General Insurance
Verified Answer
4 min read • Updated September 2026
Puffin travel insurance
IB
Insurance Bhaiya General Group
Verified Answer
Reviewed by Licensed Claims Adjuster & Actuarial Auditor•Updated September 2026•4 min read
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Quick Answer / Executive Summary
Puffin Travel Insurance is a UK-regulated direct travel and pet insurance brand (a trading name of Puffin Group UK Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) whose policies are actually underwritten by AXA-group company Inter Partner Assistance S.A., with gadget claims underwritten separately by Great Lakes Insurance UK. It's generally well reviewed for competitive pricing and generous medical and gadget limits, but its cancellation benefit is capped and only pays for a closed list of named reasons, so it's worth reading that section closely before an expensive trip.
Key Takeaways at a Glance
Puffin doesn't underwrite its own risk — the actual claims-paying entities are AXA-group company Inter Partner Assistance and, for gadget claims, Great Lakes Insurance UK — so financial backing is tied to those underwriters rather than to Puffin's brand alone.
It's authorised and regulated by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 737328, which is the relevant "is it legit" check for a UK travel insurer.
Every policy tier includes £10,000,000 of emergency medical and repatriation cover and £2,000,000 of personal liability as standard, which is generous relative to many budget competitors.
The trade-off for the competitive pricing is a capped cancellation benefit (as low as £1,500 on the entry Silver tier) paid only for a closed list of named reasons, plus a per-person, per-incident excess.
Who Actually Underwrites a Puffin Policy
Puffin Group UK Ltd is the company you interact with when buying and administering a policy, but the underlying insurance risk sits with Inter Partner Assistance S.A., part of the AXA Group, for the main medical, cancellation, and liability sections, while gadget cover is underwritten separately through ERGO TIS on behalf of Great Lakes Insurance UK Limited. In practice, this means claims-paying ability rests with two well-established European insurers rather than with Puffin as a standalone financial entity — a reassuring structure, though it also means a gadget claim can follow a different process than a medical or cancellation claim.
What's Actually Covered, and Where the Limits Bite
Every Puffin tier carries £10,000,000 of emergency medical and repatriation cover, £2,000,000 of personal liability, £1,000 of gadget cover as standard, and a legal expenses section worth £15,000 to £20,000 depending on tier — a strong package for the price relative to many competitors. The weaker spot is cancellation: cover is capped at levels like £1,500 on the entry Silver tier, pays only for a specific, closed list of named events, and is subject to a per-person, per-incident excess applied up to two incidents.
How to Confirm the FCA Authorisation Yourself
You can independently verify Puffin's regulatory status by searching the UK Financial Conduct Authority's public Register for firm reference number 737328 and confirming that Puffin Group UK Ltd (Companies House number 09545476) matches the entity shown on your policy documents, rather than relying solely on the claim printed on Puffin's own marketing pages.
Real-Life Case Incident & Precedent
Precedent: In the UK, travel insurance cancellation cover is a matter of contract rather than statutory entitlement — insurers are permitted to define a closed list of insured reasons for cancellation, a standard feature across most UK travel insurance policy wordings and not unique to Puffin, so the specific named-perils list in the policy document controls the outcome rather than general expectations about what "cancellation cover" should include.
Case Study: A Cancelled Trip and a Capped Payout
Scenario: A traveler on Puffin's entry-tier Silver plan needed to cancel a trip for a reason that did not appear on Puffin's specific list of covered cancellation events, while a friend traveling with him on the mid-tier Gold plan had to cancel for a documented illness that was on the covered list.
Resolution & Judicial Outcome: The first traveler's claim was declined because his triggering event fell outside Puffin's closed list of insured cancellation reasons. His friend's claim was accepted, but paid out only up to the Gold tier's cancellation cap rather than the full non-refundable cost of the trip, since the cap applied regardless of the actual loss amount.
1Step 1: Read the full list of insured reasons for cancellation before buying, not just the headline emergency-medical cover figure.
2Step 2: Check the cancellation cap against your actual non-refundable trip cost — for an expensive trip, consider a higher tier or a different insurer if the cap looks too low.
3Step 3: Verify the FCA firm reference number (737328) on the official FCA Register before paying, and confirm it matches the entity on your documents.
4Step 4: Note that the excess applies per insured person and per incident, up to two incidents, and factor that into what a claim would actually pay out.
5Step 5: If you have a pre-existing medical condition, use Puffin's medical-screening option rather than the non-screened tier, since non-disclosure can void a related claim.
Critical Mistakes to Avoid
Assuming the £10,000,000 emergency medical limit also describes the cancellation benefit — they are very different figures within the same policy.
Not checking whether your specific cancellation reason appears on the named list before relying on the policy for an expensive trip.
Skipping medical screening to save money when you have a pre-existing condition that could later void a claim.
Forgetting that gadget claims are underwritten by a different insurer than the main medical and cancellation cover, which can mean a separate claims process.
Yes, you have the legal right to cancel an insurance policy at any point during its term. You are entitled to a refund of any unused, prepaid premiums. Most personal auto, home, and life policies calculate refunds on a 100% pro-rata basis, though some carriers apply a modest 'short-rate' cancellation penalty (usually around 10% of unearned premium) if you cancel early.
Yes, for the market it serves. New York Central Mutual (NYCM) consistently earns strong marks for affordability, a favorable NAIC complaint index, and solid AM Best financial strength ratings on both its auto and home insurance lines. Its main limitations are geographic: it only writes policies in New York State, doesn't offer instant online quotes, and has fewer add-on coverage options than larger national carriers. See our guide to vetting any insurance company for the checklist behind this answer.
Yes, Puffin Travel Insurance is a legitimate, UK-regulated travel insurer. It's a trading name of Puffin Group UK Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, with policies underwritten by Inter Partner Assistance S.A., part of the AXA Group. Independent reviews generally rate it good value, with strong medical and gadget cover limits, though its cancellation cover cap and closed list of covered cancellation reasons are worth checking before you buy. This same distributor-versus-underwriter check is central to our guide to vetting any insurance company.
"Insure 90" is not one identifiable, licensed insurance company — the term is a mix of at least three unrelated things that happen to share similar wording: a legacy insurance-agency software system (I/90, sometimes called Insure90), the insurance concept of a 90% coinsurance requirement, and various small, unrelated quote or agency sites using '90' in their name or marketing. There is no single national carrier operating under this exact brand, so it can't be verified as legitimate or illegitimate as a company — you need to identify the specific business behind whatever quote or policy you actually received. It's one of the clearest cases covered in our guide to vetting any insurance company.
