Hurghada Travel Insurance — The Complete Guide
Travel insurance for Hurghada is strongly recommended — not because Hurghada is unsafe, but because Egyptian medical treatment costs for uninsured tourists can be very high, and flight disruption is a real risk on Red Sea routes.
What Cover Is Essential for Hurghada
Medical cover: minimum £2 million medical cover, ideally £5 million+. Egypt is not a country where you want uninsured medical treatment — standards in private tourist-facing hospitals are good but expensive. Trip cancellation: covers your hotel and flight costs if you cannot travel. Medical evacuation: essential — if you are seriously ill, repatriation to the UK costs tens of thousands of pounds without insurance. Activity cover: check specifically that your policy covers water sports — snorkelling, scuba diving, jet skiing, quad biking. Many standard policies exclude 'adventure sports'.
Scuba Diving Cover
If you plan to dive, ensure your policy specifically covers recreational scuba diving to the depth you intend to dive. Most standard policies exclude scuba diving or only cover it to 30m. DAN (Divers Alert Network) specialist diving insurance is an option for serious divers — covers diving-specific incidents including decompression sickness.
Comparing Policies
Use comparison sites (MoneySuperMarket, GoCompare, CompareTheMarket) for standard travel insurance. For scuba diving cover: check the policy wording specifically — 'watersports covered' does not always include scuba. Key things to compare: medical cover amount, excess amount, cancellation cover amount, and specific activity exclusions.
Pre-Existing Medical Conditions
Declare all pre-existing medical conditions when purchasing travel insurance. Failure to declare results in invalidated policies — the most expensive mistake possible. Many conditions are coverable with a premium addition. Cardiac conditions, diabetes, and respiratory conditions need specific disclosure and often specialist insurers (Free Spirit, AllClear) rather than standard comparison site policies.
What to Do If Something Goes Wrong
Keep all receipts for any medical treatment — you will need these for your insurance claim. Contact your insurer's 24-hour emergency line before authorising any expensive treatment. Most UK travel insurers have Egypt-specific emergency numbers. For lost passports: report to the nearest police station first (required for insurance claims), then contact the UK Embassy in Cairo.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is travel insurance necessary for Hurghada?+
Does travel insurance cover scuba diving in Hurghada?+
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