- The excess is the fixed amount you pay towards a claim before the insurer pays the rest.
- Many policies apply the excess per person and per section, so a single incident can trigger more than one deduction.
- The FCDO states that some insurers may waive any excess on medical treatment if you use an EHIC or GHIC.
- ABI members paid out 472 million pounds across more than 500,000 travel claims in 2024, with an average medical payout of 1,528 pounds.
- An excess waiver, where offered, is usually a paid add-on rather than a default feature.
What a travel insurance excess is
An excess is the part of a claim that the policyholder pays before the insurer contributes anything. If a policy carries a 100 pounds excess and an approved claim comes to 600 pounds, the insurer pays 500 pounds and the traveller covers the first 100 pounds. The excess is set out in the policy wording and the Insurance Product Information Document, and it applies whether the claim is for medical treatment, cancellation, baggage, or another insured loss.
The excess exists to share risk and to discourage very small claims that would cost more to process than they are worth. Because it is a fixed figure rather than a percentage, the proportion you carry is far larger on a small claim than on a large one. On the 1,528 pounds average medical payout reported by the Association of British Insurers for member claims in 2024, a 100 pounds excess represents a modest slice. On a 200 pounds dental claim, the same excess is half the bill.
Per-section and per-person excesses
The figure shown on a policy summary is rarely the whole picture. Many travel policies apply the excess per insured person and per section of cover. That means a claim arising from one event can produce several separate deductions.
Consider a family of four whose trip is cancelled before departure. If the cancellation section carries a 75 pounds excess applied per person, the household could face deductions for each named traveller rather than a single charge for the booking. Equally, a single mishap abroad that damages luggage and requires medical treatment can fall under two sections, each with its own excess, so two deductions apply to what felt like one incident.
Reading the schedule matters here. Some policies state a single excess per claim, some state it per person, and some vary the figure by section, with a higher excess on medical than on baggage. A headline excess of zero on the baggage section does not mean the medical section is also nil. The only reliable way to know what you would pay is to check the excess column against each section in the policy document.
How GHIC use can waive the medical excess
The UK Global Health Insurance Card lets a traveller get necessary state healthcare in the European Economic Area, and some other countries, on the same basis as a resident of that country. It is free and lasts for up to five years. The NHS is explicit that the card does not replace travel insurance: it does not cover being flown back to the UK, treatment in a private medical facility, or ski and mountain rescue.
Where the two interact is on the medical excess. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office states that some insurers may waive any excess on medical treatment if you use an EHIC or GHIC, and advises travellers to check the terms of the policy or contact the insurer to confirm. The logic is that state treatment accessed through a GHIC reduces the cost the insurer would otherwise meet, so some insurers remove the medical excess as a reciprocal gesture when the card is presented.
This waiver is not automatic and not universal. It applies only to the medical section, only where the policy wording offers it, and only when the GHIC is actually used for the treatment in question. A traveller relying on it should confirm the clause exists before departure rather than assume it, because a GHIC carried but not used, or a country outside the card's scope, would leave the standard medical excess in place.
Excess waivers offered as a paid add-on
Separate from the GHIC interaction, several providers sell an optional excess waiver that removes the excess across the policy in return for a higher premium. Staysure, a trading name of TICORP Limited (registered in Gibraltar, FCA FRN 663617) with policies administered by Howserv Limited (FRN 599282), offers an excess waiver described as a way to reduce out-of-pocket costs if a claim is made.
An add-on of this kind shifts a known cost. The traveller pays a defined amount up front in exchange for not paying the excess later if a claim arises. Whether that trades favourably depends on the size of the excess being removed, the premium charged for the waiver, and the likelihood of claiming. A waiver that removes a 50 pounds excess for a fee close to 50 pounds offers little, whereas removing a larger per-section, per-person excess on a family policy changes the arithmetic.
Common pitfalls with the excess
The most frequent surprise is the assumption that one incident equals one excess. As noted above, per-section and per-person structures can multiply the deduction, and travellers who budget for a single excess can find the net payout lower than expected.
A second pitfall is treating a low or zero advertised excess as the whole story. A policy can advertise a nil excess on one section while applying a substantial excess on the medical section, which is where the largest claims arise. ABI member data shows one insurer paid out more than 1 million pounds for a single USA hospitalisation and repatriation, so the medical excess is the figure that carries the most weight on a serious claim, not the baggage excess.
A third pitfall is relying on the GHIC waiver without confirming it. Because the FCDO frames it as something some insurers do rather than a standard feature, a traveller who expects the medical excess to disappear may still face it if the policy does not offer the waiver, the card is not used, or the destination falls outside the card's coverage. Checking the wording, and keeping evidence that the GHIC was used, removes that uncertainty.
Frequently asked questions
Is the excess charged per claim or per person?
It depends on the policy. Some travel policies apply a single excess per claim, while others apply it per insured person and per section of cover, so one event can produce several deductions. The excess column in the policy schedule shows which approach a given policy uses.
Does a GHIC remove my medical excess automatically?
No. The FCDO states that some insurers may waive any excess on medical treatment if you use an EHIC or GHIC, but this is not automatic. It applies only where the policy wording offers it, only to the medical section, and only when the card is actually used for the treatment.
Is paying for an excess waiver worth it?
That is an arithmetic question rather than a rule. A waiver removes the excess from a future claim in return for a fee now, so the value turns on the size of the excess being removed, the fee charged, and how likely a claim is. A large per-person, per-section excess on a family policy removes more than a small single excess does.
Does the excess apply to every section of the policy?
Not necessarily at the same level. Many policies set different excess figures for different sections, and some sections may carry no excess at all. A nil excess on baggage does not mean the medical or cancellation sections are also nil, so each section needs to be checked separately.
