The Truth About Travel Insurance
Planning a holiday? Travelling for work? Want a wedding in the sun? Travel insurance is always one of those things we know we need but ever really understand. We only really think about it if something goes wrong.
Belle About Town talks to Neil Wright, founder of travel insurance company CoverForYou, to find out what we need to look out for when planning foreign trips this summer…
- Travel insurance: necessary evil or industry con?
Neither! Travel insurance is a necessity but doesn’t have to be an evil.
As tedious as it sounds, insurance is an absolute must for any holiday. At a basic level it will give you peace of mind for any delayed flights and mislaid or damaged valuables, either in transit or stored in your accommodation. Most important of all however, travel insurance is vital if you require overseas medical treatment and repatriation. The average cost for this is £1,300 (source ABI 2017) but can be much much higher (in the hundreds of thousands) if you need to be flown home for example. Just remember to fill out the medical questions fully when selecting your policy.
- How to choose the right policy
Start by working out what’s important to you. Perhaps it’s low cost, a high Trust Pilot rating or finding a specialist insurer to meet your specific medical need or trip type. Once you’ve got this, you can find travel insurance companies that specialise in the areas which are a priority for you. It’s always worth asking friends and family for recommendations or you can look at aggregator sites like Money SuperMarket and Compare the Market for guidance.
Travel insurance companies usually offer different policy levels, such as high, mid and low tier. Reading through all the small print can be tedious and overwhelming but is necessary to find the right cover for your trip. The last thing you’d want is to be out of pocket if something does happen to you on holiday. Make sure you look at all the small print – or find an insurer that specialises in being super simple and easy to understand, like CoverForYou and Cedar Tree.
It’s definitely worth evaluating the policy cover against the excess. Excess is the amount you will be required to pay in certain situations if you need to make a claim. Ensure you’re happy with the amount you’ve been quoted and the level of cover it comes with – or even better, find a policy with zero excess; they do exist.
Medical issues are one of the main reasons people have to make a claim on holiday. While basic cover starts from £1-2m, it’s better to look out for policies offering cover in the region of £10-15m. All companies offer a 24-hour medical claims helpline which is useful if you need to speak to your insurer in an emergency. Be as detailed as you can with any pre-existing medical conditions to save unwanted hassle if you end up making a claim. Failure to declare this could lead to you not being able to make a claim, leaving you seriously out of pocket.
Start thinking about purchasing a policy early on! Combine it with booking your holiday and set the start date to there and then, rather than your trip start date, to ensure you’re covered for any pre-holiday issues (such as medical or flight disruptions). In these uncertain times, opt for a travel disruption add-on for extra protection. CoverForYou has a Brexit Trip Disruption Cover – an insurance add-on that will ensure you are covered for instances of Brexit-related travel disruption e.g. unused travel, accommodation and other pre-paid charges as a result of factors caused by Brexit.
Once you have chosen your policy, remember that insurers are legally obliged to provide a 14-day cooling-off period from the date of purchase. During this time you are within your rights to cancel your policy and receive a full refund, if you change your mind having read all the small print for example.
- Some handy tips when you’re going away…
…as a family
Most companies offer single-parent family cover, couple travel insurance (if you both live at the same address), and family holiday insurance (usually two adults plus up to four children travelling together). Watch out for wording; a ‘family’ policy sometimes only applies if everyone is travelling at the same time and might not cover children who don’t live permanently with the policyholder.
Think about phone and gadget cover. The average family takes up to £3,000 worth of gadgets with them on holiday, so it’s worthwhile extending your baggage cover to protect your valuables from damage, loss and theft, at the right amount.
…as a solo holiday-goer
If you’re planning more than just one holiday this year, an annual multi-trip cover might work out better than a single policy in the long run. It also means you only need to sort out travel insurance once in a twelve-month period, which is handy if you’re planning multiple mini-trips.
…as a bride-to-be
If you’re getting married abroad, ensure your travel insurance cover protects your wedding-day valuables in the event that they are mislaid, stolen or damaged. These might include ceremonial attire, wedding gifts, wedding rings, photographs and video recordings of your special day.
…as an intrepid traveller
Work out the major details of your adventure from the get-go – which countries you’re visiting, how long you’re going for and what activities you’ll be doing. This will determine which regions you need cover for (just Europe, or worldwide including or excluding the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean) and whether you need certain activities included in the policy. Things like skiing, bungee jumping, some levels of canoeing and scuba diving, jet skiing, kite boarding, paragliding often require higher levels of sports and activities cover.
- Advice provided free of charge by CoverForYou (coverforyou.com) . CoverForYou provides UK travellers with genuinely flexible and cost-effective travel insurance policies, all with zero excess. Whatever your holiday, get covered from as little as £4.25 for a weekend. What’s more, CoverForYou has a record of settling around 90% of all claims, so you can travel safe in the knowledge you will truly be covered if anything goes wrong on holiday.
