Travel medical insurance focuses specifically on health-related risks abroad. It typically covers emergency doctor visits, hospital care, urgent diagnostics, prescribed medications, medical evacuation, and repatriation. The purpose is financial protection if you get sick or injured while traveling. Travel medical insurance generally does not cover trip cancellation, baggage, delays, or other non-health travel issues.

Travel insurance is a broader product that typically bundles multiple types of coverage: medical (similar to travel medical insurance), plus trip cancellation, trip interruption, travel delays, missed connections, baggage loss/theft/delay, and sometimes personal liability. Think of it as 'medical + trip protection' in one policy. The exact inclusions vary by insurer and plan tier.

The main difference is scope. Travel medical insurance focuses narrowly on your health abroad—covering medical emergencies, evacuation, and repatriation. Travel insurance bundles medical coverage with trip-related protections like cancellation, interruption, delays, and baggage. If you only need health cover and don't care about trip costs, medical-only can be enough. If you have expensive non-refundable bookings, travel insurance covers your financial risk too.

Most travel insurance policies include medical coverage as part of the bundle, but the quality and limits vary significantly. Some basic travel insurance plans have low medical limits (€50,000-€100,000), while comprehensive plans offer €500,000-€1,000,000+. Always check the medical layer specifically—a travel insurance policy can be good for trip protection but weak for medical emergencies, or vice versa.

Probably not, if your travel insurance already includes adequate medical coverage. Check: the medical limit (€500,000+ recommended for most destinations, €1M+ for USA), evacuation and repatriation inclusion, 24/7 assistance availability, and what's excluded. If those are strong, you don't need separate travel medical insurance. If the medical layer is weak, you may want to upgrade or add a dedicated medical policy.

Usually yes, because you're paying for one layer of cover instead of multiple. Travel medical insurance can be significantly cheaper than full travel insurance for the same trip, especially if you don't need cancellation or baggage cover. However, if you have expensive non-refundable bookings, the cheaper medical-only option may be a false economy—losing €2,000 in cancelled flights costs more than the premium difference.

Full travel insurance is almost always better for cruises. Cruises have high cancellation risk (missing departure, missed ports, itinerary changes), expensive prepaid costs, and complex disruption scenarios. Medical-only cover won't protect your cruise investment. Additionally, medical care on ships is expensive and evacuation from sea can cost €50,000+, so you need strong medical limits regardless—but cancellation and disruption cover are what make cruise insurance worthwhile.

Travel medical insurance typically does NOT cover: trip cancellation or interruption, travel delays or missed connections, baggage loss/theft/delay, personal liability (in most cases), trip-related costs like extra hotel nights due to delays, or pre-existing conditions (unless declared and accepted). It's focused purely on unexpected medical events during your trip.

Common travel insurance exclusions include: pre-existing medical conditions (unless covered by specific terms), cancellation for reasons not listed in the policy (e.g., 'change of mind'), claims without proper documentation (e.g., no police report for theft), injuries from excluded activities (e.g., motorbiking without a valid licence), travel to sanctioned or warned countries, and items left unattended.

Yes, many travel medical insurance products are designed for long-stay travel (90+ days). These are often called 'long-stay travel insurance' or 'expat travel insurance' and focus on medical cover with extended duration. If you're traveling for 3-6+ months and don't need cancellation cover, travel medical insurance with high limits and good extension options can be an efficient choice.

Either product type can work, but the specific policy matters more than the category. Look for policies that: define pre-existing conditions clearly, offer medical screening and acceptance, and don't exclude your condition entirely. Travel medical insurance may be simpler if your only concern is health. Full travel insurance may be better if your condition could also cause trip cancellation. In both cases, declare your conditions accurately.

Almost never. If your travel insurance includes strong medical coverage (€500,000+ limits, evacuation, 24/7 assistance), you don't need separate travel medical insurance—that would be paying twice for the same thing. The only scenario where dual policies might make sense is if you have an existing annual travel insurance policy with weak medical limits and want to top up medical cover for a specific high-risk trip.