Thomas Cook in 60 seconds
Thomas Cook UK at a glance (2026)
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About Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook is the world's oldest travel brand, founded in 1841 when temperance campaigner Thomas Cook organised a railway excursion from Leicester to Loughborough. Over the next 178 years the company popularised the package holiday, invented the travellers' cheque and became one of the most recognised travel names on Earth.
On 23 September 2019, Thomas Cook Group plc collapsed into compulsory liquidation, ending 178 years of trading and triggering the largest peacetime repatriation in UK history (around 150,000 customers brought home by the Civil Aviation Authority). The brand was bought out of liquidation in November 2019 by Fosun Tourism Group, the Chinese leisure conglomerate that had also been the largest shareholder in the failed group, for £11 million.
Why the brand survivedFosun bought just the Thomas Cook intellectual property, trademarks and customer database, not the airline, hotels or 555-store retail network. The 2020 relaunch is an online travel agency, not a tour operator. Travel insurance sold under the Thomas Cook name is provided by Holiday Extras and underwritten by Allianz Assistance, not by the Thomas Cook entity itself.
Ownership: Fosun Tourism Group
Fosun Tourism Group is the leisure arm of Chinese conglomerate Fosun International. It owns Club Med, Atlantis Sanya and various other resorts and was Thomas Cook's largest shareholder before the 2019 collapse. Fosun bought the Thomas Cook brand for £11m, relaunched it as an online travel agency in September 2020 and has built a UK-based digital team operating out of Fosun's London office.
Strategy: an online travel agency, not a tour operator
The Fosun-era Thomas Cook is an online travel agency (OTA), not a vertically integrated tour operator. It sells flights, hotels, package holidays, transfers and ancillaries (including travel insurance) on commission from third parties. There are no Thomas Cook-branded aircraft and no Thomas Cook high-street shops.
Travel insurance under the Thomas Cook brand is sold through a partnership with Holiday Extras, the UK's largest travel ancillary retailer. The underlying policies are underwritten by AWP P&C SA, trading as Allianz Assistance, one of the world's largest travel insurers.
Thomas Cook travel insurance: cover and prices in 2026
Thomas Cook travel insurance is sold in three policy tiers (Bronze, Silver, Gold) by Holiday Extras, with Allianz Assistance providing the underwriting and 24/7 worldwide medical assistance. Single-trip and annual multi-trip options are available, plus add-ons for cruise, winter sports and gadget cover.
The Thomas Cook insurance product range
Single Trip Travel Insurance
Single-trip cover for one return journey of up to 94 days for travellers under 65 (45 days for 65-79). Worldwide, worldwide excluding USA/Canada/Caribbean, or Europe-only regions.
- Up to £10m emergency medical cover (Gold).
- Cancellation up to £5,000.
- 24/7 worldwide assistance from Allianz.
Annual Multi-Trip
Unlimited trips in 12 months, each up to 31 days (45 days on Gold). Available for travellers up to age 75. Couple and family options bring children up to 18 in for free on parent policies.
- Family cover for up to four children.
- Trips up to 45 days on Gold.
- 17-day winter-sports inclusion on Gold.
Cruise Cover Add-on
Optional cruise-specific extension covering missed-port calls, cabin confinement, unused excursions and emergency cruise interruption. Available on Silver and Gold single and annual trip policies.
- Cabin confinement up to £1,000.
- Missed-port cover up to £500.
- Unused excursions up to £750.
Winter Sports Add-on
Optional ski cover on Bronze and Silver (included free on Gold). Covers skis and boards, piste closure, avalanche delay and search and rescue. Off-piste cover with a qualified guide.
- Equipment cover up to £1,000.
- Piste closure up to £30 per day.
- Search and rescue costs up to £25,000.
Pre-existing Conditions
Cover for declared pre-existing medical conditions via the Holiday Extras medical-screening platform. Available on all tiers; premium adjusted based on the disclosed conditions.
- Cover for around 1,200 known conditions.
- Free phone medical-screening service.
- No upper age limit on single trip Gold.
Gadget Cover Add-on
Optional gadget extension covering loss, theft and accidental damage of phones, laptops, tablets, cameras and headphones while abroad. Stackable on top of the policy single-item limit.
- Cover up to £3,000 of gadgets.
- New-for-old replacement.
- Worldwide cover for up to 90 days.
The Thomas Cook policy is really an Allianz policyThe policy wording, claims process and 24/7 medical assistance line are all Allianz Assistance, one of the largest travel insurers in the world (parent: Allianz SE). The Thomas Cook branding sits on the front of the policy document, but the underwriter takes the risk.
Making a claim with Thomas Cook travel insurance
All Thomas Cook travel insurance claims go directly to Allianz Assistance, which operates a 24/7 worldwide claims and medical-assistance line. Most non-medical claims can be started online via the Allianz claims portal, with medical claims handled by phone. Allianz publishes an average claim turnaround of 10–15 working days on non-medical claims.
For step-by-step instructions and a list of specialist alternatives, see our guide to UK insurance providers.
Thomas Cook online account
Thomas Cook does not publish a dedicated insurance app. Customers manage their travel insurance via Holiday Extras's online account on holidayextras.com and via the Allianz Assistance customer portal. The Thomas Cook website at thomascook.com handles bookings and signposts to the right insurance partner.
- Policy documents: emailed at point of purchase and stored in the Holiday Extras account.
- Sign in: by registered email and password on holidayextras.com.
- Forgotten password: reset link sent to your registered email.
- Claims tracking: via the Allianz Assistance claims portal once a claim has been registered.
