Buying travel insurance



Before you start buying travel insurance it is worth reading the following;

Taos Pueblo, New Mexico

Taos Pueblo, New Mexico

Do not buy insurance from an airline, tour operator or travel agent. They will charge their commission on top of the price of the insurance so it tends to be expensive.

Check what cover you already have. Some credit cards, bank accounts etc offer ‘free’ travel insurance. Your household insurance may also cover personal effects and luggage. Get any policies out and read them to see if you already have enough cover.

Decide whether to buy annual or single trip insurance. If you travel more than once a year annual insurance is almost always better value.

Decide what level of excess you are willing to bear. The excess is the first amount of every claim that you will have to pay yourself. In general, the higher the excess the cheaper the policy but if you know you don’t want to have to pay out £500 if someone hurts themselves, go for a lower excess.

 

Upper Mississippi

Upper Mississippi

Decide how much cover you want for cancellation. If you want to cover the full cost of your trip make sure you know how much that is!

Decide whether you want consequential loss cover. If you are not booking a package holiday (which is covered under ATOL / ABTA) you may also want your travel insurance to provide cover for your airline or hotel going bust or an airline strike / ash cloud grounding your flight and making it impossible to get to your destination. If you want cover for the cost of your hotel / hire car etc in this event, it is known as ‘consequential loss’ cover (it is required as a consequence of your flight not going).

Decide how much cover you want for luggage and personal effects.