Free Spirit Travel Insurance Review: Good for your Pre-Existing Conditions?
Good for
- Older travellers due to no upper age limit
- Pre-existing medical conditions
- Competitive prices
- Easy, online medical screening and quote system
- Aftercare in UK
- Repatriation
- Good Covid-19 cover
Bad for
- Those looking for the cheapest cover
The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement. Read our full disclosure here.
Excellent customer reviews, no upper age limit and cover for most pre-existing medical conditions and disabilities make Free Spirit a top choice for many travellers. Their online medical screening, instant quote system and online purchasing make it quick and easy to get travel insurance even if you have medical conditions to declare. Here's what you need to know about Free Spirit before you buy.
In This Review
- Free Spirit Travel Insurance Overall Review
- Free Spirit Travel Insurance Policy Limits and Coverage Options
- How does Free Spirit Compare to Competitors?
- Free Spirit Policy Wording and Claims
Free Spirit Travel Insurance Review: What You Need to Know
As a travel insurance provider specializing in older travellers and those with pre-existing medical conditions and disabilities, Free Spirit may very well offer you cover for a trip abroad even if you have a serious health issue. They cover most conditions, and will even consider terminal conditions. One feature that really sets Free Spirit apart is the Aftercare at home feature, which provides for home help, cosmetic surgery, dental treatment, physiotherapy and UK convalescence following hospitalisation abroad.
In the case of terminal conditions, however, you shouldn't apply online but should instead call Free Spirit on 0800 170 7704 to discuss with a medical screening specialist.
Free Spirit prices are generally competitive to the rest of the market. However an insurer's competitiveness can vary from condition to condition and across other factors like geographical coverage, so we'd always recommend checking prices with a number of providers before making a purchase. You can do so by filling out one form to get quick quotes from Free Spirit and other specialist travel insurance providers.
And customers rate Free Spirit with a score of 4.8 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot, which is quite a high score for an insurance provider.
Over 65s: Free Spirit has no upper age limit, offering cover to travellers of all ages.
How to pay for your treatment: Non-emergency bills should be paid by you at the time of treatment and claimed back when you return home. You must provide an itemised receipt for any monies paid for medical treatment. If you're admitted to a medical facility, you may need to pay the policy excess locally and ask the hospital or doctor to send the rest of their bills to Free Spirit's claims department.
You may only be covered for the cost of private medical treatment in Europe and Scandinavia if you get approved in advance by Free Spirit's medical assistance service on +44 (0)208 608 4227, so be sure to have that number handy when abroad. When seeking treatment in other countries, you'll also need to call that number ASAP (e.g., on your way to hospital) as they may direct you to a preferred facility.
Gadgets: Gadgets, like mobile phones, are covered up to £1,000 on the Super plan and £1,500 on Super Duper, but not covered on Standard. If you need more cover, you may need to look elsewhere and pay for a gadget cover extension (up to £3,000 available from some brands like CoverForYou).
Cruises: To cover a trip that includes an ocean or river cruise, you'd need to opt for a Gold or Platinum cruise policy. These give the expected cancellation, medical and other coverages, plus coverage specific to cruises like missed port, cabin confinement, etc.).
Bottom Line: Expect Free Spirit to provide cover for most pre-existing conditions. In most cases quotes are within market averages and will hopefully enable you to travel even if you've suffered from a serious medical condition. Adding to peace of mind, policies include the unusual feature of aftercare once you return home to the UK and also repatriation for you and a companion, should it be required for medical reasons.
How do Free Spirit Prices Compare?
Mid-market Free Spirit travel insurance prices are certainly competitive for many pre-existing conditions. When compared to Fit2Travel and GoodToGo—two other medical-specialist travel insurers—Free Spirit's prices were near average for most medical conditions. Generally speaking, Free Spirit is more expensive than Fit2Travel but cheaper than Goodtogoinsurance.com.
