Group travel insurance

Travel insurance is essential to any trip, but can be more complicated when travelling in a big group. If each member of the group has their own insurance then they'll be covered individually, which is fine unless you’ve booked for others or they’ve booked on your behalf...

This is because your insurer will usually only refund your share of the costs. Any amounts paid on behalf of someone not insured under your policy are unlikely to be covered.

Which means if your super-organised friend Dennis has found a plush but affordable hotel, and eagerly booked a few rooms for the group, then only he would be covered for the cost of his room in the event the trip got cancelled. The rest of the group may not be covered unless they are also named on that policy, meaning Dennis could be left out of pocket for the rooms he booked on their behalf.

If someone else books and pays for your accommodation, you may still be able to claim your share on your own insurance. However, this depends on your insurer, and you’ll usually need to provide proof that you paid for your part of the booking (for example, a bank transfer).

We recommend checking your policy or speaking to your insurer to confirm what evidence they require.

If one person is arranging the trip, it may be worth considering a single policy that covers everyone travelling together, rather than each person buying separate cover.

You can take out a policy in one name and add up to 8 additional named travellers, so everyone is covered under the same set of documents. This can make things simpler, as claims relating to shared bookings (for example, accommodation booked by one person) may be handled under the same policy, subject to the policy terms, conditions and exclusions.

If you choose this option, it’s important that everyone agrees on the level of cover and excess. Because the cover is shared, the limits should be sufficient for all travellers. For example, if all travellers’ luggage was lost, the policy would need to cover the total combined value of all luggage, including higher value items such as electronics as well as everyday essentials.

• Disclose any medical conditions – if anyone in your group has pre-existing health issues then it could affect your cover. 
• Get it in good time – in the event of a cancellation you’ll need to already have insurance before the incident that causes the cancellation happens, so it's worth thinking about getting insurance at the point of booking the trip.
• Make sure everyone in the group has valid and in-date travel documentation – you won’t be covered if this isn’t the case. 
• Going to Bristol not Barcelona - if your trip is within the UK you may still need travel insurance.
• Leisure activities - your insurance will cover you for some things, but if you’re doing anything particularly extreme like para-gliding then you may need to get your insurance somewhere else or through the organiser of the activity. Aviva provide optional cover for some winter sports, but in some cases you may need to get insurance somewhere else.