Travel insurance Guide
Travel insurance policies provide a comprehensive list of risks covered, however as with other insurances, they do have exclusions and it is important to ensure that the policy provides you with sufficient cover. There are certain instances where you really need to ensure the cover offered is sufficient.The most common of these is if you have any pre-existing medical conditions. It is always a good idea to speak to the insurers you are thinking of using to check whether they will include your condition on the policy. If you don’t do this, and you require medical treatment because of one of your conditions, you could end up facing a massive bill for your treatment. If you are staying in the EU, get an E111 form from your local Post Office; it will entitle you to some free treatment in Europe. For more information on the E111 form, please click http://www.dh.gov.uk/travellers
Another thing to consider is whether your policy will pay out if you need to cancel your holiday because you fall ill as a result of a pre-existing condition. Again it is important to tell your insurer about any medical conditions you may have. If any of your dependants have any pre-existing medical conditions, you will need to declare these, otherwise if you need to cancel or cut short your trip to return home to be with them you will not be covered.
Some sports and activities are excluded from standard schemes, so it is always a good idea to check whether something you want to do on your holiday is covered before you do it.
As well as the above, it is important to ensure your policy offers winter sports cover if you are planning to go skiing/ snowboarding etc.
If you are pregnant, make sure there is adequate cover and that you are below any limit on the number of weeks pregnant you can be for cover to be valid.
All policies have age limits, so if you buy an annual policy, always ensure you will not be over the age limit by the end of the policy.
There are always limits to what an insurer will pay for each claim. Check these carefully when you buy your policy, and ensure you have sufficient cover for things like personal baggage and cancellation, as some policies don’t include these at all.
It is always worth noting that an insurer will not pay for a claim which has arisen due to you taking un-prescribed drugs or being under the influence of alcohol.
Always check the conditions of a policy regarding where valuables should be kept, as a claim for valuables not kept in a safe place as defined by your policy may not be covered.
Remember that Insurers will not provide insurance if you are travelling to a country where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have advised against travel. For advice on countries not to travel to and for global information prior to travel visit www.fco.gov.uk/travel.
Look at the cost of an annual policy if you intend to travel abroad twice within a twelve month period (by staging your annual holidays carefully, you may be able to get two trips on one policy). Annual policies are only marginally more expensive than single trip policies.
Price isn’t always an indication as to the quality of an insurance policy and it is always better to check before you buy rather than find you are uninsured after the fact.
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