds firm reference number 202664. Inter Partner Assistance also processes and manages claims made under Coverwise policies, so the underwriter and the claims handler are the same entity.
Holiday Extras Cover Limited is authorised and regulated directly by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 828848, operating from Ashford Road, Newingreen, Hythe, Kent CT21 4JF. Its travel cover is underwritten by Great Lakes Insurance UK Limited, firm reference number 955859. A separate flight delay benefit is underwritten by Astrenska Insurance Limited and serviced by Collinson, which sits alongside the main travel policy rather than replacing it.
Cover limits compared
Holiday Extras structures its travel cover around three named tiers, and the published medical and cancellation figures rise step by step:
| Holiday Extras tier | Emergency medical | Cancellation | Baggage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 15 million pounds | 1,000 pounds | 2,000 pounds |
| Silver | 20 million pounds | 2,500 pounds | 3,000 pounds |
| Gold | Unlimited | 5,000 pounds | 5,000 pounds |
Coverwise publishes a wider ladder of five tiers, named Standard Plus, Bronze, Silver Plus, Gold and Platinum, with limits and excesses that vary by level. Its standard cover across the range includes trip cancellation, curtailment, baggage, valuables and personal money, delayed and missed departure, 24/7 emergency medical assistance and emergency medical expenses. Silver Plus and above qualify for a Travel Disruption Cover add-on that extends protection for cancellations, delayed departures and missed departures.
Because Coverwise presents its limits per tier rather than in a single published headline table, a direct number-for-number comparison is only meaningful once a specific tier and quote are selected. What can be stated factually is that Holiday Extras offers an unlimited emergency medical figure at its Gold level, while Coverwise spreads its options across five graded tiers rather than three.
Cruise and ski options
The two providers diverge most clearly on specialist trip types.
Holiday Extras sells a dedicated cruise product with cruise-specific benefits. These include a missed port departure benefit paid per missed port (for example where a ship cannot stop at a scheduled port due to bad weather), a cabin confinement benefit for each full 24-hour period a passenger is confined on the ship's medical officer's orders, and cover for pre-booked excursions that cannot be used because of that confinement. The cruise benefits scale with the same Bronze, Silver and Gold tiers: missed port cover ranges from 100 pounds to 200 pounds per port, cabin confinement from 100 pounds to 200 pounds per day, and unused excursions from 500 pounds to 1,000 pounds. Holiday Extras also lists winter sports and ski as available add-ons.
Coverwise lists ski insurance and business travel insurance as named product lines alongside single trip and annual multi-trip cover. The Financial Conduct Authority and the FCDO both note that cruises generally require an additional level of cover and that some activities need specialist insurance or an add-on, which is the practical reason a dedicated cruise line, as Holiday Extras offers, can matter for cruise travellers.
Age limits and eligibility
Holiday Extras publishes age-banded options including cover routes for under 18s, over 65s, over 70s and over 80s, and it offers a medical conditions line with confidential screening for travellers with health considerations. Coverwise markets cover that includes an over 65s route and states that pre-existing conditions are considered, though its public product pages do not publish a single headline upper age limit or a fixed per-trip duration cap. Travellers near the upper end of either provider's age bands should confirm the exact ceiling and any maximum trip length at the point of quote, because these vary by tier and by the underwriter's screening outcome rather than being fixed across the whole range.
Pricing structure
Both providers quote lead prices that depend heavily on age, destination, tier and trip type, so the published figures are illustrative starting points rather than fixed rates. Coverwise advertises annual multi-trip cover from 9.70 pounds, based on an individual aged 26 to 30 travelling to Europe. Holiday Extras quotes from the equivalent of around 10 pence per day for an individual European Bronze annual policy at an average age of 45, excluding any medical premium. The two lead prices are built on different assumed traveller profiles, so they cannot be read as a like-for-like comparison; the only reliable price is the one returned for a specific traveller, destination and tier.
Claims handling
Under a Coverwise policy, claims are handled by the underwriter Inter Partner Assistance, which both assesses the risk and manages new and existing claims under Coverwise Travel Insurance policies. This single-handler structure means the policyholder deals with the AXA Group entity behind the cover throughout.
Holiday Extras directs travel enquiries through its own UK support line on 0333 188 0080 and provides 24-hour emergency medical assistance on +44 (0) 1403 788 718 for territories outside the USA, Canada and Mexico, with claims sitting against Great Lakes Insurance UK Limited as the underwriter. Because Holiday Extras Cover Limited is itself FCA-authorised, a UK policyholder dealing with it is dealing with a firm regulated directly by the FCA, and an unresolved complaint can ultimately be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Which traveller each suits
On the verified facts, the choice turns on structure rather than any single winning figure. Holiday Extras may appeal to travellers who want a dedicated cruise product with named cruise benefits, a directly FCA-authorised UK distributor, and a simple three-tier ladder topped by an unlimited medical limit. Coverwise may appeal to travellers comparing a wider five-tier range across single trip, annual, ski and business cover, who are comfortable with a Gibraltar-registered intermediary placing cover and claims with Inter Partner Assistance of the AXA Group. Anyone with a pre-existing condition, a cruise booking, or a high-cost destination such as the USA should confirm the medical limit, the excess and the screening outcome at the point of quote before deciding, since those details drive both price and protection more than the headline tier name does.
