Contents: The different types of Travel Insurance Ask What ... · What is Travel Insurance? ... Also known as Backpackers Insurance. This policy provides cover for an indefinite amount

Contents:

What is Travel Insurance? The different types of Travel Insurance

What is covered?

Shopping around for Travel Insurance

Applying for Travel Insurance Making a claim

Frequently asked questions

Where to get more help Ask

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What is travel insurance? Travel Insurance, also known as Holiday Insurance, is a product designed so that when you travel abroad you are suitably covered for all the possible risks you could encounter. Whilst it is not compulsory, it's definitely of crucial importance should you be going away, in particular because of the medical expenses that you could incur should you fall ill or have an accident. But it's not just about medical expenses, other risks that you need to be covered for are the theft or the loss of your possessions, plus the cancellation costs or any claims made against you.

Ultimately, Travel Insurance as a product will bring you peace of mind, so that should something

happen to you on your travels, you will be helped.

Generally Travel Insurance will provide cover for:

Health related problems Loss of personal items Theft of personal items Delays Cancellations

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The different types of travel insurance People take trips for different reasons, holidays, sport, business or just the occasional weekend away. Insurance is available for each of these and although it is not a legal requirement it would be very foolish not to consider it.

Type of Travel Insurance

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Single Trip

This is designed for people who are only going away for a single trip in a 12 month period. A single trip is usually classed as being less than 90 consecutive days. You may have some restrictions on the activities you are insured for, ie water sports, ab-sailing etc.

Multi Trip

Also known as Annual Travel Insurance. Generally it is two and a half times more expensive than Single Trip insurance so it is ideal if you take lots of weekend breaks or holiday a couple of times a year. Once you have paid your premium you can then holiday as many times as you like within that 12 month period. Insurance companies will often specify that each holiday or trip is less than a given time period, commonly 90 days. You may also have some restrictions on the activities that you are insured for.

Worldwide

Also known as Backpackers Insurance. This policy provides cover for an indefinite amount of time. Some insurers like to know which countries you intend to visit, due to different countries posing different health risks.

Group

This insurance is aimed at people travelling to and from a destination at the same time i.e. a school trip, large group of friends, work groups etc. A common discount would be where there are 10 people travelling, you would pay for 9 and get 1 free.

Family

Differs from Group insurance as the family members are required to have the same fixed abode. Often Insurers will allow discount for the children or even offer free insurance for children under a specified age.

Business Insurance

Sometimes when travelling on business, you will not be going to the normal tourist resorts, where support services are readily available. This means that you may not be going to areas of a country where a prospective insurer has control. Business insurance is usually tailored to take account of this extra risk.

Ski / Hazardous / Extreme sports Travel Insurance

Premiums on this type of insurance are bound to be higher than that of a basic holiday insurance premium, for obvious reasons. With specific sports such as skiing, the cover often includes equipment and passes. Ask F

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Golf Holiday Insurance

Although this sport is not what you would class as being 'Hazardous', it does have its own insurance category. This is mainly due to the expense of the Golf clubs, which are often left unattended whilst playing, and are therefore classed as a high risk to insurers.

European Travel Insurance

It is possible to get cheaper premiums by stating that you are going to be visiting a European country, reasons for this being that it is far cheaper to fly an injured person back to the UK from Europe as opposed to New Zealand. If you are travelling to Europe you should also apply for a EHIC, formerly known as E111.

EHIC (European Health Insurance Card)

Is a free card that every person over the age of 16 years should have

whenever travelling within Europe.

The EHIC will enable you to get assistance if you become ill or suffer from an accident whilst in an EC country. You will receive care to the same standard and for the same cost as those who live in that country. Sometimes the care will be free or you may have to make a contribution. The care will not always be to the same standard you may expect to receive in the UK. EHIC does not provide insurance cover for your belongings or cancellation of your trip, it is therefore wise to have an EHIC as well as your own additional travel insurance. Ask

