Whether you’ve got plans to surf some waves or trek the Alps, having insurance is definitely a no-brainer to ensure that you’re protected from any losses and risks while traveling.
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! We’ve searched high and low to prepare this comprehensive list of the best travel insurances in Ireland.
In this article, we’re sharing our objective reviews complete with a list of pros and cons along with answers to some FAQs. Read to see how these entries measure up to each other.
How much does travel insurance cost?
Since insurance is a personalized service, providers typically don’t have set fees. Hence, insurers usually collect more information from you first before giving you a tailored quote.
Here are a few things that insurers consider:
- Who the insurance is for – Insurances can cover a single person, two, and even an entire family. Sometimes, group insurances are more cost-efficient than individual ones.
- Duration of your stay – There’s a usual maximum term of 30 to 60 days, but there are some that extend for up to 2 years.
- Frequency of travel – If you’re on holiday once then a single trip policy is best. If you’ll travel more frequently throughout the year, consider checking out their annual policy.
- Destination – Different countries require various levels and kinds of coverage. Hence, insurance costs may differ for each destination.
- Activities – Insurers will take note if you’ll be doing any high-risk activities on your trip such as winter sports so they can give you added coverage.
We still highly recommend that you read the fine print thoroughly and consult with one of their agents to ensure that you’re aware of what their coverage includes.
The Best Travel Insurance in Ireland
Now that you’re more acquainted with the cost of travel insurance, let’s now go forward with our criteria.
To help you better understand our selection process, we came up with the following criteria:
Now that all that’s settled, let’s head on to our entries! Keep in mind that this has not been arranged in any particular order.
1. AIG Insurance
| CRITERIA | RATING |
| PROVIDER QUALITY | ★★★ (3/5) |
| VARIETY | ★★★ (3/5) |
| DISCOUNTS | ★★★ (3/5) |
| SERVICE | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| COVERAGE | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| EMERGENCY SERVICES | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| ADD-ONS | ★★★ (3/5) |
| CUSTOMER SUPPORT | ★★★★ (4/5) |
With 90 years of industry experience, AIG Insurance is an award-winning insurance provider to over 40 million clients across 160 countries.
Their offerings range from Single Trip Insurance of up to 120 days to Long Stay Insurance of up to 12 months.
Their Annual Multi-Trip Holiday Insurance is a good option if you’ll be traveling multiple times within the year. They’re even throwing in 17 days of their winter sports or skiing cover for free.
If you’re a family, we think their family insurance is worth checking out since you can add 4 dependents (18 below) without extra charge.
Oh, another thing worth highlighting is that customers can choose from 3 cover levels: budget, premier, and premier plus.
The specifics of their covers vary depending on your chosen plan and are quite extensive so we can’t enumerate them all here.
Even so, we think it’s definitely worth checking out since they offer coverage for medical expenses, personal baggage, trip cancellation, travel delay, and more.
On top of their insurance, they also offer you baggage protection for no extra fees. We think this little touch will be very much appreciated, especially in the unfortunate event that you do lose it.
We also appreciate their 24/7 customer support. They’ll have a team assist you in the event that you have an accident or require medical attention while abroad.
You can get a quote on the spot after answering a few questions on their website. After which, you can make your payment then you’re all set for your trip.
Unfortunately, they don’t offer insurance if you’re traveling to North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Iran, Crimea region, or countries where the Department of Foreign Affairs has a status of ‘avoid non-essential travel’ or ‘do not travel’.
Pros
- Award-winning insurance provider
- Free baggage protection
- 24/7 customer service hotline
- Offers 3 travel covers
- Online application and purchasing
Cons
- Closed on weekends
- Doesn’t cover travel to areas with the status ‘avoid non-essential travel’ or ‘do not travel’
2. Aviva
| CRITERIA | RATING |
| PROVIDER QUALITY | ★★★ (3/5) |
| VARIETY | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| DISCOUNTS | ★★★ (3/5) |
| SERVICE | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| COVERAGE | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| EMERGENCY SERVICES | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| ADD-ONS | ★★★ (3/5) |
| CUSTOMER SUPPORT | ★★★ (3/5) |
Aviva Ireland is part of their parent company, Aviva Group, providing general insurance and policies to 18 million customers across Ireland, Canada, and the UK.
They offer a wide array of insurances from single-trip to business travel. You can even add cover options such as their Holiday Travel Plus, Winter Sports Cover, and Car Hire Excess.
Do take note that their Single-Trip and Multi-Trip Insurance only cover trips of 30-consecutive days, which is quite short compared to other providers.
In case you need emergency assistance abroad, they have a designated hotline just for that. They’ll be able to help you with payments, advice, and even arrange for you to travel back if necessary.
Requesting a quote is hassle-free since you only need to fill up a questionnaire on the site. If everything’s fine with you, you can buy the insurance directly from their website.
We appreciate the seamless online application and purchase process since there aren’t any waiting times or lines.
Their website also has a few articles on travel safety tips that you might want to check out to make the most out of your trip.
Pros
- Offers 3 optional travel covers
- Has articles on travel safety and tips
- Online application and purchasing
Cons
- Single-Trip and Multi-Trip covers 30 consecutive days only
- Closed on weekends
3. AXA Insurance
| CRITERIA | RATING |
| PROVIDER QUALITY | ★★★ (3/5) |
| VARIETY | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| DISCOUNTS | ★★★ (3/5) |
| SERVICE | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| COVERAGE | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| EMERGENCY SERVICES | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| ADD-ONS | ★★ (2/5) |
| CUSTOMER SUPPORT | ★★★★ (4/5) |
If accessibility is one of your key factors in choosing an insurance provider, AXA Insurance has 20+ branches across Ireland that you can visit.
