Articles

Post Office™ Articles

Travel insurance: the basics

Travel insurance is not really an option if you intend to go abroad. For anyone travelling, it has to be a must have, but there are some basics to consider.

And the first thing that needs to be thought about is what type of insurance will suit you?

Basically, travel insurance can be purchased to cover three key areas: single trips, multi-trips within a year and specialist requirements.

Firstly, single trip polices and as the name implies, these cover single trips for you and your family when travelling. You ‘buy’ a set number of days, usually a week, or fortnight, inform the insurers where you are travelling and whether you are participating in any dangerous activities.

You get a quote – it’s worth shopping around at this stage – choose the best one, fill out the forms, pay your money and hey presto, you’re covered. But as with any insurance policy, read the fine print, conditions and caveats.  Overseas travel insurance is really there in case something dreadful happens and you are taken ill (many countries do not have the luxury of Britain’s free national health service) , or you are attacked, or if you have an accident. For all these outcomes, you will require financial help and as important, you also need advisors that will help you communicate in a foreign land.

Now, for those of you that are more frequent travellers – say more than three times a year – the multi-trip policy becomes a serious proposition. But, just be aware, you will only be covered for a set number of days per trip. It does not mean that you are covered for say 365 days, no matter if it is a holiday. This number of days will vary from insurer to insurer. But, it should work out cheaper than the single trip insurance policy. Again, watch the conditions though and make sure you understand the fine print.

Now with both single trip and multi trip policies, the insurers do make some assumptions about you.

This will include that you are basically mentally and physically fit. There have been a number of recent press reports where people have had difficulty claiming on a policy if the insurer thinks the applicant was in some way impaired physically, or mentally; so be honest when filling out the forms. Also, that you are within an accepted adult age range – from 18 to 65, but maybe with some insurers, only 50 to 55. And, that you won’t be auditioning for the extreme sports club.

If you have a problems with the above assumptions, that you are wiser to seek a specialist policy which takes as its basis your particular issue.

It need not necessarily be more expensive than a single, or multi-trip policy, it just means that you are covered for a particular (specialist) issue.

This might mean people who are older than 65, or who have a medical condition that puts them at a higher risk than others, or those that want to fly down the Alps at a hundred miles an hour. So, if you think you fall under that category, be honest with the insurance company, because, in the event of a claim, you might be the one left stranded high and dry.