Should You Buy Travel Insurance Through EKTA or Directly?

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Choosing where to buy travel insurance can be as important as the policy itself. For many European and especially Ukrainian travelers, EKTA has been a familiar name, while others prefer to buy directly from big international insurers or through comparison platforms. Recent regulatory changes, however, mean it is more important than ever to understand who you are actually buying from, what role EKTA now plays, and when going direct to an insurer makes better sense. This guide breaks down the practical differences, using concrete scenarios and up to date developments so you can protect your next trip with clear eyes.

EKTA Today: What Has Changed Since 2024

Before comparing EKTA with buying travel insurance directly from insurers, you need to know what EKTA is right now. EKTA is a Ukrainian insurance brand that built its reputation on affordable digital-first travel, medical and gadget insurance products. For years it sold short-term travel medical policies starting at under 1 euro per day, often bundled with coverage for sports, baggage and trip cancellation. Many Ukrainians used EKTA policies to secure Schengen visas or to cover ski trips to Slovakia and Austria.

In June 2024, the National Bank of Ukraine, which regulates insurers, announced that it was annulling all of EKTA’s insurance licenses and placing the company under temporary administration. The regulator’s decision means EKTA can no longer sign new insurance contracts or extend existing ones and cannot increase its insurance obligations to clients. Existing policyholders were directed to the company’s call center for claims handling, but future sales were effectively frozen while an external administrator took over management.

For a traveler, this has big practical implications. If you bought an EKTA travel policy in early 2024 for a summer package holiday to Turkey, your certificate might still be valid for the original trip dates, and you could still file a claim through the contact center if you became ill abroad. But if you try to purchase a new EKTA travel policy for a December 2026 ski holiday, you may find that no new policies are being issued at all, or that EKTA is only acting as an intermediary, referring you to another insurer’s product. This transitional status makes it risky to rely on EKTA as a primary insurer for upcoming trips.

This backdrop is important because when people ask whether they should buy “through EKTA or directly from insurers,” the real-world choice in late 2026 often looks more like buying from international brands such as Allianz Partners, AXA, Generali Global Assistance or through online comparison engines that show multiple insurers side by side. EKTA, at least for now, is not operating like a fully licensed international travel insurer and should be treated with caution, especially for trips that extend far into the future.

Buying Travel Insurance Directly From an Insurer

Buying directly from an insurer means purchasing your travel policy from the company that actually underwrites and pays claims. In practice this might be Allianz Global Assistance on its own website, AXA’s online portal, or a national player like Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection in the United States. You fill in your trip dates, destination and traveler ages, choose optional upgrades such as Cancel For Any Reason, pay with a card and receive a policy certificate by email within minutes.

The main upside of going direct is simplicity and accountability. If an American couple books a two week cruise in the Mediterranean and buys a comprehensive plan directly from Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection on the same day, there is no confusion later about who is responsible for a missed connection or emergency evacuation. When something goes wrong, they call the 24/7 assistance number printed on the direct insurer’s certificate, supply receipts and medical records, and deal only with the claims team of the insurer that designed and priced the product.

Buying direct can also reduce the noise of too many options. For instance, a Canadian traveler booking an independent hiking holiday in Patagonia might know they want high medical limits, strong evacuation cover and no interest in rental car excess. Buying directly from a specialist adventure travel insurer that already focuses on such trips simplifies the choice. The company’s online questionnaire may automatically flag hazardous activities such as mountaineering and prompt the traveler to add the correct sports rider, lowering the chance of accidental underinsurance.

However, the direct route has drawbacks. When you only browse one insurer’s website, you may assume its mid level plan at around 8 percent of trip cost is normal, while a comparable policy from a competing insurer might cost closer to 5 or 6 percent with similar benefits. You also have no independent advocate at claim time. If the direct insurer denies your claim for a missed connection because it believes the delay was not covered, your only recourse is internal appeals or, in extreme cases, regulators and courts. There is no broker who can argue your case informally.

Buying Through EKTA or Other Intermediaries

In insurance, companies like EKTA, comparison websites and traditional brokers all act as intermediaries. They do not pay claims themselves. Instead they market policies, help you choose options, and receive a commission from the insurer whose product you buy. In better regulated markets, that commission is baked into the price and the total cost is the same whether you purchase via the intermediary or directly from the insurer’s own site.

