- Holiday Extras policies are arranged by Holiday Extras Cover Limited (FCA FRN 828848) and underwritten by Great Lakes Insurance UK Limited (FRN 955859).
- Leisure Guard is arranged and administered by Rock Insurance Group (Rock Insurance Services Limited, FCA No. 300317, part of the Staysure Group) and underwritten by Inter Partner Assistance S.A. (PRA FRN 202664), part of the AXA Group.
- Holiday Extras Gold lists unlimited emergency medical cover and 5,000 pounds cancellation, with baggage and other sub-limits set out per tier; its Bronze tier starts lower.
- The Leisure Guard Flexi Gold product information document states up to 10 million pounds emergency medical and repatriation, with baggage up to 2,000 pounds per person.
Holiday Extras and Leisure Guard at a glance
Both brands sell UK consumer travel insurance through an intermediary that arranges cover underwritten by a separate, regulated insurer. The structures differ in who carries the risk and who handles claims, which matters when a claim is disputed or escalated.
Holiday Extras travel insurance is arranged by Holiday Extras Cover Limited, an insurance intermediary authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under registration number 828848, with a registered office at Ashford Road, Newingreen, Hythe, Kent CT21 4JF. The cover is underwritten by Great Lakes Insurance UK Limited (FRN 955859), which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and PRA. The product range includes single trip, annual multi-trip, cruise and winter sports cover, plus options for travellers with pre-existing medical conditions and for older age bands.
Leisure Guard is a trading style of Leisure World Developments Ltd (FCA No. 927718). The travel insurance itself is arranged and administered by Rock Insurance Group, a trading style of Rock Insurance Services Limited (FCA No. 300317), which is part of the Staysure Group. The cover is underwritten by Inter Partner Assistance S.A., authorised and regulated by the National Bank of Belgium and authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority under firm reference number 202664; its UK branch office is at 106-118 Station Road, Redhill, RH1 1PR. Inter Partner Assistance is part of the AXA Group. The range covers single trip and annual multi-trip policies, with winter sports, cruise and gadget cover available as optional extras.
Cover limits compared
The two brands use different tier names, so a like-for-like read needs care. Holiday Extras structures its main cover as Bronze, Silver and Gold. On its single trip pages, Gold is listed with unlimited emergency medical and repatriation, cancellation cover up to 5,000 pounds and baggage up to 2,000 pounds, with higher headline figures appearing on the brand's wider travel insurance page. Maximum trip duration for single trip cover is stated as up to 365 consecutive days.
Leisure Guard publishes Standard, Premier and Premier Plus tiers on its main range, each showing emergency medical cover of 15 million pounds, with cancellation ranging from 1,500 pounds on Standard to 7,500 pounds on Premier Plus, and baggage from 1,000 pounds to 3,000 pounds. The brand also runs a separate Flexi range: the Flexi Gold product information document states emergency medical and repatriation up to 10 million pounds per person, cutting short a trip up to 5,000 pounds, baggage up to 2,000 pounds (with single-article and total-valuables limits of 250 pounds each), and personal money limits including up to 350 pounds cash. Buyers should read the specific policy schedule, because the Flexi and main-range limits are not identical.
One practical difference is cruise cover. Holiday Extras sells cruise as a separate specialist policy with named benefits such as a per-port payment when a scheduled port is missed and a per-24-hour payment for cabin confinement on medical advice. On Leisure Guard, cruise cover is presented as an optional add-on to a base policy rather than a standalone product.
Age limits and eligibility
Holiday Extras signposts cover options for over-65s, over-70s and over-80s travellers, and runs a medical declaration covering current conditions, mental health, serious medical history and recent treatments. The brand states that travellers may be asked to call its team for additional questions, and warns that not contacting the team could limit cover even on an otherwise valid claim.
Leisure Guard lists single trip cover for travellers up to 85 years of age on its main range and offers online medical screening for pre-existing conditions. The Flexi Gold document confirms that cover is only available to UK residents registered with a GP in the UK, and that the policy must be bought before travel. As with most UK travel policies, both brands exclude claims arising from travel against FCDO advice and require declaration of pre-existing conditions at the point of sale.
Pricing structure
Neither brand publishes a single flat price, because premiums depend on destination, trip length, age, tier and any declared medical conditions. Leisure Guard quotes illustrative starting figures of 13.24 pounds for a five-day single trip and 31.03 pounds for an annual multi-trip policy, based on an individual aged 40 travelling to Spain. Holiday Extras does not publish equivalent fixed starting prices on its main product pages, so a direct quote from each site is the only reliable way to compare cost for a specific traveller.
The Leisure Guard Flexi documentation also notes a 10 pounds administration fee for mid-term changes, and confirms that an excess may apply to each claim. Holiday Extras does not list a single fixed excess on its public pages; the figure is set out in the policy schedule for the tier purchased.
Claims handling
For Holiday Extras, the underwriter Great Lakes Insurance UK Limited carries the risk, with flight delay cover serviced separately through Collinson Insurance Services Limited. Emergency assistance lines are published for the UK and for the USA and Canada.
For Leisure Guard, claims on policies bought on or after 11 July 2022 are handled by Inter Partner Assistance, part of the AXA Group, on 0204 517 9889 (Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 17:00), with an online claims hub. Policies purchased before that date were handled by a different administrator. Because Rock Insurance Services Limited sits within the Staysure Group, the administration and the underwriting are provided by distinct regulated entities, which is the same arms-length model Holiday Extras uses with Great Lakes.
Which traveller each suits
The choice turns on the specific trip and the cover detail that matters most. A traveller prioritising a dedicated cruise product with named per-port and cabin-confinement benefits will find Holiday Extras structures cruise as a standalone policy, while Leisure Guard offers cruise as an add-on. A traveller comparing headline medical limits will note Leisure Guard's main range lists 15 million pounds across all three tiers, whereas Holiday Extras lists unlimited medical on its Gold tier but lower figures lower down the range.
Older travellers and those with pre-existing conditions should compare the medical screening outcome and price on each site directly, since both brands set premiums and acceptance individually. In all cases the policy wording and product information document, not the marketing page, define what is actually covered, and the excess and sub-limits should be checked before buying.
