State health care in South Africa is means tested. Unless you are poor by South African standards you would be expected to pay. In my view you should take out a policy with health cover, including medical evacuation. You should also talk to your doctor about a few jabs as soon as possible.

Again, thanks for the responses.

I've never claimed on any insurance policy of any type - ever. I'm a pretty cautious person in general and though i'm going to a country with a not-so-good reputation on crime (South Africa). To be honest i'm more worried about my health if I get ill or am involved in an accident, than my belongings.

"Perhaps i'm a bit cynical, but if this is the case, then IMHO the best value for money is just to go for the best emergency medical cover, and the cheapest premium" - I would tend to agree. Although if I was going to spend some time in a country with a decent public health service, I might not even bother with medical cover (often you need to get a form before you leave the UK to be covered by such health services).

I have a little sympathy for insurance companies because I know that some people take the attitude that, because they have insurance, it's ok to leave their expensive camera on the beach while they have a swim. Certainly it's better to take care of valuables that to take out an expensive insurance policy however it would benefit many people if there was a minimum standard for holiday insurance that all companies adhered to. A lot of people believe that all holiday insurance is the same.

When in a foreign country you always need to be more careful about valuables, strangers and so on. The risk of being a victim of crime varies enormously between one area and another. If travelling to a high risk area, protection that is better than any insurance is not to take anything valuable, carry a spare wallet with nothing of value in it, stay out of dark alleys, carry an attack alarm, be suspicious of strangers and generally be sensible and cautious.

Medical cover is fairly generic across all companies with the normal exclusions for things such as private treatment where state facilities are available, unncessary/exploratory surgeries and cosmetic treatment. Cover for dental treatment is normally for the relief of pain only and will often have a limit on the sum insured (approx £250). As per my previous post you should check the specific cover on whichever policy you purchase.

The 24 hour assistance service provided by insurers will try to offer the highest level of service at all times and the policy will normally require you to contact them if in-patient treatment is required or if medical costs are likely to exceed a certain amount (between £250-£500). This enables insurers to guarantee the payment of the bills and to ensure that you get the appropriate treatment to get you fit enough to continue your holiday or return home.

Many thanks for that reply - very helpful indeed.

When it comes to medical cover - is there much difference between companies and how they cover you if something happens?

The personal possesions section of a travel insurance policy is generally provided to protect passengers against the loss of their suitcase during their travels. It was never intended to cover the more expensive 'valuable' items that people carry with them. Considering travel insurance is such a price sensitive purchase many of the premiums payable are not sufficient to protect against the subsequent losses of high priced items and the costs to the consumers would invariably increase.

However, most home contents insurance policies either include cover for these types of items whilst you are travelling or can be extended to include them for a much more competitive premium than could be offered for specific items on a travel insurance policy.

So yes you could reduce the premium by avoiding baggage cover as long as you have suitable cover elsewhere.

Hope this helps.

Reading through the fine print of some of the policies online here, there seems to be some very clever wording when it comes to lost or stolen possessions. Though the headline figure seems good (say GBP3000) "Valuables" seem to be limited to paltry GBP300 in some cases, with a per-item limit of 100 pounds - then a 75 pound excess. Plus having to jump through hoops with invoices of the products you once bought, deductions for wear and tear etc.

Are these terms purposely worded to not pay out anything meaningful? Most "valuables" like cameras, video cameras, mobile phones, jewellery, etc (stuff that usually gets stolen) are normally all worth hundreds of pounds each.

Perhaps i'm a bit cynical, but if this is the case, then IMHO the best value for money is just to go for the best emergency medical cover, and the cheapest premium.

I welcome any insight from people who understand this industry better than I.