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Advice on Travel Insurance

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Medical costs are rising for the British overseas and an accident or illness can leave you and your family in a financial mess. So be prepared – it’s better to be safe than sorry! Organise your travel insurance before you leave the country.

Importance of travel insurance:

Although you may be in excellent health and may have never had any health problems… accidents do happen! A broken leg abroad can cost you tens of thousands of pounds. Approximately only one third of countries have a reciprocal health agreement with the UK and these are based on emergency procedures. If you fall ill in a country with a reciprocal health agreement with the UK, you may still be required to pay for some of the medical costs, for example ambulance fees.

Travel Insurance covers you for more than just medical expenses. Your luggage and personal belongings can be covered for loss or damage including passports and personal money. Repatriation costs and cancelled or delayed flights can also be covered, along with damage you may cause to a third party.

Don’t pay too much for your insurance!

When it comes to travel insurance, it seems holiday makers are taking the easy way out and leaving it to their travel agent to organise. You could be paying up to five times more than the average cost for insurance, as travel agents sell insurance to boost their profits. Thanks to the growing market for online travel companies and retailers, prices for travel insurance have decreased. Travel insurance is generally cheap and you would normally expect to pay around £25 for a week abroad.

You should always check the level of cover on your travel insurance and know what it covers. Expensive does not always mean better. Some policies with a higher premium may have unnecessary cover that you may not need or already have cover for on your Home Insurance policy. Excess may vary the price of travel insurance also. The excess is the set amount you pay towards any claim made and the higher the excess on your policy; the less you will be paying in premium.

The right cover

When taking out travel insurance, you will be asked questions that will affect your type of insurance. For example, pre-existing medical conditions, are you pregnant or whether you will be participating in any hazardous activities etc. Always be honest in answering any questions because if you are not and you later need to make a claim, the insurance company can reject the claim and refuse to pay out.

Here are a few things that you should check when taking out insurance for your travels.

Cancellation -
Will your insurance cover you if your flight is cancelled?
Are you pregnant? -
You will need to notify your insurance company if you are pregnant as there are restrictions on how many weeks pregnant you can be when traveling.
Age limit -
Most policies have age limits. Make sure your age is covered on your travel insurance policy
Destination -
Travel insurance will not cover you if you are traveling to a country that the government has deemed unsafe to travel to. Check the government site for update information - www.fco.gov.uk/travel.
Valuables -
Keep your valuables safe at all times. If you are careless you may not be covered.

TRAVEL INSURANCE POLICIES

Single-trip travel insurance

Single-trip travel insurance will cover you for one particular holiday. The insurance will cover from the date of departure till the date of arrival back in the UK.

Annual-trip travel insurance

If you are a frequent traveller, you can save money by purchasing an annual policy as opposed to taking out insurance for each separate trip. It is also more convenient, as there is no need to purchase insurance before each trip, it lasts the whole year. This policy is also known as a multi-trip policy. This policy can save you a large sum in premium, particularly the more trips you take over the course of the year. Your cover is for one year from the date you choose. You may want to choose the start date as the day you booked your first trip, as this will cover you for cancellation up until the date you depart. You also have the choice of how many days the policy will cover for. These range from 21 to 35 or 45 days per trip.

Family travel insurance

It can sometimes be quite expensive when taking the whole family on holidays. When you add up the cost of plane tickets, accommodation and food etc it may be a bit terrifying to think of the cost to cover each individual for travel insurance. A family travel insurance policy will cover all individuals of the family on the one policy. The premium will also remain the same no matter how many children are in the family. Therefore it may work out that the children may be getting cover for free. Children are classed as being under 18 years old and also if they are studying full time at university and are still living at home. The bigger the family the more you save!

Business travel insurance

Business travel insurance is similar to the annual-trip insurance but is better suited to those who travel frequently as part of their job or business. Business travel insurance offers the option of colleague replacement cover. This covers a colleague traveling in your place, if you fall ill or are unable to make the trip.

