Travel Insurance for a UK trip?

Having recently been introduced to (by ‘been introduced to’ please read ‘crashed into’) the world of parenting we took the decision to abandon a foreign holiday this year in favour of a week in the Norfolk broads. Having done the research and finally agreed on a suitable boat, which was not the speed cruiser I was after (apparently), we got to the part of the booking that asked us if we required travel insurance.

In honesty I had not even considered travel insurance as we have an annual holiday insurance policy which covers trips in the UK as long as they are longer than two nights in duration. However, I consider myself to be part of the travel insurance world and as such was interested in what the tour operator offered.

Now, I appreciate that travel insurance is important even for a UK trip. You never know if you may need to cancel the trip due to an unforeseeable event or even become the victim of crime and have possessions stolen whilst away. However, I was frankly shocked at the cost. Two adults, both under forty years old and an infant under two years old - £33.50 sir? I have long been a supporter of the “you get what you pay for” ethos, and fully understand that if you want the best travel insurance product, you may need to pay a little more than average, but this seemed a little extreme. I compared the product details with a premier single trip policy from www.holidaysafe.co.uk, which based on exactly the same trip details, with comparable cover, came out at £11.11 for the family and only £41.27 for a Annual holiday insurance policy.

Where’s the catch I here you say?
Well, in truth there is not one. I guess that sometime the best travel insurance is not always the most expensive. I would like to qualify that however by saying two things:

Check the excesses, which is the amount you will be expected to pay in the event of a claim
If the excess is set very high, the policy will be very cheap because you will not have the ability to make a claim. If the cover levels are very low or some sections have no cover, check they are not important to you.

Check the cover levels
If the cover levels are very low the value of the policy is reduced as you will again see little return in the event of a claim. Also check that all of the sections of cover exist , If any sections are missing, check that they are not important to you.

There is a fine line between cheap travel insurance and worthless travel insurance. The best travel insurance has a good balance between cover levels, excesses and premium.

Swine Flu – are you covered?

The answer is yes if you are unfortunate enough to get it. But no if you are cancelling for fear of getting it. Many people think that they can change their plans to travel to Mexico and make a claim for the costs on their travel insurance however this is not always the case.

The number of people affected worldwide since this pandemic was identified on April 25th has continued to rise. While the Chinese quarantined 70 Mexican citizens in a hotel until they were evacuated by air on May 4th, despite the fact that none showed any symptoms of flu and there has been a worldwide backlash since the pandemic began, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has only advised against ‘all but essential’ travel to Mexico. It is left to the individual traveller to determine what is or is not “essential”. Those with UK based travel insurance may find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. If they decide to travel then they may find that cover for medical expenses is not in place but if they decide to cancel this may be treated as “disinclination to travel” a common exclusion on most travel insurance policies.

Although the threat level of the swine flu has risen to level 5 the World Health Organisation (WHO ) has not issued any instructions to restrict normal travel. This means that officially there is no reason not to travel to Mexico or any of the other destinations affected so unless your travel insurance includes cancellation “for any reason” then you are likely to find that “fear of pandemic” is also an exclusion on your travel insurance policy.

The good news is that if you booked before the start of the pandemic and are unfortunate enough to actually catch it then you will be covered if you are unable to travel and if you are abroad for the cost of any necessary treatment, vaccines, additional accommodation or even hospitalisation.

It is important to remember that each travel insurance policy is different and it is vital to read the Key Facts about the one you are thinking of buying to identify any specific or unexpected exclusions. If you are not sure then call for advice before hand and remember you do have a 14 day cooling off period from the date of purchase of your travel insurance during which you can ask for a full refund in order to look for an alternative, more suitable policy.