Travel Insurance and Your Medicines: What to Declare

Summer brings a shift in daily routine that can affect how medicines work, according to guidance published by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on 9 July 2026. The regulator's five-week “summer-proof your health” campaign highlights how alcohol, grapefruit juice, herbal supplements and disrupted sleep patterns during travel and late nights can interact with prescription and over-the-counter medicines.

For anyone travelling this summer, the same routine changes that concern the MHRA also carry a financial and contractual dimension: what a person declares, or fails to declare, about a medical condition or regular medication when buying travel insurance directly affects whether a claim is paid. Medical expenses were the single largest category of UK travel insurance claims in 2024, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), and the rules governing how insurers assess pre-existing conditions changed on 1 January 2026. This guide sets out what the MHRA guidance actually says, how it connects to the declaration questions on a travel insurance application, what the updated Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) signposting threshold means for anyone with a more serious condition, and the limits of the GHIC and EHIC cards that many travellers rely on as a fallback.

What the MHRA Is Warning About This Summer

The MHRA's campaign is aimed at avoidable harm caused by everyday combinations that people do not associate with medicine safety. Alcohol can interact with certain medicines, including some antibiotics, or change how a person feels the following day. Grapefruit juice, whether drunk at breakfast or used in a cocktail, can affect how some medicines are processed by the body, a known interaction documented in the British National Formulary (BNF). Herbal products such as St John's Wort can interact with prescription medicines, including some antidepressants and contraceptives.

The MHRA also flags that sickness following a heavy night can reduce how well some oral contraceptives work, and that medicines requiring a specific daily timing can lose effectiveness when a holiday, festival or late night disrupts the normal routine. None of this guidance is about avoiding summer plans. It is about recognising that changes to routine change how medicines behave, and that the patient information leaflet supplied with every UK medicine, also available through the MHRA's products database, is the first place to check before mixing medication with alcohol, supplements or unfamiliar foods while away from home.

Why This Matters for Your Travel Insurance Declaration

Travel insurance is a contract based on disclosure. When a policy is bought, the application asks about pre-existing medical conditions and regular medication, and the answers given become part of what insurers call a material fact. A condition that changes in severity, a new prescription, or a medicine that behaves differently because of alcohol, heat or a missed dose is not itself a new disclosure requirement in most cases, but if a claim arises from a condition that was not accurately declared at the point of purchase, the insurer can refuse to pay it.

The ABI's own guidance to holidaymakers is explicit that failing to declare a pre-existing condition risks invalidating the policy entirely, not just the part of the claim connected to that condition. This is why the MHRA's seasonal warning has a direct read-across to insurance: a traveller who did not think a medicine interaction was relevant at the point of booking, and who then needs treatment abroad because of it, may find the insurer treating the underlying condition, rather than the summer trigger, as the reason the claim fails. Reviewing the declaration made when a policy was purchased, before departure rather than after a claim, is the only way to know whether it still reflects the current medical picture. A wider breakdown of what counts as a medical exclusion and how GHIC interacts with a policy is set out in the UK travel insurance guide for 2026.

Pre-Existing Conditions and the FCA Signposting Directory

Consumers with more serious pre-existing medical conditions have historically struggled to find affordable travel cover, which is why the FCA introduced signposting rules in 2020 requiring insurers to direct certain customers to a directory of specialist providers. Signposting is triggered when cover is declined, when cover is offered with an exclusion for the condition that cannot be removed, or when the additional premium charged because of the condition passes a set threshold.

That threshold rose from £100 to £200 from 1 January 2026, following an FCA review of how the original rules had performed, and it will now be reviewed every five years in line with the Consumer Prices Index. In practice, this means fewer people with mild loadings will automatically be pointed to the specialist directory than under the old £100 trigger, while those with more significant loadings, more likely to reflect a serious condition, remain covered by the requirement.

Consumers do not need to wait for a decline or a high quote to use a specialist directory. The Money and Pensions Service and the British Insurance Brokers' Association both host directories that meet the FCA's criteria and are free to search regardless of whether a mainstream insurer has signposted a customer to them. Specialist insurers such as AllClear and GoodToGo are examples of the type of firm these directories point to.

