Annual multi-trip insurance
One purchase, a year of trips — with a per-trip day cap most people never read.
What it is
An annual policy covers every trip you take in a twelve-month period rather than one named holiday. For anyone travelling three or more times a year it is usually cheaper than buying separately, and it removes the small recurring chore of buying cover at all.
The cover is broadly the same as a single-trip policy; what changes is the shape of the limits.
Instead of one trip with a start and end date, you get a year in which any qualifying trip is covered automatically. The catch is a maximum trip length — commonly somewhere between 17 and 45 days — after which a trip is simply not covered, and it is not pro-rated or partially covered. Many policies also cap the total number of days you may spend abroad across the year.
What it covers
- Emergency medical treatment and repatriation on every qualifying trip
- Cancellation, on most but not all annual policies — check the schedule
- Baggage and delay, usually at lower limits than a single-trip policy
- Trips that begin and end within the policy year
- Often, though not always, trips within your home country over a minimum distance
- Three or more separate trips in a year — roughly where the maths turns over
- Frequent short business or family travel with unpredictable dates
- Anyone who wants cover already in place when a trip comes up at short notice
- The per-trip day cap is the single most misunderstood term in travel insurance. A 30-day cap means day 31 of a long trip is uninsured, not partially covered.
- A trip that starts before the policy year ends but finishes after it may not be covered for its whole length. Check how your insurer treats trips that straddle the renewal date.
- The certificate an annual policy issues often states a policy year rather than your travel dates, which is exactly the wording that causes trouble with a visa application.
More than any single trip and less than three of them. Price moves with the maximum trip length you choose, the regions included — worldwide including North America is a distinct and much more expensive tier — and your age.
See what drives the priceCommon questions
Around three, as a rule of thumb, though it depends heavily on trip length and destination. Compare the annual premium against what three single-trip policies for your typical trip would cost. If most of your travel is short-haul and short, the crossover comes sooner; if you take one long-haul trip and two weekends, it may not come at all.
It can, but this is where annual policies most often fall down — not on the cover, on the paperwork. The consulate wants a certificate showing at least €30,000 of medical cover, validity across the whole area, and dates spanning your stay. An annual certificate that names a policy year instead of your travel dates may be rejected. Most insurers will issue a trip-specific certificate on request, and it is worth asking before you apply.
Often, above a minimum distance from home or with at least one pre-booked night's accommodation, but not universally and usually with the medical section switched off — you are expected to use your domestic health service. Read the domestic-trip definition rather than assuming.
packset.travel is an independent trip-planning tool, not an insurer or broker. This is general information, not insurance advice — always confirm cover levels and entry requirements with the insurer and the relevant consulate before you travel.
Holding cover and being able to prove it are different things. Work out the exact minimum a Schengen consulate accepts for your dates, then compare it against what your certificate actually says.