FCA reforms help 21,000 more travellers get cover – but more work is needed, it says

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says mandatory signposting has helped thousands of medically higher-risk travellers find cover, but admits its work on insurance outcomes is only “six or seven out of 10” – keeping pressure on providers to improve access, underwriting, and customer outcomes.

The FCA has credited its travel insurance reforms with helping around 21,000 additional policies reach customers who may otherwise have struggled to secure cover because of pre-existing medical conditions (PEMCs).

Giving evidence to the House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee, FCA Executive Director David Geale said insurers’ requirement to refer customers they cannot cover to specialist providers had delivered “tangible” results, while stressing that the regulator’s work was not finished.

The FCA’s own review found around 312,000 consumers accessed an online medical insurance directory in the year to June 2023, with approximately 21,000 subsequent policy sales attributed to the intervention.

Medical risk can translate into substantial overseas healthcare and repatriation costs. UK government guidance warns that emergency treatment abroad can cost tens of thousands of pounds, while Global Health Insurance and European Health Insurance Cards (GHICs and EHICs) do not cover private treatment or repatriation.

The regulatory framework has also tightened. Since January, the FCA has raised the medical premium threshold triggering mandatory signposting from £100 to £200 and strengthened expectations around customer communications and medical-risk assessment.

Specialist referral is increasingly a core part of serving higher-risk travellers, while firms face continued scrutiny over whether their processes deliver fair and appropriate outcomes under the Consumer Duty.