Travel Insurance - An unbiased view

First things first before we start, if you going to one of the following countries...

Austria, Belgium, Cyprus (but not Northern Cyprus), Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

...get yourself a EHIC.

The EHIC is a European Health Insurance Card - The replacement for the E111, after January 2006 E111's are not longer valid.

The EHIC and holiday insurance are complementary and you are advised to have both by the UK's department of health. The EHIC does not cover some costs such as repatriation. Some insurance companies require you to have an EHIC and some companies will waive the excess charge if an EHIC has been used.

Travel Insurance Tips

Where to Buy:

You do not have to buy your insurance from the travel agent from whom you purchase their holiday. You will be under pressure to do so as the travel agency staff receive a good rate of commission (up to 40%) on all insurance sales. However, there are a host of companies active in the travel insurance market and there are likely to be better deals available. A list of holiday Insurers is also available on our website, please click here.

If you have difficulty in getting insurance due to age, try going to: www.ageconcern.org.uk - They do not impose an age limit, click here to have it open direct on the correct page.

Single trip or Annual:

Travel insurance is a very specialised market and it is essential that you make certain the cover meets your needs. One can opt for single trip insurance or annual cover, but if the latter is chosen , it is essential to make certain that the cover allows periods of travel that are acceptable to you. Some policies restrict cover to 30 days in any one trip.

Medical Cover:

Probably the single most important element of any travel insurance policy is the Medical cover. This provides for treatment at the destination and the cost of being flown home by air ambulance should this be necessary. The cost of air ambulance repatriation is very very high and it is not a cost that any traveller would wish to bear from their own resources!

Read & Understand the Policy:

It is essential to read and understand the action to be taken in the event of a medical emergency in resort. This will almost always include informing the tour operator's representative and contacting the insurance companies dedicated helpline specified in the policy. Failure to take this action could certainly result in the refusal of the insurers to meet the claim, or at best abate it by a percentage. When you travel, make certain you have the policy document with you and that you know what action you must take in the event of an emergency. When the emergency occurs is not the time to be reading through the insurance document trying to decide what to do next!

Extent of Cover:

It is also crucial to understand what the medical insurance covers. !t frequently excludes hazardous pursuits, such as skiing, parachute jumping, white-water rafting etc. Read the small print and be certain that the cover you buy meets your requirements in these respects.

Other Elements:

Other essential elements include cover for baggage and personal belongings, delays, cancellation of the holiday and personal accident. Booking by credit card currently gives a measure of protection if the tour operator fails or the holiday is cancelled, but travellers are often under the misapprehension that this is 'travel insurance'. It most certainly is not. Check your household contents policy; very often this will cover loss or damage to personal property under certain circumstances.

Claims - Points to Ponder:

Did you know that up to 10% of all claims are not paid in full and a good number of those are totally rejected!

Reasons include:

• Not covered - You are under the misaprehension that the cover is included in the policy when it is specifically excluded.

• Failure to take reasonable care - insurers are entitled to expect that you take reasonable care of your property. Negligence on your part may result in total or part rejection of the claim.

• Failure to act in accordance with the terms of the Policy - Insurers often limit the costs of their claims by having standard procedures designed to keep costs to a minimum. If you fail to act in accordance with the terms of the policy e.g. by not notifying their help line of a medical emergency, they may suffer costs which could have been avoided. In these circumstances they may restrict the claim.

• Loss exceeds maximum extent of cover - Frequently, loss of property etc. is restricted to a sum representing the value of goods that a traveller could reasonably be expected to carry. If you take your £10,000 diamond studded Rolex to Rome and it is stolen, you will need a very good and expensive policy if you are to be able to recover the cost!

• Pre-existing condition - When you contract for insurance you are required to declare any pre-existing medical conditions that may affect the insurers risk and thus the premium. Failure to do so will almost certainly result in rejection of any claim linked to those conditions.

• Lack of evidential Material - Quite understandably, insurers require some form of evidence that a loss has been suffered. If you lose items or have them stolen, always report the loss to the appropriate authority. Report thefts to the local police and obtain a report or at the very least a crime number. At airports report to the airport management and on cruise ships to the cruise operator. Get some form of written confirmation that you have reported the loss. When you make the claim, provide proof of purchase and cost. If you don't have the receipt, dig out the old credit card bills etc.

• Holiday Cancellation - With holidays often booked well in advance, cancellation due to illness etc. is bound to be a cause for concern. If you are forced to cancel, tell your insurer before you do so and provide evidence of cause.

If you have made what you believe to be a justified claim that your travel insurer is refusing to meet, you can take you case to the Financial Ombudsman at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk All travel insurance underwriters are normally accountable to this office.

Credit Card Cover:

How often have you heard people say "we don't bother with insurance - we are covered by our credit card" This can be a serious error. Credit cards do provide basic cover for some things. However, they do not provide the cover essential to the travellers.

Judging the cost of good and bad travel insurance:

There are many ways of judging good and bad cover, most are obvious, some are not. Some people can afford to risk the higher excess for higher cover, whilst some cannot afford to lose anything and will take reduced cover in exchange not losing this excess. Often the lower premium with selected lower or zero excess cover can offer sufficient affordable insurance.

It is very difficult to judge what cover would be right for individuals or for a family, so it's often better to select a few personal favourites and manually compare their good and bad points.

Remember a major name or high premium does not guarantee you'll getting the best cover. Take into consideration all the points above and throughout the website and remember the choice is yours and yours alone, but remember a bad choice can result in alot of distress.

For links to a large selection of travel insurance companies (some are sponsored, many are not, none are given recommendations - that's for you to decide), please click here.

 

For all types of Holidays, Accomodation, Flights, Car Rental, Travel Insurance, Advice and more - thousands of companies, millions of possibilites - www.BigHolidaySearch.co.uk - A Travel Directory For all your travel needs.   To link to our site, email sales@bigholidaysearch.co.uk