They offer a wide variety of travel insurance for any kind of client. They have insurances perfect for students, families, and even trips in the EU to name a few.
We appreciate the fact that all their insurances cover the basics at no additional fee. These include flight cancellations and delays, damage or loss of luggage, and so on.
But what really caught our eye was their Schengen Visa Insurance which will come in handy if you’re planning on visiting a country in the EU.
Another noteworthy feature is that they have a certified global medical network. We think this will surely calm your nerves.
They also have a number of local offices in Spain, Argentina, Italy, and more if you need to pay them a visit when you’re abroad.
Unfortunately, they don’t offer online quotes or applications. Hence, you’re going to have to do it old school and visit one of their many branches across Ireland.
On the bright side, they have a mobile app. Here, you can access all your files, policies, and so on in one place.
Pros
- Wide insurance selection
- Online application and purchasing
- Has mobile app
- Has many local and global branches
Cons
- Closed on weekends
- Quotation by request
- No online application
4. Cornmarket Group Financial Services Ltd.
| CRITERIA | RATING |
| PROVIDER QUALITY | ★★★ (3/5) |
| VARIETY | ★★ (2/5) |
| DISCOUNTS | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| SERVICE | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| COVERAGE | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| EMERGENCY SERVICES | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| ADD-ONS | ★★ (2/5) |
| CUSTOMER SUPPORT | ★★★★ (4/5) |
With offices in Dublin (head office) and Cork, Cornmarket Group has been providing affordable and discounted insurance to public service personnel.
Hence, if you’re a teacher, government employee, nurse, and so on, Cornmarket may be the ideal option for you.
Despite only having one travel insurance option, we think they’re still worth checking out for a number of reasons.
Firstly, their insurance automatically renews annually unless you instruct them otherwise. They’ll give you a heads up before renewal and update you regarding new payment details, too.
What’s more, you’re covered all year round anywhere in the world. We think this is convenient since you won’t have to worry about buying insurance each time you travel.
Another notable feature is that it covers up to 10 kids (under 19, or under 24 if in full-time education) for free! This will surely save you tonne if you enjoy traveling with children.
To boot, this insurance also covers winter sports such as skiing. So you won’t have to go through the hassle of acquiring add-ons.
You can easily request a quote on their website or get in touch with them via designated hotlines depending on your query. This ensures that their lines don’t get held up.
Once everything looks all good to you, you can complete your application and buy your insurance via their website.
Did we mention they also have a mobile app? Here, you can access all your data and policies any time you want.
Pros
- Covers up to 10 children
- Automatically renews
- Has mobile app
- Online application and purchasing
Cons
- Closed on weekends
- Limited insurance selection
5. Multitrip.com
| CRITERIA | RATING |
| PROVIDER QUALITY | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| VARIETY | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| DISCOUNTS | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| SERVICE | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| COVERAGE | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| EMERGENCY SERVICES | ★★★★ (4/5) |
| ADD-ONS | ★★★ (3/5) |
| CUSTOMER SUPPORT | ★★★★ (4/5) |
Multitrip.com is one of many insurance companies of the multi-award winning provider, Blue Insurance Group. They offer single, multi, and backpacker insurance along with a variety of cover levels for their single and multi-trip policies.
What really caught our eye was their insurance specifically for seniors over 70. With this, you can get up to €20M worth of medical cover and repatriation costs.
If you have pre-existing medical conditions, these covers are a standard and are already included. If you aren’t sure, you can contact a medical screening company to ensure that you’re getting the appropriate coverage.
Anyhow, their family insurance on the other hand is a great option if you travel with a ton of kids. This is because you can cover up to 10 people and 8 kids (under 19 or 24 and under if they’re in full-time education) at no additional cost with their 1 or 2 Year Multitrip Family cover.
If you’re more comfortable giving your children their own insurance, you can do so, too.
An important thing we’d like to highlight is that their insurances have no age limitation. Hence, you can insure children as young as newborns, too.
We also appreciate the fact that they have covers for pregnant women as well. These include cases of Complications of Pregnancy and Childbirth.
In the event that you’ll require medical assistance, they offer 24/7 emergency assistance as well as covering their expenses.
A drawback that we noticed was that you can only avail of their delayed departure cover if your flight is delayed at the final departure point from or to Ireland for at least 12 hours.
The minimum 12-hour delay may be too much for some.
You can get a quote by filling in their short questionnaire. Once completed, you can easily buy their insurance then and there.
Pros
- Has insurance for seniors 70+ years old
- Family insurance covers up to 8 children
- Has covers for pregnancy
- Online application and purchasing
Cons
- Closed on Sundays
- Covers flights delayed for at least 12 hours
FAQs About Travel Insurance
And there you have it, folks! We hope that our list of the best travel insurances in Ireland helped you find the kind of coverage you need for your trip.
Know of any notable insurers that we can add to the list? Send us a message and we’ll check them out ASAP.
Now that you’ve got your travel insurance secured, how about settling the details of your trip? We’ve got a list of the best travel agencies in Dublin to make your trip picture perfect!