Travel Insurance - 10 Top Tips

Insurance is one of those areas that is generally unavoidable; you’ll need it in some form or another somewhere along the line. For the majority of us that just happens to be every day.

One area always in the spotlight one way or another is travel insurance. Yet many of us still aren’t sure if it’s something we really need and to this end, many of us travel without it every year. Here are 10 top tips to help you make the right decision.

1) It is a common myth that if you take the European health card (E111) with you when you travel, you will be covered for anything that goes wrong. This is not the case. The card is just there to be given to a hospital, etc, in an emergency so they will treat you (this is still a must have for this reason). You will still be billed for any treatment you receive in a private health care system. For this reason holiday insurance can be invaluable.

2) When applying for your insurance policy, you must inform the company of any/all medical conditions you suffer from, no matter how small or insignificant they seem. This could prove to be something that voids your policy if you do not. You will find this most probably increases your premium, but it is worth it to keep your policy valid.

3) When looking for cheap travel insurance, be careful to check you are not losing out on any coverage that you will need, such as theft, cancellation of holiday/flights. You may find that some polices really are too good to be true and cover you for the bare minimum.

4) If you are planning to go on a trip that may include activities that could be viewed to be dangerous by the insurance company, you may find you will not be covered under most policies. You will need to find a policy aimed at covering for such activities, i.e. a winter ski policy or adventure holiday insurance. If you are thinking of backpacking, you would similarly be best to look for a backpacker’s policy.

5) The majority of companies offer single, multi trip, family and annual policies. If you are going to travel just once in a year as a single person or a couple, it will work out cheaper to apply for a single trip travel insurance policy. If however you will be travelling 2 or more times, a multi trip policy will save you money. The same applies to a family group, finding separate policies will be expensive, opt for a family policy and you will save money and most probably receive cover for children (under 18) free.

6) Always check excesses on the policy you choose, most policies are peppered with them and finding a policy with a better or no excess in an area you think relevant is prudent.

7) An important thing to remember in regards to item/theft insurance is; if you leave valuables unattended/ out of sight, you will not be protected.

8) An important “don’t” is not to let your holiday provider package the holiday insurance for you as it will work out much more expensive in the long run. In less than a couple of minutes you can find a much cheaper quote on a comparison site. Research from Alliance and Leicester has shown UK holiday makers overspend by £1.3 billion on travel insurance each year, for this very reason.

9) It is important to remember that the insurance company will not pay out for an accident caused whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

10) Finally, in research done by the internet company Moneysupermarket.com it was found that you should ensure you have the following amounts of cover as minimum: Medical expenses £2m, personal liability £1m, cancellation £3,000, baggage £1,500, cash £250, a 24 hour emergency line and cover for legal costs and finally financial ombudsman service membership in case you need to complain.

by Chris Rowlands