Travel Insurance Guide

On this page we discuss some of the benefits of obtaining travel insurance for your next holiday trip; as well as offering advice on what to look for when purchasing your travel insurance, and how to get the best deals on holiday travel insurance.

What Is Travel Insurance For?

Travel insurance is insurance cover for financial losses and injury while you are travelling. Travel insurance is available for travelling in the UK or overseas.

As well as for losses involving theft, lost luggage, cancelled or delayed departures; and damage to possessions, travel insurance offers a financial security for medical bills, including injuries requiring hospital attention.

Other situations typically covered by travel insurance include accidental death, personal injury, and permanent injury, cancelled holidays, inability to travel, emergency evacuations and emergency transportation home.

Travel insurance can also cover legal support, loss of earnings and funeral bills. Other travel insurance
policy services include those offering 24 hour emergency service and assistance, including 24 hour legal
and health care.

Travel insurance can in some cases also include personal liability insurance cover in the event of an unfortunate situation which could result in you being sued for causing personal injury to someone, or damaging their property in some way.

What Specialist Types Of Travel Insurance Are There?

Travel insurance can provide insurance for a specific period, for instance: your one, two or three week holiday;
or for longer continuous periods; even annual travel insurance cover, which, incidentally is a highly recommended option if you are a regular traveller, offering good savings.

Travel insurance can also be obtained regionally; for instance: countrywide travel insurance, worldwide travel insurance or European wide travel cover.

Specialist travel insurance is also available for remote destination holidays and vacations of the type which carry obvious risk.

You will also find travel insurance providers, specialising in cover for areas where there are definite higher
risks, i.e. countries with high crime, war zones or even those posing a higher risk of natural disaster; and even terrorist attack.

Other specialist forms of travel insurance include insurances for high risk sports such as skiing and rock climbing, which are often excluded from standard travel insurance policies for obvious reasons.

Is Travel Insurance Advisable?

Yes. Travel insurance is strongly advisable, especially if you are visiting countries which do not have national health insurance policies or countries where you will not be automatically eligible for hospital treatment.
For example, many countries outside the UK and the European Union do not provide free health care.

Remember, if you find yourself travelling in remote regions the medical services may be patchy at best and even in a developed country such as the US for instance, medical services can be expensive. Medical transportation bills alone, from the US to the UK in the event of an emergency can run into the tens of thousands of pounds.

Also, it is widely acknowledged that travelling can make you vulnerable to a number of dangerous situations and threats compared to what you are used to at home. For many people this is reason enough to obtain travel insurance, especially when there are many affordable policies available which will give you peace of mind.

How Do I Find A Good Deal On Travel Insurance?

Always compare travel insurance deals and obtain several quotes and always check the full details on the type of cover you are receiving. The cheapest quote will not always be the best value.

Shop around to find a good price and the right product and consider annual travel insurance if you make several trips a year as it will be cheaper.

Always check the full conditions and exclusions. It is worth remembering, for instance, that most policies will not cover drink or drug-related incidents. Also, you must take reasonable care of your possessions or your policy may not cover you.

Finally, always check any limits for travel insurance payments are realistic; i.e. will they realistically compensate you for your expenses such as your flight home or the price of your holiday.