Going on holiday without adequate travel insurance could lead to financial disaster. Your holiday could end up costing you far more than you’d bargained for. Delaying in booking your insurance can be just as costly. Read on and you see just a couple of reasons why.

Some examples:

You book your holiday and think, I got some time it's 9 months away. A month later your wife or girlfriend tells you she's pregnant, you're not insured, oh dear - I've heard of this one before, so don't think it can't happen to you.

Illness, terminal or otherwise. I think this is subject that anybody ever wants to be faced with, but the reality it can happen. It's especially important on last minute holidays to cover you for more common ailments such as chicken pox (This happened to my son) it could mean a disaster - A small point here, Thomas Cook provided the insurance free at the time, it cost us just £100 total in excess but saved us nearly £2000 and was paid back pretty quickly without any problems - so not all insurance companies are the as bad as some people make out!

These are just 2 examples of many, don't chance it, book it straight away.

PREGNANCY

There may be problems relating to the cancellation of holidays because after the date of booking one or more of the booking party has wished to withdraw from the contract or cancel the contract because of a pregnancy which was not in evidence at the time of booking.

It is therefore ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL that you take out the insurance policy at the time of booking the holiday and make sure that the insurance policy has a section which covers cancellation in the event of an unplanned pregnancy. Many people do not take out insurance at the time of booking their holiday, they buy it just before they travel and yet this is a classic example of why it is absolutely essential to take out insurance at the time of booking the holiday.

The same situation applies in respect of any form of unforeseen accident or illness which causes a cancellation. It is the only way that you as a consumer are going to recover the cost of your holiday.

Chicken Pox & Flying

Having mentioned previously my son came down with this, I have put this information on, as at the time I found it difficult to find it anywhere on the internet myself. If a friend or relative comes down with Chicken Pox, note the date that it was first noticed, this may prove very important. Chicken Pox is coughed out in an infected person before any rash appears. You are infectionous two days before a rash appears until roughly 5 or 6 days after the rash appeared. (When the last blister has crusted over). The infected person may not be allowed to fly during the infectious stage. This is because the air conditioning systems in aeroplane cabins allow germs to circulate easily, and the chickenpox infection can be very dangerous for people with AIDS or a lowered immune system, and pregnant women. Your child should be safe to fly once they are past the infectious stage and the blisters have crusted over, but it’s best to check your airline policy first, maybe even asking them for a copy of it in writing. If a woman comes into contact with chickenpox or shingles when pregnant, there’s no problem if she’s had it before, because this gives your body immunity to it (re-infection is rare). This means the baby is not at risk of chicken pox even of the mother develops shingles during pregnancy.If the woman hasn’t had chickenpox before or is unsure if she has, she should see her GP to be tested for it. If this shows she hasn’t had chickenpox and has no antibodies, then chickenpox antibodies can be given. This is best given within 4 days (but can be given up to 10 days) of coming into contact with the virus.

You should inform the airline as soon as you have sought medical advice and had the illness diagnosed and maybe ask them to confirm any correspondence. It’s also important to let your insurer know, to make sure that you will be covered if you have to delay or cancel your holiday or if you need to extend your stay until your child is well enough to fly home. 

It takes 10-21 days for the symptoms to show after you’ve come into contact with the virus. This is called the 'incubation period'. Remember this if any of your party has been in contact with the infected person, you may well get stuck out there!

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Disclaimer / Health and Medical Comments For legal reasons, the medical information provided on BigHolidaySearch is at best of a general nature for information and cannot be a substitute for the advice of a medical professional (for instance, a qualified doctor/physician, nurse, pharmacist/chemist, and so on). BigHolidaySearch.co.uk is not a doctor. The information shown above on this page is an amalgamation of information, sourced from numerous genuine souces, given by qualified medical professionals. (see http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=97

We hope you find this information useful - remember, most holidays go without problems!

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