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We all love to get away for our Summer Holidays, or
increasingly, away for frequent short breaks abroad; but one often neglected
and vital aspect of our holidays or short breaks is Travel Insurance. Now of
course, the reason that many people omit this vital ingredient of their holiday
is that it is an extra expense to be paid out for which cuts into their
spending money; but looked at another way, the consequences of not taking out
Travel Insurance could easily cost far more than a Travel Insurance premium
would have done.
The good news is that the latest figures have revealed
that Travel Insurance has, on average, come down in price compared to last
year, so now there is even more incentive (if any were required), to take out
that all important policy before you go. As always, it generally pays to shop
around in order to get the best deals but additionally, here are some further
sage words of advice gleaned from some of our readers who kindly shared the
benefit of their practical experience.
- Although you will usually get the best Travel Insurance bargains by
shopping around and not just accepting the Travel Insurance that is
offered by your travel agent, there are certain exceptions where this
might not necessarily hold true. These exceptions will usually be in
regards to certain high end or quality packages to far off, out of the way
exotic locations or on adventure/sporting holidays. In these circumstances
it might well be worth paying a slightly higher premium and going with the
tour operators Insurance because the whole organisation of these companies
is geared to action things much more swiftly if you hold Travel Insurance
with them or one of their affiliated companies. In an emergency, this
could prove invaluable!
- If you anticipate travelling several times over the course of a
year, it can often work out vastly cheaper to take out a 1 year Travel
Insurance policy in advance; that way you will be covered for all your
journeys in advance…even impromptu ones.
- If you are travelling with your partner, it may work out
considerably cheaper to take out a joint Travel Insurance policy. Be
careful to read the terms and conditions though: many companies have
different definitions as to what constitutes a partner…read the small print
to ensure that you are not caught out.
- Ensure that the Travel Insurance policy that you buy covers the
correct region that you are travelling to (defined by many companies in
several ways e.g. Europe & Med/North America/Worldwide/ Australia and New Zeeland).
Check before you buy and specifically state your destination to the seller
to make doubly sure.
- Ensure that your likely activities are covered within the terms of
our Travel Insurance policy. This advice is not just for mountaineers and
bungee jumpers…you will be amazed at the seemingly harmless activities
that are often not covered!
- And the previous point leads nicely onto our final point…READ THE
FINE PRINT OF YOUR TRAVEL INSURANCE POLICY! I know it’s a pain, I know
that its time consuming BUT; if you ever do this just once you will always
do so in the future. You will be truly amazed at the exclusions often
stated…exclusions that can render your policy ‘unfit for purpose’. So
don’t get caught out…read the policy!
By noting the above points, you should get the best
value Travel Insurance to suit your specific purpose, but there are just two
further tips that I myself would like to add. Firstly, ensure that the level of
cover that you have is adequate; it is hard to know just how much might be
enough but a generally accepted yardstick is; £2 million for medical cover, £1
million for personal liability, £3,000 for cancellation cover and £1,500 for
baggage cover. Secondly, get yourself a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).
This will give you free or greatly reduced cost medical treatment within
Europe…but this is NOT a substitute for Travel Insurance…it’s just handy to
have as a back up.
We hope that this guide has been interesting as well
as helpful, coming as it does from readers’ practical experiences. Wherever it
is that you are planning to travel to though; we wish you a very happy and safe
journey.
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