- RAC travel insurance is sold and administered by Hood Travel Ltd (FCA register number 597211), not by RAC itself.
- The core cover is underwritten by AWP P&C S.A. (FCA/PRA register number 534384), the carrier behind the Allianz Partners assistance network.
- Three tiers run from Orange to Black, with emergency medical cover of 10 million, 15 million and 20 million pounds respectively.
- Single trip policies carry no upper age limit and a 90-day maximum; annual multi-trip is restricted to travellers aged 80 or under.
- The compulsory excess is 100 pounds on Orange, 50 pounds on Silver and zero on Black.
What RAC travel insurance is
RAC is best known as a motoring and breakdown organisation, and its travel insurance sits at the edge of that core business as a brand-distributed product. The policy carries RAC branding through RAC Financial Services Limited (FCA register number 313989), but the consumer contract is not arranged or administered by RAC itself. On the live product pages, the cover is described as sold and administered by Hood Travel Ltd, registered with the Financial Conduct Authority under number 597211. That distinction matters when a claim or complaint arises, because the firm answering the phone is Hood Travel and its appointed handlers rather than the breakdown arm most buyers associate with the RAC name.
The product is a conventional UK leisure travel policy offered on single-trip and annual multi-trip bases, with three named cover levels: Orange, Silver and Black. Each level scales the headline limits upward, and a set of optional extras can be bolted on at purchase.
Who underwrites the cover
The core insurance, including emergency medical and cancellation, is underwritten by AWP P&C S.A., authorised under FCA/PRA register number 534384. AWP P&C is the underwriting carrier within the Allianz Partners group, the same assistance and insurance operation that handles the 24-hour emergency medical line published on the policy. The optional gadget section is underwritten separately by AmTrust Specialty Limited (FCA/PRA register number 202189), with that element arranged and claims-administered by Taurus Insurance Services Limited.
This split structure is common for brand-distributed travel cover: one carrier handles the main medical and cancellation risk, a specialist carrier handles gadgets, and a distributor stitches the package together under a recognisable consumer brand. Buyers checking the regulatory footer should confirm these names against the current policy wording at the point of sale, because distributor and underwriter arrangements on brand-licensed products can change between renewals.
What policies RAC offers
The three tiers are differentiated mainly by their financial limits rather than by the structure of cover. Orange is the entry level, Silver the middle level and Black the upper level. All three are available as a single trip policy or as an annual multi-trip policy that covers repeated journeys across a 12-month period. Family cover is offered, with children defined as those aged 17 and under on the policy.
Three optional extras appear on the product page: enhanced gadget cover for accidental damage, theft or loss; winter sports cover for ski equipment, piste closure and related disruption; and cruise cover for cabin confinement, missed ports and unused excursions. The FCDO foreign travel insurance guidance notes that cruises generally require an additional level of cover and that some activities need specialist insurance or an add-on, which is consistent with RAC treating winter sports and cruising as paid extensions rather than standard inclusions.
Pricing structure
RAC does not publish fixed monthly or annual prices for the travel policy on its main product page, because premiums are quoted individually based on age, destination, trip length, cover level and declared medical history. The clearest published cost figures on the page relate to a separate car hire excess product rather than the travel policy itself, so any single premium quoted in isolation should be treated as illustrative only.
What is structurally fixed is the excess. Orange carries a 100 pounds excess, Silver a 50 pounds excess and Black a zero excess. The page also notes that the Orange and Silver excesses can be removed by purchasing excess waiver cover. A higher tier therefore does two things at once: it raises the cover limits and it lowers or removes the amount payable on each claim, which is the trade-off a buyer weighs against the higher premium.
What is covered and excluded
Across the three tiers, cancellation cover runs up to 3,000 pounds on Orange, up to 5,000 pounds on Silver and up to 7,500 pounds on Black. Emergency medical cover runs to 10 million, 15 million and 20 million pounds respectively. Personal possessions cover scales from 1,250 pounds on Orange to 2,000 pounds on Silver and 3,000 pounds on Black, while the gadget limit is held at 500 pounds across all three levels.
On exclusions, the product page states that cover is not provided where a condition has been diagnosed as terminal or where the traveller is awaiting tests, investigations, treatment or surgery. Buyers are required to declare any medical condition for which, in the last 12 months, they have been prescribed medication including regular medication, received treatment, or consulted a doctor. The FCDO guidance reinforces why this matters: failing to declare existing conditions or pending treatment may invalidate the insurance, so the declaration stage is not a formality. The same guidance notes that emergency transport such as an ambulance is often charged separately abroad, which is part of why the headline medical limits sit in the millions rather than the thousands.
How RAC compares
RAC's medical limits sit within the mainstream range for UK travel policies, with even its entry Orange tier offering 10 million pounds of emergency medical cover. That figure should be read against the ABI's published claims data, which records members paying 472 million pounds across more than 500,000 travel claims in 2024, of which 262 million pounds were medical, with one member paying over 1 million pounds for a single US hospitalisation and repatriation. High medical ceilings are therefore not marketing decoration; they exist because individual overseas medical claims can run into seven figures.
Where RAC differs from open-age specialists is at the top end of the age range. A specialist such as Staysure, a trading name of TICORP Limited (FCA register number 663617), applies no upper age limit on its cover. RAC's single trip policy also carries no upper age limit, but its annual multi-trip product restricts eligibility to travellers aged 80 or under at the start of the policy period. Older travellers wanting annual cover may therefore find RAC's structure narrower than a dedicated senior-focused provider.
How to make a claim
Claims and assistance are handled through the administrator network rather than RAC directly. The policy publishes a 24-hour emergency medical assistance line, operated through the Allianz Partners assistance operation, for urgent situations abroad such as hospitalisation or repatriation. A separate general claims line operates during weekday office hours. Gadget claims are routed to Taurus Insurance Services Limited, reflecting the separate underwriting of that section. Claimants should keep the specific policy wording to hand, because the correct contact route depends on which section of the policy a claim falls under.
Who RAC might suit
RAC travel insurance is likely to appeal to buyers who already hold an RAC membership or breakdown product and want their travel cover under a familiar brand, and who fall within the standard age and trip-length parameters: single trips of up to 90 days, or annual cover while aged 80 or under. The tiered Orange, Silver and Black structure gives a clear ladder for matching cover limits and excess to budget, and the high medical ceilings align with the scale of overseas medical claims recorded by the ABI. Travellers over 80 seeking annual cover, those with complex pre-existing conditions, or those who specifically want the contract underwritten and administered by a single named insurer may find the distributor-and-carrier split less straightforward than a specialist alternative. As with any travel policy, the cover levels, exclusions and regulatory details should be confirmed directly against the current wording before purchase.
