Travel insurance

Get the best travel insurance

2007-07-05T20:47:00.000+03:00

With temperatures on the up and the holiday season nearly upon us, Jennifer Lowe investigates how you can get the best deal from your locomotion indemnity.

Indemnity, like any former type of indemnity, is thither to insure you when things don’t quite go accordant to plan.

According to recent enquiry from Halifax Locomote Indemnity, 13 per cent of travellers unruffled speculation afield without fetching out the needful binding, with 16-24 year olds beingness the most presumptive to take their chances.

But when featured with the tasteful of one-member trip or yearly insure, this spatulate task can become reasonably opaque, and that’s not even fetching into invoice additional types such as wintery sports encompass and backpacker or long-stay indemnity.

Single trip indemnity

indemnity the insertion of ‘no-frills’ airlines and low cost holidays, many citizenry are squirting off more than once a year. But for those who truncheon to one main holiday a year, a azygous trip indemnity policy is ofttimes the wagerer deal.

According to Halifax, unmarried trip policies stillness invoice for over 50 per cent of all travelling policy sales, leaving many populate out of sac or without the indispensable incubate if they take more than one holiday a year.

However, consumers purchasing locomotion indemnity have been warned not to base their decisiveness just on the cost of the policy.

Analysis of directing fiscal enquiry comradeship, Defaqto’s, Aequos database of 986 travelling indemnity policies recovered that thither are 30 abstracted unshared trip policies that burster ?10 or less for a week’s locomote to Europe, with one quoting ?5.49 per person.

Defaqto believes the Governance and the indemnity manufacturing need to do more to cultivate consumers astir the risks of touring oversea without passable encompass.

If you opt for a azygos-tazygos policy, make sure you know what you are beaded for as over deuce-ace quarters of holiday makers have no idea whether their locomotion indemnity is oblation them the starboard protecting.

Single trip indemnity doesn’t oft screening wintery sports, and if you are expiration backpacking or cogitate of yourself as a bit of an epinephrine junkie, it is plausibly finer to look specifically for indemnity policies that are intentional for these types of holidays.

Annual insurance

Contrary to popular belief, the price difference between a single trip policy and an annual trip policy can be very small. In fact, for some foreign holidays it works out cheaper to get an annual trip policy than a single trip policy.

Paul Birkhead, Halifax Travel Insurance’s underwriting manager, said: “The proliferation of low-cost, no frills airlines, has had a significant impact on our holiday-taking habits. More and more of us are taking short breaks to destinations in the UK, Europe and further-a-field, making annual travel insurance a more attractive proposition.

“The main benefit of annual cover is that you only need to take out your policy once a year to be insured for as many trips as you like, within a 12 month period, both within the UK and abroad. Many people are also unaware that annual cover will also include trips in the UK, so long as they are in pre-booked accommodation for at least three days.”

According to MoneyExpert.com, the cost of annual travel insurance for a family of four going to Europe is on average £113.86. So if a family goes away for more than three weeks a year it can be worth getting annual cover. And of course annual cover works for the whole family.

The cheapest annual travel insurance is however as little as £35 for a family of four so it can be cheaper to get annual travel insurance than it is to get single trip insurance.

However, it is the quality of cover is what counts - not just the price. You can save a few quid by buying the cheapest available but that can cost you in the long-run if it comes time to make a claim.

The cost of medical care is very expensive and varies in each country, for example, in Spain it would cost about £9,000 to treat a broken leg and an air ambulance in South Africa is £18,000.

But, you only find out if an insurance policy is good value for money when you make a claim - if it doesn't pay out when you need it then it's a waste of money.

Cut out the middle-man

Research undertaken by Alliance & Leicester has shown that UK holidaymakers pay 1.3bn more than they need to on travel insurance each year. This is despite the fact that travel insurance appears to be relatively cheap – normally around £25 for each week abroad.

About 60 per cent of holiday makers in the UK take the ‘easy’ option and use travel agents to attain insurance at the same time as booking a holiday. In fact, insurance sold through agencies helps them boost their profits and can be up to five times the cost of buying it separately. In some cases travel insurance is promoted as a ‘free’ add-on with the package – but the reality is that you will be paying for it somewhere along the line.