Over 65s travel insurance

Many travel insurance providers do not offer or offer limited cover for the older aged travellers as there is a higher risk of claiming. With the over 65s travel insurance policy, cover for emergency and medical expenses is higher than the average travel policy. Also, there is additional cover for curtailment, cancellation and delayed departures.

ADDITIONAL TRAVEL INSURANCE POLICIES

Winter sports travel insurance

There could be nothing worse then going on a relaxing ski holiday, breaking your leg skiing on the last day and having to fork out tens of thousands of pounds in medical costs because you did not arrange insurance for your trip. Not the best end to a holiday!

More and more Brits are donning their skis and snowboards and opting for the slopes for their holidays. Unfortunately skiing and snowboarding can be extremely dangerous and accidents do happen. If you were to break an ankle while snowboarding in the United States, without winter sports travel insurance, it could cost you £70,000 just in repatriation costs.

Whether you are an adventurous skier heading off-piste or sledding the nursery slopes with the kids, you can select the level of cover required. Some travel insurance policies have winter sports cover as an optional extra. It is imperative that you have the correct cover for your activity because if you are injured off-piste but your policy is only for on-piste, you will not be covered. Also another thing to consider are the extras such as equipment cover, hire equipment, search and rescue and cancellation due to no snow.

Adventure travel insurance

Standard travel insurance policies usually may not cover adventure sports, but can be covered as an add-on. Alternatively, you could purchase a policy tailored to your adventure activity, whether it be bungee jumping, kite surfing or jet skiing. It is important to know that your policy will cover you for emergency and medical while participating in your activity.

Backpackers travel insurance

Also known as student travel insurance, gap year travel insurance or long stay travel insurance, backpackers travel insurance offers cover from three to eighteen months. Cover will vary with what countries you are traveling to, whether you will be working and need cover for your possessions. Medical care is different in every country and if traveling outside of Europe your EHIC card will not be valid. Therefore it is best to know the state of medical care in the countries that you are visiting. It is most likely you will be taking one or more items of value with you on your trip, such as digital cameras, mobile phones, iPods or passports etc. Will your personal possessions be stored safely while you are on the move?

Cover for people with pre-existing medical conditions

To ensure you get the right cover, it is always best to let your insurer know if you suffer from any medical conditions. You have the choice of excluding your pre-existing condition from the policy or having it covered. If you are not honest with your insurer, for example, not tell them you suffer from diabetes and you then suffer a problem resulting from your condition while you are away, your insurer is not obliged to cover you.

An EHIC card is also beneficial to have while traveling within Europe and Switzerland. Especially if you have chosen to have your pre-existing medical condition excluded from the policy.

IMPORTANT COVER

Personal baggage

Your personal baggage may already be covered away from your home under your home insurance policy, so it is best to check beforehand as you could save money on your premium. Personal baggage level of cover is determined by the luggage value and there is usually a limit any one item can be insured for. Your travel insurance will cover you for delayed luggage and lost luggage but it is important to take care of your belongings as insurers may decide not to pay out for a claim if you have been careless. You may also decide that you need extra cover for your personal money, passport or any other important items like credit cards.

Cancellation cover

Cancellation is covered on your travel insurance policy under particular circumstances. Policies generally cover cancellation for reasons such as illness, death in the family and redundancy but it is best to check what other factors are included. You may want to consider what start date you assign to your annual travel insurance. If you start the policy from the first day of travel but you find out you need to cancel the policy ahead of this date – your insurer may not pay out in the event of a claim. Sometimes it is wise to start the policy from the date you book the holiday.

Personal accident insurance

Your travel insurance policy should cover you in the event of death, disablement or loss of a limb or sight while you are traveling. Generally a pay out for death is around £10,000, Loss of sight or limb £25,000 and permanent total disablement pays to the amount of £25,000.

Public liability insurance

This will cover you if you cause harm to or damage property to a third party while traveling. You will be protected for the amount of around £2 million if you are sued while abroad.

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JS Insurance is the trading name of Jade Stanley Limited, 5 Chapel Mews, Waterloo Street, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 1AR, Telephone: 01273 773 017. Jade Stanley Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA Registration number is 306205.

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