Before its licensing issues, EKTA played a hybrid role. It branded its own policies, often partnering with international reinsurers and assistance companies behind the scenes, and it also positioned itself as a digital platform where Ukrainians could quickly compare different travel insurance bundles, add extras such as baggage, sports and trip cancellation and pay online. In this sense it functioned like a regional comparison engine tailored to local needs, especially useful for people booking low cost flights out of Kyiv or Lviv who needed quick proof of insurance for visa purposes.

Today, if EKTA reappears in your travel planning, it may look more like a referral point or claims coordination office rather than a fully active insurer. More broadly, international travelers often face similar intermediary choices from brands such as TravelInsurance.com, Yonder or comparison tools embedded in online travel agencies. These platforms allow, for example, an American family booking a 4,000 dollar Alaska cruise to view multiple insurers’ policies side by side, all showing medical limits, trip cancellation percentages, pre existing condition waivers and service ratings, at roughly similar price points.

The advantage of using such intermediaries is breadth and sometimes advocacy. A platform like Yonder has publicly emphasized that its value is not a discount on premiums but the ability to compare several vetted policies quickly and then have a human team help you interpret tricky wording at claim time. Similarly, some comparison engines highlight customer ratings and include filters for adventure sports coverage, older travelers, or higher medical limits, which can save real time compared with checking each insurer’s brochure individually.

Price and Coverage: Are You Really Paying More One Way or the Other?

One of the most common assumptions is that buying direct from an insurer must be cheaper because you “cut out the middleman.” In practice, with travel insurance that is often not the case. Many insurers sell at the same premium whether you buy through a comparison site, a broker or their own site. The commission paid to the intermediary comes out of the insurer’s marketing budget rather than as a visible surcharge to you, the traveler. Review sites that have looked at platforms like TravelInsurance.com report that plans sold through the platform are usually priced identically to those sold on the insurer’s own website.

The bigger price differences tend to come from plan design rather than channel. For example, a 35 year old European traveling for 10 days in Thailand might see basic policies starting around the equivalent of 20 to 30 dollars for emergency medical coverage with relatively low limits and high deductibles, while more comprehensive plans could run 70 to 120 dollars with higher medical caps, cancellation benefits up to 100 percent of trip cost and generous baggage limits. Whether those exact policies are accessed via a comparison site, an intermediary or direct from the insurer, their headline prices are usually aligned within a small margin.

There are exceptions. Some membership organizations and retailers negotiate group deals with travel insurers that are only available when you purchase through that channel. A familiar example for North American travelers is buying a Zurich underwritten travel policy through a wholesale club’s travel program. Analysis of these arrangements has shown that the club sometimes offers slightly discounted premiums or increased coverage limits compared with buying a similar Zurich policy individually. Likewise, a credit card issuer might bundle a proprietary travel protection plan at no incremental charge to cardholders, something you cannot replicate buying direct.

Coverage differences can also creep in. Airline and booking engine check out pages often preselect “add trip protection” boxes tied to a single insurer. Independent watchdogs have found that these add-on policies are sometimes more expensive than the same insurer’s standalone plan or come with exclusions that are not clearly stated on the booking page. A traveler booking a low cost flight from Warsaw to Barcelona, for instance, may pay extra for such a policy only to discover later that it has lower medical ceilings or narrower cancellation triggers than a plan they could have chosen directly from the insurer’s website or a neutral comparison tool.

Claims, Support and Real-World Scenarios

The real test of whether you should buy through EKTA or directly from an insurer is what happens when you need to claim. Imagine a young Ukrainian family that used to rely on EKTA for all their trips abroad. In 2023 they bought an annual EKTA travel policy covering trips up to 30 days worldwide. During a January 2024 ski trip in Slovakia, their 10 year old broke an arm. They called the assistance number on the EKTA certificate, were referred to a local clinic, and EKTA’s partner paid the medical bill directly. For them, the intermediary structure worked smoothly because EKTA had clear authority and active licenses at that time.