Of the conditions and geographies we studied, Free Spirit really stood out for good deals for those who've had a heart attack and have a stent in place and are travelling worldwide including America. In fact, our sample 65-year-old traveller with pre-existing conditions of aneurysm and stent would pay £531 to cover a 2-week trip to the US—25% less than the Fit2Travel quote and a whopping 40% less than GoodToGo. But as always, prices can vary a lot by person and even day so be sure to check your own quotes to see how they compare.
| Health Condition | Geographic Area | Fit2Travel | Free Spirit | Goodtogoinsurance.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Blood Pressure & Cholesterol | Europe | £36 | £54 | £68 |
| Worldwide | £108 | £159 | £155 | |
| Anxiety & Depression | Europe | £36 | £54 | £68 |
| Worldwide | £108 | £154 | £152 | |
| Breast Cancer | Europe | £36 | £61 | £76 |
| Worldwide | £136 | £221 | £407 | |
| Asthma | Europe | £36 | £63 | £77 |
| Worldwide | £136 | £221 | £401 | |
| Aneurysm & Stent | Europe | £90 | £98 | £195 |
| Worldwide | £705 | £531 | £907 |
Insurance quotes can vary significantly from day to day and according to each individual's details, so please just use this following data for general educational purposes only about the travel insurance market; your quotes may reflect a large degree of variation.
Free Spirit Standard Features
Free Spirit includes cover for Emergency Medical, Cancellation and Baggage on all policies, limits for which can be found below in the Policies section.
| Free Spirit Travel Insurance Features | |
|---|---|
| Emergency Medical | Cover for customary and reasonable fees or charges for necessary emergency treatment, and repatriation costs for you and one other person where medically necessary. |
| Trip Cancellation/Curtailment | Cover for irrecoverable costs if your trip is cut short or cancelled ahead of time as a result of events including illness; limited to the cancellation charges at the time of diagnosis of the condition. |
| Personal Belongings/Baggage | Cover for the loss, theft or damage to your possessions. Inner limits further restrict the amount you can claim for items like luggage, clothing, jewellery, laptops, etc. |
| Baggage Delay | Cover for essential items like a change of clothing, medication and toiletries if your baggage is delayed more than 12 hours on your outward journey. |
| Missed Departure | Cover for reasonable additional transport and accommodation (room only) to get you to your overseas destination or to reach your home due to public transport delays, some cases of road closures or heavy traffic, etc. (Not on Standard.) |
| Delayed Departure | Cover if the departure of your international flight, international train or sailing, on your outward or return journey, is delayed for more than 12 hours from it’s scheduled departure time from your international departure point and your possessions have been checked in. (Not on Standard.) |
| Natural Disaster/Catastrophe | Cover for reasonable costs of travel and accommodation to the same standard as your original booking, to enable you to continue your trip if your pre-booked accommodation has been damaged by blizzard, earthquake, flood, explosion, fire, forest fire, storm, hurricane, lightning, tornado, tsunami or volcanic eruption. (Not on Standard.) |
For more complete details like inner limits and exclusions, please see the policy documents.
Free Spirit Optional Extra Coverages
Free Spirit offers extra coverage beyond what is offered by traditional travel insurance. For instance, travellers can buy cover for winter sports and cruise cover.