Keep paper copies abroadThe Thomas Cook policy wording recommends carrying a printed copy of the policy schedule and Allianz Assistance worldwide emergency number when travelling. Mobile data is not always reliable in a medical emergency.
Thomas Cook customer service
Travel insurance carrying the Thomas Cook name is sold by a separate partner and underwritten by a separate insurer, and the exact numbers change over time, so we do not list them here. The contact and 24/7 emergency-assistance numbers that apply to your specific policy are printed on the policy documents you received when you bought the cover, and you should always use those.
How to contact Thomas Cook travel insurance
- ✓Use the number on your policy documents: your customer-service, claims and 24/7 medical-assistance numbers are printed on the policy schedule and welcome email sent by the insurer when you bought the cover.
- ✓Sign in to your online account: the partner that sold the policy provides an online account where you can view documents and start most non-medical claims.
- ✓For travel bookings (not insurance), the current Thomas Cook online travel agency publishes its contact options on its own website at thomascook.com.
- ✓Keep a printed copy abroad: take a paper copy of your policy schedule and the worldwide emergency-assistance number with you, as mobile data is not always reliable in a medical emergency.
Contact Thomas Cook online
- thomascook.com: live chat available from the help pages during UK business hours.
- Holiday Extras account: log in at holidayextras.com to manage your travel insurance policy.
- X (Twitter): send a DM to @ThomasCookCo for non-sensitive bookings queries.
- Email: [email protected] for general queries; insurance-specific issues should go via Holiday Extras and Allianz Assistance.
Thomas Cook insurance: writing to the insurer
Travel insurance under the Thomas Cook name is administered by a separate partner and underwriter, so there is no single Thomas Cook insurance postal address. For any policy correspondence or written complaint, use the address printed on your policy schedule, which names the partner and underwriter handling your specific cover.
How to complain about Thomas Cook travel insurance
Raise the issue first with Allianz Assistance by phone, email or in writing, not with Thomas Cook, since the underwriter handles the policy and any complaint. If Allianz does not resolve the complaint within eight weeks, or you receive a final response you disagree with, you can escalate the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge.
Is Thomas Cook travel insurance any good? Reviews and ratings
Allianz Assistance, the actual underwriter, scores in the upper-mid pack on UK travel-insurance benchmarks. The 2025 Fairer Finance ratings give Allianz Assistance travel insurance a four-star rating for transparency and claims handling. On Trustpilot, Holiday Extras (the broker) sits at around 4.7/5 from over 80,000 reviews, one of the highest scores in the UK travel-ancillary market.
The most common criticism of Thomas Cook travel insurance specifically is that the brand carries the legacy of the 2019 collapse, which makes some customers nervous. In practice, the policy itself is an Allianz Assistance policy with the Thomas Cook logo on it. The underwriter is one of the largest insurers in the world and is unaffected by the 2019 events.
If price is your priority, run a Thomas Cook quote alongside our list of the best UK travel insurance providers before you book.
Thomas Cook news 2024–2026
- 2024: Fosun-era Thomas Cook posts its first full year of profit since the 2020 relaunch, on the back of a UK package-holiday revival.
- March 2025: Thomas Cook signs a multi-year extension of its travel insurance partnership with Holiday Extras and Allianz Assistance.
- September 2025: The brand marks the six-year anniversary of the original group's collapse with a TV ad campaign highlighting Fosun's investment.
- 2026: Thomas Cook adds a dedicated cruise insurance line to its product menu, reflecting strong UK demand for cruise holidays.
Thomas Cook timeline
- 1841: Thomas Cook organises his first railway excursion from Leicester to Loughborough.
- 1855: Thomas Cook arranges his first European tour to the Paris Exhibition.
- 1872: Thomas Cook runs the first round-the-world tour.
- 1881: Thomas Cook & Son introduces the travellers' cheque, decades before American Express.
- 2007: Thomas Cook Group plc formed from the merger of Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel.
- 23 September 2019: Thomas Cook Group plc collapses into compulsory liquidation; the CAA repatriates around 150,000 stranded customers.
- November 2019: Fosun Tourism Group buys the Thomas Cook brand for £11m.
- September 2020: Fosun-era Thomas Cook relaunches as an online travel agency at thomascook.com.
- 2026: The Thomas Cook brand has been trading under Fosun for longer than the post-merger Thomas Cook Group plc managed before its collapse.
Thomas Cook travel insurance FAQ
Yes. Thomas Cook travel insurance is underwritten by AWP P&C SA (Allianz Assistance), authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and PRA. Policyholders are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS): 90% of an insurance claim is covered with no upper limit on most general insurance products.
Fosun Tourism Group, the leisure arm of Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, has owned the Thomas Cook brand since November 2019. It bought the intellectual property out of liquidation for £11 million and relaunched the business as an online travel agency in September 2020.
The 2019 collapse was of Thomas Cook Group plc, a vertically integrated tour operator with its own airline, hotels and 555 high-street stores. The Fosun-era Thomas Cook is an asset-light online travel agency on an entirely different business model. The travel insurance is sold by Holiday Extras and underwritten by Allianz Assistance, both of which would continue trading even if Thomas Cook the brand stopped operating.
Yes, via the partner's medical-screening platform. Around 1,200 medical conditions are covered. You will need to call the medical-screening line shown on your quote or policy documents to declare your conditions and receive a price.
You have a 14-day cooling-off period after taking out a new policy in which you can cancel for a full refund, provided you have not travelled and have not made a claim. After the cooling-off period, Allianz Assistance will keep the portion of premium covering the time on risk plus a small admin fee.