When visiting European countries, making sure you have travel insurance will help give you peace of mind that if something unexpected happens then you’ll have some form of protection in place.

From protection against cancelled flights to lost baggage and theft, travel insurance can be another incredibly useful thing to pack on your travels. It can be a little tricky to figure out exactly where is covered by European travel insurance, so we’ve laid things out as clearly as possible and highlighted the benefits of travel insurance when visiting Europe.

Is travel insurance necessary in Europe?

Having insurance for European travel is very handy as it gives you cover against lots of different things which could potentially go wrong with your trip. Knowing that if something does happen, that help is on hand to get you out of a sticky situation or can right something that’s gone wrong means you can focus on just enjoying your travels.

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) has been around to help in the even of medical emergencies for a while. Following the Brexit transition, EHICs issued before the end of 2020 will be valid until their expiry date (on the front of your card), however for those whose cards have expired, you will not be able to apply for a replacement card. So, any European travel in 2021 and beyond might benefit from having travel insurance in place to help cover any medical cost you’re landed with if you become ill or injured abroad.

Which countries are covered by European travel insurance?

The countries included in European travel insurance can vary between insurance providers, but generally you should be covered in all member countries of the EU. These include:

Albania, Austria, the Azores, the Balearic Islands, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, the Canary Islands, the Channel Islands, Corsica, Crete, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Lapland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madeira, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, Sardinia, Serbia, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Ukraine and Vatican City.

Our travel insurance also offer cover for Europeans countries who aren’t members of the EU, such as Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland and Turkey.

You’re even covered for a handful of countries who aren’t even part of Europe – Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia – so your cover may extend further than you think!

Is Russia classed as Europe for travel insurance?

Given the size of Russia as a country, you might be wondering if Russia is covered by European travel insurance or whether you need some special form of cover.

For travel insurance, Russia is sometimes split into two distinct sections split by the Ural mountain range – the European side and the Asian side. This will mean that travel insurance will cover either East of the Urals (Asian side) or West of the Urals (European side), so it’s worth checking that your destination within Russia would be covered by your policy.

However, our insurance covers all destinations within Russia, so you don’t need to worry about the split!

If you’re looking to travel to book a trip to Europe and be sure to buy your travel insurance as soon as you’ve booked. Find out more about our European travel insurance here.