What GHIC and EHIC Do Not Cover

A valid Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC), or an in-date European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) issued before the UK left the EU scheme, gives access to state-provided healthcare on the same terms as a resident of the EU country being visited. That is a narrower benefit than many travellers assume. The ABI has documented cases where a GHIC covered initial state hospital treatment but the patient still needed transfer to private care for a specific condition, with the private treatment and the return flight home paid for by travel insurance rather than the card.

GHIC and EHIC do not cover repatriation to the UK, private treatment, treatment in a country outside the scheme, or the cost of a companion having to stay on to accompany someone who is unfit to fly. They also do not cover the non-medical costs that often accompany a medical emergency abroad, such as amended flights, additional accommodation or lost holiday costs. The cards are a supplement to a valid EU state healthcare system, not a substitute for a travel insurance policy, and packing one alongside a policy, rather than instead of one, remains the position of both the ABI and the FCDO. How this plays out during a heatwave, when demand on EU state healthcare systems rises, is covered in the Europe heatwave travel insurance guide.

Practical Steps Before You Travel

Four checks are practical to make before departure. First, check the patient information leaflet for any regular medication, either the physical leaflet or the version on the MHRA's products database, for interactions with alcohol, grapefruit and common holiday supplements. Second, confirm the medical declaration made when the travel insurance policy was purchased still matches the current condition and current medication, and contact the insurer to update it if anything has changed since the policy was bought or last renewed.

Third, if a condition attracts, or might attract, an additional premium, check whether that premium is likely to sit above the £200 signposting threshold and, regardless of the outcome, compare a quote against the Money and Pensions Service or British Insurance Brokers' Association specialist directories rather than relying on a single mainstream quote. Fourth, carry a current GHIC or EHIC alongside, not instead of, a travel insurance policy, and keep the insurer's emergency contact details accessible while away. None of these checks require special expertise. A pharmacist can answer questions about medicine interactions before departure, and an insurer's customer service team can confirm whether an existing declaration needs updating, both free of charge.

What Happens If You Need to Claim

If a medical issue does arise while travelling, whether or not it relates to a documented interaction, the claims process depends on documentation gathered at the time. Insurers typically ask for medical reports or bills from the treating clinician, receipts for any costs paid directly, and confirmation of dates and location of treatment. Anyone who experiences a suspected side effect from a medicine, whether at home or abroad, can report it directly to the MHRA through the Yellow Card scheme, which is separate from any insurance claim but helps the regulator track safety issues.

On the financial side, ABI data for 2024 shows medical expenses accounted for 34% of all travel insurance claims, up from 29% the year before, with total medical payouts reaching £262 million across UK insurers and an average payout of £1,528. Individual claims can run far higher: ABI has recorded cases exceeding £60,000 for treatment and repatriation from within Europe, and a small number of claims from destinations such as the United States exceeding £1 million. These figures are a reminder that the underlying financial exposure travel insurance is designed to cover has not changed. What has changed is the regulatory detail, the FCA's signposting threshold, around who gets directed to specialist help finding it.

Frequently asked questions

Does travel insurance cover a reaction caused by mixing medicine with alcohol?

It depends on the policy and on whether the underlying medical condition was accurately declared when the policy was bought. A reaction itself is not automatically excluded, but if the claim traces back to a condition or medication that was not disclosed as required, the insurer can decline the wider claim.

Does a medical condition need to be redeclared every time someone travels?

Single-trip policies generally require a fresh declaration at the time of purchase. Annual multi-trip policies usually require the policyholder to notify the insurer of any change in a condition or new diagnosis during the policy year, not just at renewal, so check the specific policy wording.

What is the FCA medical condition premium threshold in 2026?

From 1 January 2026, insurers must signpost customers to a specialist directory when the additional premium charged because of a pre-existing medical condition reaches £200 or more, up from the £100 trigger that applied before this date.

Does GHIC or EHIC cover medicine-related emergencies abroad?

A valid GHIC or in-date EHIC gives access to state-provided healthcare in the EU on local resident terms, which can include emergency treatment. It does not cover repatriation, private treatment or travel disruption costs, all of which fall to a travel insurance policy.

Where can medicine interactions with alcohol or grapefruit be checked before travelling?

The patient information leaflet supplied with a medicine lists known interactions, and the same information is searchable on the MHRA's products database. A pharmacist can also answer specific questions before travel.