Now consider a slightly different scenario in late 2026. The same family books a summer holiday in Spain and looks online for EKTA. They might find old pages describing sports riders and baggage options at attractive daily rates, but when they attempt to purchase, no new policy is issued because of the annulled licenses. If they manage to obtain a certificate from some partner arrangement without realizing the regulatory backdrop, they could face confusion at claim time about which company is actually responsible for paying. That uncertainty is precisely what most travelers want to avoid, especially when seeking urgent medical help abroad.

By contrast, when you buy direct from a large international insurer with ongoing licenses in multiple countries, claim routing tends to be clearer. An American digital nomad in Lisbon who purchased a single trip policy from Allianz Global Assistance, for example, will have an assistance app or hotline that connects straight to the insurer’s network of clinics and hospitals. If she suffers appendicitis, the claims and assistance infrastructure is directly integrated; there is no need to ask an intermediary which underwriter to call. In multi country trips or cruises, this direct relationship can shave off critical hours.

Intermediaries can still add value in claims. Some comparison platforms and brokers offer informal advocacy when disputes arise. Suppose a British couple bought a policy through a comparison site and later had a claim for a missed Rhine river cruise excursion denied. If they feel the denial contradicts what they were told at purchase, they can ask the platform’s support team to review the case, highlight any inconsistencies and sometimes escalate questions back to the insurer’s relationship managers. While the final decision remains with the underwriter, this extra voice can help clarify misunderstandings or prompt a second look at complex files.

When Buying Direct Makes More Sense

Given EKTA’s regulatory constraints and the general dynamics of travel insurance pricing, there are clear situations where buying directly from an insurer, or at least from a transparent international comparison site linked straight to named insurers, is the safer choice. If you are planning a once in a lifetime, high cost trip like a 12,000 dollar around the world cruise or a three week safari in multiple African countries, you want absolute clarity about which company is on the hook for emergency evacuation, medical bills and trip cancellation. In such cases, buying a comprehensive plan directly from a major global insurer or a well established specialist often reduces complexity.

Travelers with complicated health histories should also lean toward direct relationships. Many direct insurers offer online medical screening tools where you answer detailed questions about chronic conditions, recent surgeries or ongoing medications. The system then confirms in writing whether your condition is covered, excluded or subject to an additional premium. For a retired couple with controlled heart disease or diabetes planning a long stay in Portugal, this written confirmation from the underwriter is more reassuring than a generic reassurance from an intermediary that “pre existing conditions should be fine.”

Another scenario is long booking lead times. If you are reserving a nonrefundable expedition cruise or small group tour 18 months ahead, buying directly from a stable, well capitalized insurer reduces the risk that corporate changes at an intermediary in the interim will complicate claims. The further in the future your trip, the more you should prioritize regulatory stability and brand continuity over a slight saving in premium or the convenience of reusing an old platform like EKTA out of habit.

Finally, if you primarily travel from outside Ukraine or do not hold Ukrainian residency, there is little compelling reason today to seek out EKTA specifically given its license issues. Instead, look at insurers licensed in your home country or destination, or at comparison tools that clearly disclose which underwriter stands behind each plan and where that underwriter is regulated.

When an Intermediary or Platform Can Be Useful

Despite the concerns around EKTA’s current status, intermediaries in general still have a role. If you are short on time and want a quick snapshot of what typical travel insurance coverage looks like for your trip, comparison sites and broker style platforms are very efficient. A solo traveler from Chicago planning a week in Iceland can enter dates, cost and age into a comparison site and instantly see a range of policies with varying medical limits, cancellation percentages and add ons. This helps them understand, for example, that upgrading from 250,000 dollars to 500,000 dollars in medical coverage might only cost a few dollars more, which could be worth it given Iceland’s high healthcare costs.

Intermediaries can also cater to niches. Some focus on backpackers and long stay digital nomads, others specialize in ski trips, cruises or family holidays with children under 10. They often bundle extras such as coverage for missed sports days, rental car excess relief or equipment cover that mainstream direct insurers either do not emphasize or price as expensive add ons. For a snowboarding group traveling from Poland to the French Alps, a specialist platform that clearly lists which policies treat off piste riding as a covered activity, and which require you to be on marked runs, can prevent nasty claim surprises.