Over the past year, insurance companies have been taking advantage of the internet, making it much easier, and often a lot cheaper, for people to buy travel insurance online.

Research from online insurance specialist, swiftcover, shows that travel agent policies cost a small fortune. Two single trip policies of one week each will cost you a total of £199.92 with Thomas Cook, £172 with First Choice and £193.74 with Expedia.

Travel Insurance for you

2007-06-09T03:22:00.001+03:00

The main idea behind travelling is to unwind oneself with the purity and freshness of exotic locations forgetting all the fret and fever of day-to-day life. For this it is necessary to be free from all kind of anxiety and leave the hassles of routine life into sweet oblivion. But it is always not easy to feel free from tension while you fly from one place to another solely depending on the smooth function a machine.

No sane person also can feel fully secure while carrying expensive luggage and luxurious gadgets with him. Then is there no way out to unleash oneself in a journey and take full delight of holidaying. Definitely there is a way out and that is travel insurance. You can give the responsibility of looking after you, your baggage or beloved ones to someone else if you go for insurance.

It is not the claim of a travel insurance that you and everything attached to you will be hundred per cent safe while travelling. In fact, there is no such agency or entity that can claim to have this capability. But, of course, insurance can help recover the damages done to you during your travel. Meeting physical accidents, loosing luggage, cancellation of tour in the middle, and some such other damages are covered by insurance.

Travel insurance is like a small step that ends in big profits. It takes only handful of pounds to go for it. The amount it covers is really big. However, the coverage amount is directly proportionate to the amount one pays to the insurance company. In most of the cases, the paid amount is refunded with a good amount as bonus. In case of occurrence of any damage, the person receives an amount, fairly good enough to recover the loss. Moreover, the mental peace and sense of security it provides during the journey is also really worth the amount one pays.

I typed it in?

2007-06-07T14:22:00.001+03:00

I typed it in correctly. It’s correct on every record and reference you have for me, except for the flight.

Multi-trip Travel Insurance

2007-05-26T11:14:00.000+03:00

Ryanair, Europe’s No. 1 low fares airline, has launched its new multi-trip travel insurance package for 2007. From just £39/€54, passengers can avail of great value travel insurance for all their 2007 flights. Passengers who purchase a new policy before 31st January will also receive the added benefit of a free* Ryanair flight.

Speaking today, Lesley Kane, Head of Ryanair Direct, said: “We recommend all of our passengers to get full protection for the coming year. Ryanair consistently delivers the lowest fares and best value to its passengers, and our multi-trip travel insurance is no exception. From just £39/€54, passengers will enjoy great value insurance cover on all their 2007 flights. Passengers who buy a new policy before 31st January will also enjoy the added bonus of a free* Ryanair flight.

“To get 2007 off to a truly flying start with great value travel insurance, and free* Ryanair flights, passengers should immediately, as demand for an offer this good will be huge.”

Read more about Europe countries

Copyright 2006 infoeuro.biz

Cheap insurance 'could spell disaster'

2007-05-25T09:26:00.000+03:00

Britons opting for the cheapest insurance policies could find that they are covered for less than they think, an industry organisation has advised.

The British Insurance Brokers' Association (Biba) has said that young adults are most likely to be at risk due to their tendencies to make decisions solely on price and via the click of a button over the internet.

Almost half of 18 to 24-year-olds say they make their insurance purchasing decisions based solely on price, compared with the 70 per cent of over-25s who see cost as just one of many necessary considerations.

"The ability to buy online is a method many people use to buy insurance protection, but consumers must ensure they are getting the right product for their demands and needs," said Eric Galbraith, chief executive of Biba.

"Biba is concerned younger people are purchasing cheap insurance products, without ensuring they have the correct cover, excess, premium or installment plan for them," Mr Galbraith added.

Several travel insurance policies are too cheap to pay out adequately in the event of an accident, a study from financial research firm Defaqto found last week.

