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Taking out travel insurance prior to travelling is essential to ensure you are covered should the unexpected happen. Essentially it pays out if you become ill or get injured while on holiday, are delayed at the airport or end up losing your luggage. Taking out the correct travel insurance is highly recommended, unfortunately each year there are many people who later regret not taking out adequate insurance when the unexpected happens. Our travel insurance advice and tips below are intended as a concise guide on important travel insurance issues and considerations.



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Travel Insurance Advice & Tips

What Will Travel Insurance Policies Cover?
What Will Travel Insurance Policies Not Cover?
Things To Consider When Taking Out Cover
Travel Insurance Tips


The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), entitles UK residents to medical treatment if needed at a reduced cost (sometimes free), when visiting a EU country and Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. It covers only what would be covered under the state scheme. It is therefore highly recommended and advisable to take out adequate travel insurance and not solely rely on the EHIC arrangements. Some travellers believe that their private medical insurance or accident insurance will adequately cover them, unfortunately this is not the case and as a result they can face major difficulties both financially and with medical treatments should they require assistance.

There are a wide range of travel insurances out there and they vary in cover and price. Whether you require travel insurance for your holidays, for business trips, single trips, annual multi trip cover you can find some great Travel Insurance Cover deals online at very competitive rates.


What Will Travel Insurance Policies Cover?

Although the policies available vary in what they cover and what they do not, usually most policies will cover the following

- Belongings lost or stolen
- Lost or delayed baggage
- Medical (including hospital) treatment abroad
- Delays (usually on departure and if greater than 12 hours)
- 24 hour helpline with advice and support
- Holiday cancellation and curtailment (i.e. too ill to travel or needing to cut short your trip)

For those seeking added security and peace of mind, you may wish to take out policies that include the following:

- Legal expenses cover
- Personal accident cover
- Additional protection for an airline or tour operator going bankrupt prior to or during your trip.


What Will Travel Insurance Policies Not Cover?

There are usually exclusions on what is covered in all policies, therefore it is well worth checking and becoming aware of exactly what is not covered. Whilst the exclusions vary from policy to policy, common exclusions to be aware of include:

- Cancellation of the holiday if you change your mind about going
- Adventure/Hazardous sports and activities, unless you have taken a
specific insurance covering these (i.e. bungee jumping and extreme sports)
- Incidents occurring due to drug taking or drink.
- Reasonable care of all of your possessions is expected, if you do not the policy may not cover anything lost or stolen.

Should you find your travel policy does not cover you for something you need to be covered for, it is worth checking with the insurer if the additional cover can be added to your policy, usually they can add a range of extra insurance covers to your policy should you require it. If the insurer cannot add the required cover then it is worth shopping around to find an insurer that offers the cover you require. It is not recommended to be economical with the truth with regard medical history (i.e. pre existing medical conditions) or any other important information requested by the insurer as any discrepancies can result in your policy being invalid.


Things To Consider When Taking Out Cover

- What level of cover do I need?
- What are the exclusions on the policy?
- Are repatriations costs covered?
- Is there a 24 hour helpline available should I need it?
- Is holiday cancellation covered and in what circumstances does it apply?
- Do I need additional skiing/Adventure sports cover?
- What amounts are cash and personal belongings covered until?
- Is the cover I have adequate for the countries I am travelling to? Countries
such as the USA tend to have higher medical costs, therefore does
the insurance cover this?

It is vital you are adequately covered prior to embarking on your trip, ensuring should you need it, your insurance will be able to take care of your needs.


Travel Insurance Tips

Ensure you take the policy and policy booklet with you when you are on your trip. Take a photocopy and store in a secure place NOT with the original policy, in case the original is lost.

Ensure you have the helpline numbers with you at all times in case you need it.

If you are carrying expensive items, it is wise to take photos of these items before you go on your trip and keep them at home along with receipts. This is your proof of these items and is useful to have in any claim if the items are lost or stolen.

If anything is lost or stolen, report it straight away and get proof of reporting it, i.e. accident report number. If you are on a package holiday report it to your rep or hotel management and try and get it documented as proof you reported it. Similarly is you baggage is lost, misplaced or stolen report it to the airline/airport authorities and get a receipt as proof. In the event of having to claim anything on your policy having proof is likely to stand in your favour.

Should you be required to have medical treatment, check in your policy booklet as to the exact procedure the insurer expects you to follow. It is highly recommended you follow their procedures and policies to ensure you do not invalidate your claim. If in doubt call the insurers up and check exactly what procedure to follow for medical treatment and follow it exactly as they require.

If you are going to claim or are going through any treatment keep an up to date record of all conversations, dates, times and who you spoke to. This will help if there are any disputes further on and ensure all your paperwork is up to date and stored in a safe place should you need it.


It is worth checking that your travel insurance policy is valid for the full duration of your trip and if you are delayed on your return for any reason. Following the tips and advice in this guide will hopefully remind you of the important steps to take in ensuring you have the correct travel insurance policy that is best suited for your requirements.


Travel Insurance Advice

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