Another advantage is customer service in your primary language and time zone. For Ukrainians or other Eastern European travelers who are not fully comfortable dealing with claims in English or German, a regional intermediary staffed by bilingual agents can be reassuring, even if the ultimate underwriter is an international company. However, the recent regulatory action against EKTA shows the importance of verifying that any intermediary you use remains properly licensed to distribute insurance and that it discloses the underlying insurer and policy terms clearly.

If you do opt to use an intermediary platform, treat it as a front end for discovering and comparing policies rather than as the entity that will pay your claim. Always read the policy certificate itself before purchase, confirm that the named insurer has active licenses in relevant jurisdictions, and keep the insurer’s assistance numbers handy, not just the intermediary’s email address.

The Takeaway

For travelers who once relied on EKTA as a one stop shop, the changes since mid 2024 are significant. With its licenses annulled by Ukraine’s central bank and a temporary administrator in place, EKTA is no longer in a position to function as a conventional, fully licensed insurer selling new travel policies in the same way it did before. That makes buying new travel coverage “through EKTA” inherently uncertain, especially for trips departing well into 2026 and beyond.

More broadly, the choice between buying travel insurance directly from an insurer or via an intermediary platform should be guided less by assumptions about price and more by clarity, stability and the complexity of your trip. For straightforward, moderately priced journeys, a reputable comparison site or broker can be an efficient way to compare several solid policies and then connect you to a well known underwriter. For big ticket or medically complex trips, going direct to a major, stable insurer with clear underwriting and claims processes is usually the safer bet.

Whichever route you take, focus on the fundamentals: sufficient emergency medical and evacuation limits for your destinations, realistic trip cancellation coverage matching the nonrefundable cost of your bookings, and clear wording around pre existing conditions and high risk activities. Check that the company named on the certificate is properly licensed today, not just historically well known. That way, when you step on the plane, train or ship, you can turn your attention to enjoying the journey rather than worrying who will pick up the phone if something goes wrong.

FAQ

Q1. Is EKTA still a safe choice for new travel insurance policies?
As of late 2026, EKTA’s insurance licenses in Ukraine have been annulled, and the company is under temporary administration, so it is not a reliable source for new travel policies compared with established, fully licensed international insurers.

Q2. Will an existing EKTA policy still pay if I have a claim?
If you bought an EKTA policy before the regulatory action and your trip falls within its original dates, claims may still be handled through the company’s contact center, but you should verify details directly with EKTA or the named underwriter on your certificate.

Q3. Is buying travel insurance directly from an insurer usually cheaper?
Often the premium is similar whether you buy direct or via a reputable intermediary, because the insurer’s commission to the intermediary is built into its marketing costs rather than added on as a separate fee.

Q4. What is the main advantage of buying travel insurance direct?
The main advantage is clarity and accountability: you have a direct relationship with the company that underwrites the policy and pays claims, which can simplify support when something goes wrong.

Q5. How do comparison sites make money if prices are the same?
Comparison platforms typically receive a commission from insurers for each policy sold through their site, but reputable ones do not charge extra fees to travelers and aim to keep premiums aligned with the insurer’s own pricing.

Q6. Are airline “add on” travel insurance offers good value?
Not always. Independent reviews have shown that insurance added during flight or hotel bookings can be more expensive or come with stricter exclusions than similar standalone policies bought directly from the insurer or a neutral comparison site.

Q7. When should I definitely avoid intermediaries like EKTA?
You should avoid any intermediary that has lost its insurance licenses or is under regulatory sanctions for new business, and for very expensive or complex trips it is usually better to buy directly from a stable, well regulated insurer.

Q8. What should I check on a policy before I buy it?
Check the name of the underwriting insurer, the emergency medical and evacuation limits, trip cancellation and interruption terms, exclusions for pre existing conditions, and any rules about sports or high risk activities you plan to do.

Q9. Does my credit card’s built in travel protection replace separate insurance?
Credit card travel protections can help with things like delayed baggage or trip delays, but they often have lower medical and evacuation limits and narrower coverage, so many travelers still purchase a dedicated travel insurance policy for significant international trips.

Q10. How far in advance should I buy travel insurance?
Ideally you should buy as soon as you have significant nonrefundable costs, such as deposits or plane tickets, so that trip cancellation benefits apply from that date until your departure.