Advice on Travel Insurance
Legal stuff
This is just an introduction to travel insurance and is not intended to be representative of the covers or restrictions offered by any particular insurance or that all insurance provide the protection described. You can get a recommendation for a particular insurance to suit your own circumstances by talking to the skilled staff at any Coversure branch.
Why buy Travel Insurance?
Purchase travel insurance to protect yourself against the costs of being treated for injury or illness whilst you are away from home, or loss or damage to your property.
What is covered?
Travel insurance will normally cover you for the loss of money paid to travel companies if you need to cancel your trip before you go because of illness to yourself or a close family member.
You will be covered for illness or injury which occurs whilst you are away from home.
If your baggage is lost, the insurance will usually provide compensation for your loss. If your baggage is delayed, most insurances will pay you an amount to compensate you for purchasing necessities until you are re-united with your baggage.
Travel insurance will normally compensate you if your belongings are damaged or stolen whilst you are away. Money which is stolen will also be covered.
The insurance may also provide for compensation if you are delayed during your journey. Most insurers will provide a help line that you can call whilst you are away if you have any problems.
What is not covered?
You will not be covered for any “pre-existing” conditions. For instance, if you suffer from epilepsy, you will not be covered for medical costs incurred for looking after you if you have an epileptic fit.
This also applies to compensation for cancellation. You will not be covered for cancellation if, for instance, a close relative has cancer at the time at which you take out the insurance, and dies just before you are due to go away.
Travel insurance will not cover you for medical expenses if the purpose of your trip is to obtain medical treatment.
Cover for injury will not be provided if you participate in a “dangerous” sport whilst you are away. The definition of dangerous here will depend on the insurer and you should check your policy carefully. Most policies will exclude cover if you fly in a private aircraft.
There will be limits on the amounts that you may claim on all sections of the policy and you may be liable to pay the first £50 of any claim, known as the “excess”.
There will also be a limit on the amount that you might claim for a single item. This might be as low as £300. However these types of valuables will be covered on your household contents policy if you have taken out “all risks” insurance.
What does it cost?
This depends on where you are going and how many people are in your party. During August 2005 the average price paid by Coversure customers for travel insurance was £58.
Travel insurance is often sold by travel agents and can be considerably more expensive bought this way. Travel agents are allowed to sell travel insurance as part of a travel package, but if you purchase insurance from a travel agent, you do not have the protection of the Financial Ombudsman Service in the event that the insurance is mis-sold.
What to watch out for?
There are many travel insurances available which provide little in the way of cover whilst not actually being very cheap.
Check what is meant by a dangerous activity. We came across a policy sold by a travel agent recently which defined football as a dangerous activity.
Make sure that the policy has adequate cover for your possessions. Note any conditions in the policy, such as the need to obtain a police reference if you have a theft.
Better policies will compensate you for delays on the return journey as well as the outward journey.
What options are worth having?
If you are going skiing, you should purchase a policy which covers you for Winter Sports.
If you are travelling on business, you should purchase a policy which specifically covers you for business equipment that you might take with you, such as laptop computers.
If you are going to travel more than once in a year, it is probably a good idea to purchase an annual multi-trip policy, rather than a separate policy for each trip.
If you are taking a vehicle abroad, some policies have an optional extension to provide breakdown insurance during your trip which can be good value.