In this guide, we’ve brought together everything you need to know about buying an Avanti travel insurance policy, from how quotes are calculated to eligibility requirements and payment options.
Quotes
How do you calculate my quote/policy?
Several factors that are taken into account when determining the cost of an insurance policy. They include the destination, duration, type of policy, additional coverage options, age and medical conditions. As a result, each policy’s pricing is unique.
When should I buy travel insurance?
Ideally, you should buy travel insurance as soon as you’ve booked your holiday. If you’re taking out a single trip policy, cover for cancellation starts at the time you book the trip or pay the insurance premium, whichever is later.
Single trip policies from Avanti can be bought up to 24 months in advance of your holiday (providing you’re under the age of 75 and meet our medical eligibility criteria). If you’ve bought an annual multi-trip policy, cancellation cover starts at the time that you book the trip or the first day of the period of cover as shown on your validation certificate, whichever is later.
Avanti annual policy can be purchased up to 90 days before its intended start date.
What’s the difference between single trip and annual travel insurance?
The difference between choosing a single trip or annual policy is how often you’re planning on travelling, how long you’re planning on travelling for and where you’re going:
- With an annual travel insurance policy, you will be covered for multiple trips in a 12-month period (trip limits apply). You can purchase your policy up to 90 days before you want it to start.
- A single trip policy will cover you for one return trip and can be bought up to 24 months before you travel.
How far in advance can I buy travel insurance?
New single trip policies can be bought up to 24 months in advance of your start date.* Cancellation cover will start from the moment you buy your policy. For annual multi-trip policies, you can choose a start date up to 30 days in advance.
* To be eligible for the 24-month lead time you need to be 75 years old or under and meet our medical assessment criteria.
What information do I need to hand when taking a policy out?
Save time on possible questions we may need to ask you by having the following information to hand:
- Your travel dates.
- The name of the country/countries you’re visiting.
- The full name and age of any other named person(s) on the policy.
- The names of any medical conditions of you/any other named person(s) on the policy.
Qualifying criteria
Can I start my trip outside the UK?
For your travel insurance policy to provide coverage, it is a requirement that your insured trip must start from from the UK, which includes the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.
This means that if you are departing from any other location outside of the UK, your trip would not be covered under the policy.
Can I take a policy out on behalf of someone else?
Yes, it is possible for you to purchase an insurance policy on behalf of someone else. In this case, you would be considered the “policy organiser” and your name would appear on all the relevant documentation.
Do you cover one-way trips?
No, we wouldn’t cover a one-way trip if there was no plan to return to the United Kingdom.
Cover eligibility
Who is eligible for cover?
To be eligible for cover under a policy you must:
- be a resident of the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man for six of the last twelve months
- be registered with a doctor in these locations
- have a National Insurance number if aged 16 or over and living in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
- be travelling from and returning to the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man
Do your policies cover customers of any age?
Yes, our single trip travel insurance and annual multi-trip travel insurance policies are available to customers of any age. We don’t believe age should be a barrier to travel. Children under 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult over the age of 18 for the duration of their trip.
To ensure appropriate cover for our older customers, some policy features – such as maximum trip duration may vary for travellers aged 70 and over (or whatever age threshold applies). Full details are included in your policy document.
Is your travel insurance only available to UK residents?
Yes. Our travel insurance is available to customers who meet our residency requirements.
To be eligible for cover, you must:
- have been a resident of the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man for six of the last twelve months
- be registered with a doctor in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man
- be travelling from and returning to the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man
Vouchers and discounts
I have a promotional discount code. Where can I use this?
You can enter your promotional discount code at checkout during the payment stage. The discount applies to the base price of your policy only and doesn’t reduce the cost of pre-existing medical cover or any optional extras.
How do I pay with my voucher?
You can choose to redeem your voucher either online, or over the phone with a member of our friendly sales team.
Have you been emailed your voucher? If you follow the link in the email, it’ll take you to our quote journey where your voucher will be applied to your basket. A message will pop up, letting you know the voucher has been redeemed. If you’ve received your voucher by post, you can enter your unique code at the checkout. Your unique code can either pay for all of your policy or leave you with a remaining balance to pay by card.
Can I choose to use some of my vouchers now and save the rest?
If your new policy works cheaper than the voucher credit you have to spend, you can save the rest next time. Just use the same code as you used before, when it comes to spending the rest of your voucher. Your remaining voucher balance will be there to use any time within 3 years of the initial issue date.
Can I use my voucher and promotional code together?
If you have a promotional code to use, it can be redeemed together with your voucher. Just enter the promotional code in the box at the checkout, to claim your discount.
Invalid discount code
Some discount codes are only valid for a limited time, so it’s worth checking whether your code is still in date. If you’re still having trouble, our sales team can help on 0808 281 3441.
My voucher doesn’t cover the cost of my policy. Can I pay the rest by card?
If your voucher credit doesn’t cover the cost of your travel insurance policy, you can pay the remaining balance by card.
Paying monthly with Premium Credit Limited
Can I pay for my travel insurance in monthly installments?
You can pay for annual multi-trip travel insurance in monthly instalments if your policy costs £80 or more. You’ll pay an initial deposit, then spread the remaining balance over 11 monthly payments.
Monthly instalments aren’t available on single-trip policies, which need to be paid in full by debit or credit card when you take out your policy.
Monthly payments are provided by Premium Credit Limited (PCL) and can be arranged online or over the phone. An APR of 24.9% applies to instalment payments. To pay monthly, you’ll need to be over 18 and under 100 years old.
Who is Premium Credit Limited?
Premium Credit Limited is a finance provider that allows customers to pay for their policy in monthly instalments. They have over 30 years’ experience and support more than 2 million customers. You can contact them on 0344 736 9836.
What is Premium Credit Limited’s (PCL) APR?
APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate. It shows the yearly cost of borrowing if you choose to pay by monthly instalments.
For example, if your policy costs £100 and the APR is 24.9%, you’d repay £124.90 in total.
I want to pay a lump sum for my outstanding balance. Is this possible?
You can’t make a partial lump-sum payment towards your outstanding balance. However, you can pay off the remaining balance in full at any time. If you’d like to do this, just give us a call.
Payment
How can I pay for my travel insurance?
You can choose to pay for your travel insurance upfront via credit or debit card, or with our installments option if you choose Annual Travel Insurance and it costs more than £80.
What is not accepted as a form of payment?
We can only accept credit or debit cards as a form of payment for travel insurance. This means we can’t accept cheque payments, PayPal or business invoices and we do not accept American Express.
Do you store my bank details?
We don’t store your bank details when you buy our travel insurance. While your phone call with our team may be recorded, the recording will stop when you give your bank details.
If you choose to pay for your annual travel insurance monthly, your bank details will be stored safely by PCL to take your monthly payment. PCL’s privacy and security information can be found at:
How do you keep my personal data secure?
For full details on how we handle your personal data, please see our Privacy Policy.
We don’t store your bank details when you buy our travel insurance. While your phone call with our team may be recorded, the recording will stop when you give your bank details.
If you choose to pay for your annual travel insurance monthly, your bank details will be stored safely by PCL to take your monthly payment. PCL’s privacy and security information can be found at:
What if I need to change my payment details?
You can update your card details through your My Avanti account. If you’re unable to make the change online, our renewals team can help on 0800 069 6178.
