August 3, 2007
Annual or single trip travel insurance?
These two policy types are fairly self-explanatory. Single-trip travel insurance covers you for one specific holiday. Buying annual travel insurance (also known as ‘multi-trip travel insurance’) covers you for several holidays over the course of the year and can offer large savings in comparison to booking single-trip insurance every time you travel – they usually only cost about two-and-a-half times the price of a week’s cover. .Annual travel insurance also offers a convenience factor – you only have to book once for the year rather than messing around with travel insurance each time – especially useful for those who tend to be forgetful. One thing to be wary of however, is the number of days the policy will cover you for. In some cases this is unlimited, but some policies only cover you for 21, 35, or 45 day individual trip lengths.
An annual policy covers you for one year from the start date you choose – so be sure to choose that date carefully. It might seem obvious to just choose the first day you plan to travel, however cancellation cover will only begin from this start date, so think ahead – you may prefer to choose the date you booked the holiday instead.
Family travel insurance :
Family policies allow you to cover parents and children together rather than take out individual policies for each person. Some travel insurance companies will offer a variety of premiums within this range depending on the number of children you have, whether you’re a single parent family etc. Others will offer one standard policy that does not reflect the number of children in the home, offering the same policy terms whether you have one or six children – which obviously works out well if you have a big family!
Children are classed as being under 18. The main advantage of the family insurance premium is the massive savings available – they can be bought for as little as £50, meaning you can effectively cover your children for free. However, check the terms of the policy carefully to make sure it adequately meets your needs.
Business travel insurance :
Business travel insurance is generally only available as an annual policy because the expectancy is that you travel as part of your work and therefore will make trips on multiple occasions. It is tailored specifically to the needs of the business user with cover for office-related equipment such as laptops and PDAs. Some policies will also cover sports equipment as many deals are resolved on the golf course.
An additional option with business travel insurance is colleague replacement cover. This will allow a colleague to go in your place in case you fall ill and cannot make the trip
May 8, 2007
We are usually well-prepared when we travel, but whilst most of us take out insurance before we travel, many of us don’t read the policy- so we may not know what our cover is until it is too late.
Travel insurance
Travel insurance pays out if you are sick or injured while on holiday, lose your luggage or are delayed at the airport. It also covers you if you have to cancel or cut short your holiday in certain situations. Anyone who’s travelling abroad needs travel insurance, but remember to take it out as soon as you book your holiday, as many travel claims are for cancellation. If you’re travelling in Europe, don’t just depend on reciprocal arrangements between EU countries for medical care. Although your medical bills may be covered if you pick up a form E111 from the post office, you won’t be covered for the cost of getting home. Plus if you rely on your airline’s compensation scheme if they lose your bags, the amount you’ll get back is often low. If you’re taking a holiday in the
UK, you may only need to take out insurance against cancellation. Your home contents insurance may cover you for loss of possessions, but always check first.
Make sure your cover is enough
If you have a gold credit card or a packaged current account, you may already have some free travel cover, but make sure the cover is enough, especially if you are going to the USA where medical costs are higher, or you are going to be skiing, snowboarding, diving or taking part in other ‘hazardous activities’. Shop around for your travel insurance – remember you don’t have to take it out with your travel agent.
What does it cover?
Most travel insurance usually covers you for:
- Lost or delayed luggage
- Stolen or lost belongings. There may be limits on cash, and a limit on individual items
- Hospital and medical treatment while you are abroad
- Holiday cancellation. You’ll be covered if you are too ill to travel or there has been a family death, but not if you just change your mind
- Delays. Cover usually only applies to delays on departure, not en route – and only if they’re for more than 12 hours
- Curtailment. Policies may pay out if you can’t enjoy your holiday as you are ill, in hospital or have to be flown home
- If you take out specialist travel insurance like winter sports cover or diving insurance you’ll get extra cover
- Most provide a 24-hour Helpline providing legal and medical assistance
- What’s not covered?
- You probably won’t be covered if your belongings are stolen as you’ve left them on the beach while swimming – you must keep your possessions safe
- You also won’t be covered if you cancel your holiday just because you change you mind
- If you have not taken out specific hazardous pursuits insurance, you may not be covered for diving or skiing etc.
Key pros and cons of Travel Insurance Pros
- Taking out travel insurance is really an essential – especially if you are going abroad
Cons
- It can be difficult to compare like with like when looking at different policies
- Travel agents may try and push you to take out their travel insurance, but shop around first, get lots of quotes, and then decide.
Things to consider when taking out Travel Insurance
- 1. What’s the level of cover for different types of claim?
- 2. What’s the policy excess for different types of claim?
- 3. What are the policy exclusions?
- 4. Are you covered for hazardous pursuits, like skiing or diving?
- 5. Are you covered if you cancel your holiday, and in what specific circumstances?
- 6. Does the medical cover include the costs of transporting you back to your home country?
- 7. If you are going to the USA, where medical bills are higher, is the level of medical cover sufficient?
- 8. How long do you have to be delayed before the policy starts paying out, and what are the specific levels of cover it offers?
- 9. What’s your personal possessions and cash covered up to?
- 10. Do you need to cover expensive items, like video cameras, separately?
- 11. Do you have access to a 24 hour Helpline if you need it?
- Making a claim on your travel insurance policy
- Ring your insurer’s 24-hour Helpline and ask for details of how to make a claim. Depending on the type of claim you may need to do certain things. For example if your bags are stolen abroad you may need to:
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- Report it to the local police station within 24 hours.
- If you can’t get to the police, report it to your holiday rep or your hotel.
- Get a crime reference number and a copy of the report to be able to make a claim.
May 8, 2007
Travel health insurance is designed as per the requirement of travelers who travel very frequently either due to official purpose or for personal trip to cover them against any emergency medical need.Traveling is always undertaken after a lot of preparation so that there could not be any ill happening during travel but even then it is always uncertain that you will not have to undergo any mishap. While health is the major concern during traveling nobody can ignore it. Even for some people it is very difficult to travel long distance due to some health problems.Travel health insurance proves as the basic requirements at such times.Travel health insurance provides you full assurance to handle any bad situation easily by giving all assistance you might need during traveling. Travel health insurance is specially designed to protect and cover you from any type of mishap that you might have to bear if encountered during traveling. Travel health insurance is of great importance for anyone traveling frequently to new locations and who like adventures because the chances of medical emergency are more with them. Travel health insurance coverage provides an opportunity to the travelers to get cover against any emergency and difficulties that may occur while traveling to various locations either due to official purpose or for pleasure..Travel health insurance provides cover for the physical therapy, medical costs on trips, cost of medicine, and cost of treatments. Travel health insurance can also cover the cost for medical evacuation in the situation of emergency need. During travel if you fall prey to any mishap the travel health insurance provides you emergency ambulance. The coverage provided by travel health insurance inculcates in you a sense of security.Thus it gives peace of mind in traveling that you are cover in case of emergency that may cause you serious problems in traveling and may spoil your whole trip.When choosing any policy of travel health insurance you need to carefully consider the level of coverage provided with the policy. Sometimes the level of coverage may not be as wide as you want so it is better that instead of getting in any danger take a policy after considering it all. You should also consider the cost of the policy of travel health insurance as the cost is the major concern while buying any policy of travel health insurance. The cost of policy should be in accordance to coverage offered with the travel health insurance.
Internet is the best mode of getting innumerable quotes of travel health insurance. You will get online wide choice of selection and after consider about all the pros and cons of all policies offered by insurance companies of travel health insurance you can select the most suitable policy of travel insurance and buy it.