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What is covered? When shopping around, it is important that you are aware of what cover you are getting for your money. If you look at the details on travel insurance policies, you will notice that you are covered for many kinds of eventualities. It's worth looking at some of these to explain what they are and what they mean. Personal Luggage - this covers your property that you take away with you. Insurers want to encourage you not to take too many expensive valuables away with you - so they have imposed a total limit for the policy and a limit for single articles. Loss of Passport or Driving License - If this happens, you may incur some expenses replacing them, as you will have to travel to the British embassy for instance to replace your passport and may need to pay to have your license replaced as quickly as you need. Personal Money - there will again be a limit on this - especially as its hard to prove you had the money in the first place. Medical Expenses - this is going to be the largest amount of cover that you need, because of how much things can add up. You will need to be covered for rescue if needed, treatment, repatriation, dental treatment, flying out a friend or relative, the charges for the loss of an excursion, and maybe even funeral expenses. Medical Inconvenience Benefit - if you are in hospital whilst on holiday, you are unlikely to be enjoying your holiday, so you can get a small amount for each day you are in hospital for the inconvenience. Personal Accident - you get cover for the effects of permanent disablement caused by an accident, although you may need further disability insurance with it. You should also get cover for accidental death. Personal Public Liability - after medical expenses, one of the largest liabilities you could ever have is the legal liability to other members of the public. Should you injure them or cause damage to them or their property, the liability could be endless. Cancellation or Curtailment - Should you need to cancel your holiday for reasons such as illness, death, redundancy or jury service then you can get cover up to a certain limit for cancellation costs and loss of holiday.

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Missed Departure - should you miss your departure, whether it be outward or inward you may need to pay for some additional accommodation or transport. Delayed Luggage - you can get cover for the effect of your luggage being delayed for a certain amount of time - normally 12 hours. Travel Delay - Should your departure, outward or inward, be delayed for an amount of time, probably about 12 hours, you should be covered for a small amount of money. Legal Expenses - these can mount up so you need cover for them. Hijack - you get a certain amount per day of a hijack.

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Common exclusions to be aware of:

Some policies don't provide cover for drink/drug related

incidents some policies don't provide cover for terrorist

related incidents.

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Shopping around for travel insurance There are vast amounts of companies offering Travel Insurance, from the company you book your holiday with right through to large supermarkets! Because of the amount of competition, you should take advantage of this and shop around to get the best policy at the best price. It is worth looking on the High street: Banks and Building Societies offer travel insurance, along with travel agents and the Post Office Yellow pages: many insurance companies will be able to complete the application over the telephone Internet: you are highly likely to find good deals here as companies often offer a discount for booking online Your premiums are determined by many factors, a few are listed below. Specifics Comment

Age

The older you are the higher the risk the insurance companies perceive you to be. Age restriction can be set as low as 65years, however there are specialist insurers such as Help the Aged and Age Concern.

Destination

Generally the further away you travel the more expensive the premiums will be. This also applies to visiting more obscure countries, where the health facilities may not be readily available.

Activities

If you are not planning on taking part in hazardous activities don't include them in your insurance. They will increase your premium as you are more at risk of needing medical attention.

Personal affects

If you are taking any personal belongings which are particularly valuable, they should be mentioned to your insurer. This may increase your premium.

Pre-exisiting Health conditions

All existing and pre-existing health conditions MUST be mentioned. They may or may not increase your premiums, but any false or inaccurate information will make your insurance cover void.

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It is important that you declare all relevant information to ensure that you get a policy that is going to give the cover that you need.

As with most insurances, the more excess you agree to pay, the less you will have to pay on your

premium.

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Applying for travel insurance Once you have shopped around, compared prices and policies and made a decision as to which policy suits you best, you will need to complete the application form as soon as possible. It is advisable to take out insurance as soon as you have booked your holiday or trip. This way you are insured in case you become ill or something untoward happens and have to cancel the holiday etc. You will be required to give certain personal information. It is essential that you complete the application in fine detail, as any information that you fail to give could make the policy invalid in the event of a claim. Information that you will be required to give: Names of people travelling Ages of people travelling Date of travel Return date of travel Health history of people travelling Current health conditions of people travelling Destination Hazardous activities

It is a good idea to leave a copy of your travel documents and insurance documents with a family member. That way they are able to help provide any information which may be required in the event of the loss of the documentation.