So, if you like this post you can read more about travel safety and money in my Travel insurance without breaking the bank

Travel insurance without breaking the bank

2007-05-25T08:42:00.000+03:00

Travel policy may be inexpensive as chips, but be mindful that your screen may be insufficient for your needs. You can now have travelling policy for as less as a fiver. That may say like unmissable value, but you might believe differently if you have to demand against a cut-price policy.

Some travelling policies are "overly inexpensive" to provide sufficient screen, according to an original study from investigation group Defaqto. After looking at 968 travelling policies it establish 30 single-trip plans charged little than £10 for a week's European travelling, with one quoting a mind-bogglingly reduced £5. 49.

Insurers with cheap policies may also skimp on benefits or make claiming difficult. "One trick is to charge high multiple excesses of, say, £75 rather than the standard £50. So if you lose your suitcase containing a handbag or wallet with some cash, you pay two excesses."

Or they may set miserly "single item" limits, perhaps as low as £150. "If you lose a £400 camera you only get £150. After paying the excess, you might end up
with just £75," warns Brown.

How little is too little?

So how much should you look to pay for travel cover? I suggests between £18 and £25 for a week in Europe, and between £35 and £50 for two weeks in the US.

"Among the big stores, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, Greenbee from the John Lewis Partnership and Sainsbury's Bank offer good cover, although it can be a little expensive. (The Post Office is convenient if you need cover in a hurry, but slightly pricey for what you get)

Whatever you do, don't take the chance of travelling without insurance, although some 10 million Britons do just that.

European vacation

If travelling in Europe you should take out the European Health Insurance Certificate (EHIC), although this is no replacement for travel insurance.

"This entitles EU residents to emergency medical treatment in the event of accident or illness while travelling in Europe. But it will only match the standard of care provided to citizens of that country, which may not be up to [UK] standard”. And, of course, the EHIC doesn't cover other insurance extras such as cancellation and curtailment, lost baggage or repatriation to the UK.

Travel insurance generates around one in 10 complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service, a total of 1,670 in the last financial year. So remember to declare any pre-existing medical conditions when taking out a policy - failing to do so is a common reason for a claim being rejected.

"Insurers often reject claims for cancellation following family illness claiming you should have known about the family member's state of health. It's a very grey area," she adds.

Other areas of dispute include injuries from dangerous sports, possessions left unattended at the beach or poolside, and alcohol-related tomfoolery. "If you are leaping drunkenly from balcony to balcony, your insurer won't pay your medical bills if you fall"

So what to buy?

You can still use online comparison sites to choose your policy, but make sure you are comparing more than just the price.

Look at policy limits for medical claims and lost baggage, the size of the excess, which sports and other activities are covered, and any activities or illnesses etc that are excluded from the cover. Policy documents are poorly written, but you must take time to understand them and look at more than just the price.

Also check whether the policy offers personal accident cover, missed departure through circumstances beyond your control, travel delay (typically payable after 12 hours), personal liability (typically up to £2m) and legal expenses (up to £50,000).

Many people also made the mistake of buying their policy a day or two before they fly out. It's better to buy cover as soon as you book your trip in case you are forced to cancel.

Don't get shoved into buying cover from your travel agent - you can get a much better deal from specialist insurers. If you plan to make several trips in the next 12 months you should consider annual "multi-trip" insurance.

People often think single trip cover is simple and cheap, but it isn't always best value. You can get annual travel cover for the whole family without breaking the bank.

And I recommend to you to read my previous post, named Anything can happen while traveling

Anything can happen while traveling

2007-05-24T15:28:00.000+03:00

You and your brother are planning a ski journey to Switzerland with a position journey to Paris, where you have made reservations at The Ritz. He falls and breaks a stage carrying baggage to the automobile.

Your household decides to go a cruise instead of the conventional autumn reunification around a bonfire. While walking the deck, Aunt Frieda suffers an eye blast. A chopper picks her upward along with her girl and evacuates them to an American hospital.

Two months ago, you paid for that eco-trip to the jungles of Costa Rica. Between packing and leaving notes for the house-sitter, you call the airlines to discover your name is not on the flight list. And the phone at the travel agency has been disconnected.

