Travel Insurance Guide - Part 4 of 4
Our guide to travel insurance aims to help you find the best travel insurance deal for your needs, and in part four we take a look at personal baggage, cancellation and other factors you should consider.
To skip directly to the other parts of this guide click on the links below:
- Part 1 - why travel insurance is important and how much it costs
- Part 2 - annual or single trip; insurance for families, over 65s and business trips
- Part 3 - winter sports & adventure travel insurance; insurance for backpackers and those with pre-existing medical conditions
Personal baggage
The level of cover for personal items is dictated by the value of the luggage you are taking with you. Bear in mind that there is usually a limit on the individual worth of expensive items and you might have to insure them separately. Travel insurance policies usually cover delayed, as well as lost, luggage – so if your bag doesn’t appear until six days into your week long stay, you will be covered for the purchase of essential items, up to a set monetary value.
You might not need personal baggage cover at all if you are covered under your home insurance – it is well worth checking beforehand as this could save money on your premium. It is also important to take care of your belongings when travelling abroad as insurers will be unwilling to pay out if you have been careless. Carefully consider whether you need extra protection for your credit cards, money or important documents such as passports and tickets as these may not be automatically included as part of a personal baggage allowance.
Cancellation cover
It is important to check the reasons for any prospective cancellation that you are covered for. Factors such as illness, death in the family, redundancy etc are usually covered but it is important to double check – including the insurers’ definition of a ‘close family member’. Your insurance will not cover anything that you knew was likely to happen ahead of your holiday. With annual travel insurance be careful what date you specify as the policy start date – if this is the date you first travel and you need to cancel beforehand you may find your insurer will not pay out. Consider starting the insurance from the date you book the holiday instead.
Other factors that should be covered
Among the other factors that most general travel insurance policies should cover are:
- Personal accident insurance – Your policy should cover for death or, for example, the loss of a limb. However, this is not as extensive as you would imagine with the average pay out in the region of £15,000 for death and £25,000 for permanent disablement.
- Public liability insurance – This helps to protect you if you are sued while abroad and is normally in the region of £1m.
But you won’t be eligible if…
Your insurance company will not pay out if you are responsible for an accident, injury, etc, such as through being drunk or using illegal drugs. If you do not tell them the whole truth about your circumstances, such as regarding illnesses or activities, you could also render your claim void.
What type of cover do you need?
It is vital to emphasise the importance of honesty. If you lie to the travel insurance company about an issue such as a pre-existing medical condition or the activities you plan to undertake while on holiday, you could find yourself defaulting any claim. With insurance, honesty is definitely the best policy.
Furthermore, it is crucial to make sure you are adequately covered so that your claim does not fall short. Here are some things to check:
- Cancellation – Will the travel insurance company pay out if your flight is cancelled?
- Are you pregnant? – If so there is often a restriction on how many weeks you can be pregnant for, in order for the policy to be valid.
- Age limit – Make sure you are not over the policy’s age limit, and won’t be over the age limit when you travel.
- Where are you going? – If you’re travelling in the EU make sure you have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to cut medical costs. You will not be insured if you’re traveling to a country deemed unsafe for travel – visit www.fco.gov.uk/travel for advice on countries not to travel to.
- Sports/activities – See part five of our guide for an in-depth look at winter sports and adventure travel insurance. Remember policies could exclude sports such as mountaineering; skydiving, etc, but you might be able to include them at an additional cost.
- Valuables – Your insurer could insist that your valuables are kept in a specified safe place or a claim could be rendered void. Also check the limit of your policy, as you may need to insure expensive items separately.
- How much do you have? – Ensure you are sufficiently covered for things like baggage, cancellations, etc.
How much cover do you need?
Moneysupermarket.com recommends that you take out at least the following levels of cover:
- Medical Expenses - £2m
- Personal Liability - £1m
- Cancellation - £3,000
- Baggage - £1,500
- Cash - £250
- A 24hr emergency line and cover for legal costs.
- Financial Ombudsman Service membership in case you need to complain.
How do you find the right travel insurance policy?
Use the price comparison tool at moneysupermarket.com to compare travel insurance quotes instantly. By entering your details you will receive quotes from a constantly updated database containing more than 1,200 travel insurance policies.
Remember, don’t always choose cheap travel insurance – find the best policy for you, make sure you are completely covered and always read the small print. Then all that remains will be to pack those bags, lock up the house, and enjoy that long-awaited holiday! You deserve it!
Compare Travel Insurance Quotes and Cover
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