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Making a claim

Like every type of insurance, it is very important that you familiarise yourself with the claims procedure of your travel insurance provider. This is particularly important for travel insurance as in a medical emergency, you'll find that treatment will not actually occur until the doctor or the hospital has received payment, so you'll need your insurer to provide at the very least a 24 hour claim line for use if in need of a claim.

This 24-hour claim line needs to be international as well, to make sure that you are not restricted in your cover by the time or place. They should also be knowledgeable about the place where you are going or where you are, so that they can help you immediately.

In the event of claim, you should endeavour to contact your UK travel insurance company as soon as you possibly can. They should be able to offer advice to you, and can direct you as to what to do. Do not take any action that involves money that you expect to claim back (such as signing that you can pay for medical treatment or replacing a stolen item), until you have spoken to your insurer. They may have special requirements, or particular people they deal with in your location. This, of course does not apply if it is a matter of life or death, and you need treatment immediately.

Think also, before you make a claim, about two claim-related issues. One is the excess on your policy, and the other is your claims record.

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Your excess is the amount of money that you have to pay towards a claim before your insurance company will stump up for the rest of the bill. Some travel insurance companies will make an excess obligatory, some not. Some will charge a higher excess in return for lowering your travel insurance premiums, some just do it to control their risks. You should be aware of your personal excess level, as it could be an influence on your claim decision.

Should you have only £100 worth of luggage stolen you may decide that it would be better not to claim, so that you can remain claim-free on your record. This blemish-free record helps to keep your premiums low, so you should always think carefully about any claim you make, particularly if its small, before making it.

You will be issued with a claims form, which you should fill in accurately and as quickly as possible, enclosing invoices, receipts or tickets, which you must have kept, in order to make sure your claim is paid.

If you are making a claim due to theft, you will need to have reported it to

the local police and have a case number to quote.

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Frequently asked questions...

I am travelling to Europe, where can I get an EHIC? You can apply online for you EHIC at www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/home.do . You will be required to give your personal details along with your NHS number or your National Insurance Number. It will normally take around 7 days to arrive but is then valid for up to 5 years.

Where can I go to complain about my Insurance company? Whenever you have any problems with insurance policies, you should always go back to the company who sold you the policy and discuss any issues with them. If you are unable to resolve problems you can decide to pursue it and take the case to the Insurance Ombudsman. They offer a free independent service and will endeavour to resolve the problem. You can find further information about the Ombudsman at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

I am 75 years old and am travelling to Australia, can I get insurance? Yes you can get insurance whatever your age, it just means that you need to look around a little more as some insurers put a ceiling on the age of people they are willing to insure. This can sometimes be 65 years. There are some specialist insurance companies that will provide insurance for senior citizens such as Help the Aged helptheaged.org.uk/en-gb/OnlineShop/Insurance/ They offer insurance whatever your age and will also cover many pre-existing health conditions.

Is there anywhere that you can go to get cheap holiday insurance? When thinking about taking holiday insurance you need to make sure that the cover will provide adequate level of care should you need it. The Internet is a great place to compare prices and it will give you some idea of the cover that is given on the different policies. To keep down the cost of the premiums, make sure that you are buying insurance for the things that you are doing ie, don't pay for water sports if you don't need it. It is also worth looking at what cover you already have. Some banks are offering free travel insurance when you apply for their credit card, some house insurance will cover some of your belongings when travelling on holiday. Buy family cover if you are taking your family, look into single trip insurance if you are only going to be taking that one trip in the year. Most importantly, don't forget to disclose all relevant information as your policy will not stand if you omit something that is applicable and understand what your policy covers. Ask

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Where to get more help... Insurance companies in the UK are regulated by FSA www.fsa.gov.uk/ They have an online register of insurers which you are able to check along with up to date information. The Financial Ombudsman offers a free service to help any financial disputes. www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/ To apply for the EHIC, formerly known as E111 and to get further information or advice on travelling abroad and your health www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/Healthcareabroad/pages/Healthcareabroad.aspx For people over 65yrs of age it is worth looking at specialist Travel Insurance at helptheaged.org.uk/en-gb/OnlineShop/Insurance/

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