When the trip of your dreams becomes your worst nightmare, who are you going to call? If you had the foresight to buy travel insurance, you may well have avoided a second disaster, this one financial.

But what kind and how much? Travel experts say this is a topic that deserves your full attention and some homework.

At bestfares.com, managing editor Kevin Kalley readily provided recommendations.

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

"First, evaluate what your trip is worth. If you are a family of four going on an all-inclusive cruise, figure how much of a hit you're willing to take if something happens that you can't go or someone gets sick on board and has to be evacuated," he explained. "If it's a driving vacation, how much does your homeowners' coverage take care of? It might cover luggage stolen from a vehicle."

Checking all possible insurance coverages you already have is the first step, he said. If you have paid for your trip with a credit card, call the card company to see what kind of protection might be automatically provided.

Before you take the rental car company's insurance, make sure your own automobile policy doesn't provide coverage.

Depending on the coverages you choose, and average cost for vacation insurance on a $3,000 holiday may be $150, he said.

However, if you are traveling in Europe and renting a car, observed Gwen Cappadona, owner of Flyaway Travel on Whipple Avenue NW, you may want to weigh the extra expense of buying the rental company's insurance against your potential for problems with that company in a country where you don't speak the language.

AFFORD TO WALK AWAY

"Don't think your credit card will automatically cover you if that car is stolen. In a foreign country, I would rather have the convenience of walking away from that situation by buying their insurance," Cappadona, a travel sales veteran of 20 years, advised.

She recalled a number of instances locally that prevented clients from departing on their scheduled trips. Some had taken her advice to buy insurance.

"I had a client who was going on a very expensive trip to Italy. I said two weeks before he was leaving that we hadn't talked about trip insurance. He said, 'I'm leaving in a few weeks, what could happen?' Well, Sept. 11 was his departure date and he was walking down the ramp when they stopped all air traffic," she recounted.

In recent years, flood water that made its way into basements in the Bolivar area forced some clients to cancel planned travel.

"If you and your spouse are planning travel together and your kids are staying at home, if one of them gets sick at the last minute, you're going to cancel," she added.

During the last three years, Cappadona said she has seen an increase in interest and purchase of travel insurance. She credits it to consumer awareness and a generalized concern about illness.

"I even buy insurance when I buy a ticket to go out West and go hiking," she said., "The illness thing is something you need to be concerned about. Check your medical insurance and see what is covered when you're out of the network. Anymore, if someone gets dehydrated, they put you in the hospital with an IV. Our moms used to tuck us into bed and give us Popsicles."

Kalley strongly recommends not buying travel insurance from the company that sold you the travel package. If the company goes belly up, your insurance is worthless. He also pointed out that Medicare does not cover those traveling overseas.

"You don't expect to need car or home insurance but you pay them as part of the cost of owning the car or house, said Ohio AAA Auto club agent Kaye Emans, adding that 55 percent of her clients buy vacation insurance. "It's a small amount of money to protect the investment you've made in your vacation.

Finally, Cappadona, always think of your vacation and the time you spending planning and enjoying it as an investment.

"It should be protected," she said, "just like your car and house."

Reach Diana Rossetti at (330) 580-8322 or e-mail: diana.rossetti@cantonrep.com

PICK AND CHOOSE

Most travel insurance companies offer a menu of coverages from which travelers can choose. Read the fine print on each type of coverage, then assemble a package that covers the areas of your greatest concern.

Here are some of the options:

-- Supplier default covers deposits or payments made to a travel packager.

-- Trip cancellation. If unforeseen circumstances force trip cancellation or interruption, travel insurance with this feature covers non-refundable payments or deposits.

-- Trip delay. This coverage pays your expenses if the beginning of the trip is delayed.

-- Personal effects or baggage delay or loss. Covers your belongings if they are lost, damaged or delayed during travel.

-- Medical evacuation or emergency transportation. Covers transportation to a hospital or other medical facility during a medical emergency.

-- Accident/sickness medical expenses. Costs incurred from an injury or illness during traveled are covered.

[by Diana Rossetti]