| Free Spirit Optional Extras | Summary |
|---|---|
| Winter Sports | Equipment delay, loss, theft or damage, piste closure, avalanche closure, loss of ski pass |
| Cruise | Cancellation, Emergency medical & expenses, Cruise benefits (missed embarkation, formal cruise attire, formal cruise attire delayed in transit, cruise itinerary changes, ship to shore repatriation, on board medical fees, unused excursions, cabin confinement), personal possessions, medical aids, prescribed medications, money, passport, travel docs, gadget cover |
Free Spirit Travel Insurance Cover Plans & Limits
Travellers can choose between three plans with Free Spirit—Standard, Super and Super Duper—depending on the level of cover you need. For instance, those with holidays worth around £6,000 would opt for the Super Duper plan, whereas those only needing £3,000 to cover non-refundable travel and accommodation expenses might find the Super plan to be sufficient. The Standard plan has lower coverage limits, including no cover at all in some categories:
| Free Spirit Coverages | Standard | Super | Super Duper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Excess | £150 | £95 | £0 |
| Cancellation | £1,000 | £3,000 | £6,000 |
| Scheduled Airline Failure Insurance | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Emergency Medical and Other Expenses | £5,000,000 | £7,500,000 | £10,000,000 |
| Emergency dental abroad | £200 | £300 | £400 |
| Kennel & cattery costs | £125 | £250 | £500 |
| Home help | £500 | £500 | £500 |
| Cosmetic surgery | £1,500 | £2,500 | £5,000 |
| Physiotherapy | £250 | £350 | £500 |
| UK Convalescence | £500 | £750 | £1,000 |
| Curtailment | £1,000 | £3,000 | £6,000 |
| Personal Possessions | £1,000 | £2,000 | £3,000 |
| Medical aids | £500 | £1,000 | £2,000 |
| Delayed departure (after 12 hrs delay) | n/a | £300 (£75/12hrs) | £400 (£100/12hrs) |
| or | |||
| Trip cancellation (after 12 hrs delay) | n/a | £3,000 | £6,000 |
| Missed departure/connection | n/a | £1,000 | £2,000 |
| Legal advice & expenses | £10,000 | £25,000 | £50,000 |
| Gadget cover | n/a | £1,000 | £1,500 |
The Free Spirit cruise policies are a bit different, and go by different names (Gold and Platinum):
| Section & Cover | Gold | Platinum | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancellation | £4,000 | £8,000 | |
| Emergency Medical & Associated Expenses | £7,500,000 | £10,000,000 | |
| Cruise Benefits | |||
| Missed embarkation | £1,000 | £1,500 | |
| Formal cruise attire | £1,500 | £2,500 | |
| Formal cruise attire delayed in transit | £500 | £750 | |
| Cruise itinerary changes | £250 | £500 | |
| Additional emergency medical assistance & expenses | |||
| ship to shore repatriation | £100,000 | £100,000 | |
| On board medical fees | £250,000 | £250,000 | |
| Unused excursions | £250 | £500 | |
| Cabin confinement | £250 | £500 | |
| Personal Possessions | £2,000 | £3,000 | |
| Loss or damage to medical aids | £1,000 | £2,000 | |
| Loss or damage to prescribed medications | £250 | £500 | |
| Personal money, passport & travel documentsi | £1,000 | £1,500 | |
| Gadget cover | £1,000 | £1,500 |
FAQs
How does Free Spirit Travel Insurance Compare to Competitors?
To better understand the value of Free Spirit travel insurance you need to look at it in the context of other available options. We compared it to other plans in the market so you can see which may be more suitable for you.
Free Spirit Travel Insurance vs Fit2Travel Travel Insurance
Fit2Travel is another travel insurer specializing in offering cover to those with pre-existing medical conditions. Plans are typically quite economical relative to others in the market for the level of cover, but you don't get aftercare cover post hospitalization once you return home to the UK.
Bottom Line: If you want extras such as cover for aftercare (e.g., physiotherapy, cosmetic surgery, etc.) on your return home to the UK then Free Spirit might be worth any extra cost to you.
Free Spirit Travel Insurance vs goodtogoinsurance.com Travel Insurance
Another medical-specialist for those travelling with health issues, goodtogoinsurance.com offers a host of optional extras like 24/7 Virtual Doctor to speak with a UK doctor for advice whilst abroad and Gadget cover. All plans include financial failure and repatriation, plus home help and a recuperation holiday post emergency surgery abroad if you stayed in hospital for 5 days. Plus those going on a cruise can get specialist cruise cover from Good to Go.
Bottom Line: Free Spirit provides slightly more robust aftercare once you return home to the UK (e.g., physiotherapy, cosmetic surgery, etc.), but goodtogoinsurance.com stands out for the optional 24/7 Virtual Doctor and recuperation trips. If price is a priority, Free Spirit is likely to be cheaper.
Other Useful Information
For those who need to claim, you'll find a link below to both the claims forms and answers to questions like, "What should I do if I need to claim?"