Guide · Insurance
Your travel insurance is void in Ukraine. Almost certainly.
Not cancelled, not refused — void, by an exclusion clause most people never read. This is the single most common gap we find in the arrangements families have made for themselves, and it is also the easiest to close.
Last reviewed 16 August 2026.
Why the policy you already have does not work
Nearly every ordinary travel policy — the one bundled with your credit card, the one sold at checkout with your flight — carries a war and civil unrest exclusion in the general conditions. It does not name Ukraine. It does not need to: it excludes loss arising from war, invasion or hostilities anywhere, and that language does the work.
The practical consequence is not a reduced payout. It is a policy that pays nothing at all for anything connected to the conflict, in a country where a great many things are connected to the conflict. Many insurers have gone further and suspended Ukraine cover entirely, so the choice of provider is genuinely narrower than for an ordinary trip.
What “war risk” cover actually means
What you need is a policy with an explicit war-risk endorsement — sometimes sold as a buy-back — covering injury from missile strikes, drone debris, explosive remnants and related events. In the trade this is passive war risk: you are covered as a civilian who happened to be present.
What it never covers, and what no honest broker will pretend otherwise about, is active participation: combatants, volunteers in armed formations, anyone travelling to the fighting. That distinction is in every policy of this kind, and it does not affect a family visiting a village in Ternopil region.
The cover levels to insist on
- Emergency medical: $50,000 minimum. The commonly recommended floor for Ukraine, and the EU benchmark of €30,000 is below what we would accept for an older traveller
- Medical evacuation and repatriation: $100,000 minimum — this, not treatment, is the expensive line if something serious happens far from a major hospital
- An explicit war-risk endorsement, named in the policy wording rather than assumed
- Validity for the entire stay, with the dates covering your border crossings at both ends
- A certificate in a language a border guard reads — an English-language certificate is accepted
It is also an entry requirement
Medical insurance valid in Ukraine is a condition of entry for foreign nationals, and border guards may ask for the certificate. This catches people out: they hold a policy at home, cannot produce a document at the desk, and turn a five-minute check into an hour.
Carry it printed as well as on your phone. Signal at a border crossing is exactly as reliable as you would expect.
What we arrange, and when you see it
Every journey we run includes a specialist policy with war-risk and medical-evacuation cover, in force before you land rather than bought at the gate. You receive the full policy documents before your second instalment falls due — early enough to read the wording, take it to your own broker if you want to, and walk away if it does not satisfy you.
If you would rather insure yourself, we will not argue: bring us the policy and we will read the exclusions with you before you commit to dates. What we will not do is take anyone across the border whose war-risk cover is not already in force.
Questions we get about this
Does normal travel insurance cover Ukraine?
Almost never. Standard policies carry a war and hostilities exclusion in the general conditions, which voids cover for anything connected to the conflict, and a number of insurers have suspended Ukraine cover altogether. You need a policy with an explicit war-risk endorsement.
What does war-risk travel insurance actually cover?
Injury as a civilian from conflict-related events — missile strikes, drone debris, explosive remnants — plus the medical treatment and evacuation that follow. It never covers active participation in hostilities, which is irrelevant to a heritage journey but is stated in every policy of this type.
How much medical cover should I have for Ukraine?
At least $50,000 for emergency medical treatment and at least $100,000 for medical evacuation and repatriation. Evacuation is the line that matters most: it is the expensive one, and village roads are a long way from a major hospital.
Is travel insurance mandatory to enter Ukraine?
Yes, for foreign nationals. Medical insurance valid in Ukraine is an entry requirement and border guards may ask to see the certificate, so carry it printed as well as on your phone.
Can I use my own insurer instead of yours?
Yes, provided the war-risk cover is genuinely there and in force before you travel. Send us the wording and we will read the exclusions with you. We do not take anyone across the border uninsured against war risk, whoever wrote the policy.
Practical guides
Are there flights to Ukraine?
No — and what the 2026 reopening talk actually means for a journey you are planning.
How do you get into Ukraine from Poland?
The train, the car, the queue, the questions at the desk — the crossing described in full.
The full safety protocol
Where we go, where we never go, and what happens when a siren sounds.
Ask us the uncomfortable questions before you commit to anything.
Insurance, health, age, what happens if the situation changes — send every worry your family has raised. We answer them straight, in writing, within two business days.