Walker Jack Consultants

Annual or Single Trip Travel Insurance

Single trip travel insurance provides cover for one specific holiday.  Annual travel insurance or multi-trip travel insurance provides cover for several holidays over a year.

Family Travel Insurance

Instead of taking out individual policies for your children, family travel insurance provides cover for the entire family.  Some travel insurance companies offer a variety of premiums, depending on how many children you have and whether you are a single parent family.

Business Travel Insurance

Generally only available as an annual policy, business travel insurance assumes that regular travel is part of your work and that trips will be made quite regularly.  Business travel insurance is specifically tailored to the business user’s needs.

Over 65s Travel Insurance

Many insurers have opted to not cover ‘high risk’ age categories, thereby limiting the travel insurance options available for older members of society.  A little shopping around may therefore be required in order to find suitable cover.  However, there are companies that specialise in insurance for the more senior traveller.

Winter Sports Travel Insurance

Snowboarding and skiing trips are very popular with British holidaymakers.  However, they do carry an increased level of risk.  There are insurance companies that specialise in winter sports cover and a search of the internet should produce a range of options.

Adventure Travel Insurance

Planning an adventure holiday abroad?  Some forethought is needed to ensure a safe experience.  If you are taking an adventure holiday it is worthwhile taking out a travel insurance policy specifically tailored to high-risk activities.

Insurance for People With Pre-existing Medical Conditions

People who have pre-existing medical conditions will generally encounter higher premiums.

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Unlike car insurance, travel insurance is not compulsory for travellers. You can certainly go on overseas trip without signing up for travel insurance, although there are a number of countries that now require you to have a certain amount of travel insurance before you will be granted a visa to visit.

If one compares the nearly negligible cost of travel insurance to the alternative, travelling without insurance, it is rather strange that many people still choose to go overseas without a travel insurance policy.

One only has to look at the news headlines for the past year to realise in what dire straits a traveller can end up in a foreign country. Very recently, thousands of Brits had to be airlifted from Tunisia because of political unrest in that country.

Not so long ago, many travellers in Europe were left stranded at airports all over the continent because of volcanic ash clouds that made flying impossible. Ice storms regularly bring airline traffic to a standstill. Strikes often cause long delays in flights.

If any of the above happens while you are on an overseas holiday, you will have large unforeseen expenses. You might have to cancel your trip, lose all the deposits you paid and return home. If you get injured during such an incident, you will also incur medical expenses.

You might argue that a standard policy provides cover for many things you do not need, while some events which you want to be covered for are excluded. The good news is that you can get a tailor-made policy, which only covers you against eventualities which you consider to be a real risk.

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Many people do not give travel insurance much thought before they embark on a trip. The fact of the matter is that one can easily pick up a travel insurance policy from a travel agent, online travel consultant or department store.

Another fact, however, is that not all these insurance policies are the same and you can end up in dire straights if you urgently need cover and you find out your policy does not cover you, or the amount of the cover is inadequate. As a minimum your policy should provide cover for the following:

Medical/health cover for sudden illness or injury when you are abroad.  The minimum recommended cover is £1 million if you are travelling to Europe and £2 million for travel to any other destination.

Personal liability cover of at least £1 million is recommended in case you do something that causes damage or injury to someone else and that person sues you.

Cancellation/curtailment cover is for when something happens and you have to return home suddenly. The amount of this cover does not need to be as big as that of medical and health cover; a total of between £3000 and £6000 should be sufficient.

Whether you should buy a single trip policy or a multi-trip policy depends on your travel habits.  If you travel frequently, a multi-trip policy will be cheaper and you will save yourself the hassle of taking out insurance every time you fly.

The points mentioned above cover the basics of travel insurance. You should, however, also make sure that your policy covers lost or delayed luggage, that the excess amount is reasonable and that the premium is competitive in comparison with similar policies.

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The difference between backpackers and regular travellers is that backpackers often stay overseas much longer than other travellers. It is not uncommon for a backpacker to spend a year or more away from home.

A normal travel insurance package might not cover your needs during such an extended trip. You might have to look at a long-stay travel insurance package, providing cover for anything between 3 months and 18 months.

Before you sign up for such a policy, you need to do some homework. Find out whether all the countries you are planning to visit are covered by the policy. War-torn or politically unstable countries are often excluded from these policies.

You should also find out more about the state of medical services in the countries you will be visiting. If you plan to travel outside Europe, a European Health Insurance Card will not mean anything, so you need proper insurance to cover your expenses in case you have to be repatriated to your home country.

Something else that a long term traveller has to take into account is whether his valuables will be adequately insured by his current travel insurance policy. Many backpackers travel with a laptop to stay in contact with those at home. To replace this is a high expense for a backpacker, so it’s best to make sure it is properly insured.

If you plan to take part in adventure activities such as bungee jumping and white water rafting during your travels, make sure you get a policy that will cover you if you get injured during these activities. If your trip is mainly about adventure activities, you might need a special adventure travel policy.

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Despite there being plenty of information available, as there are so many different policies, every one with its own small print and terms, many people are confused about what they should do regarding travel insurance when they have a pre-existing medical condition.  Although every individual case is unique and must be judged on its own merits, some general advice can be given.

The first and most obvious point to note is that unfair as it may sometimes seem, just about everyone with a pre-existing medical condition will have to pay more for their travel insurance.  How much extra you have to pay depends on the type and nature of your condition.  Some serious conditions will inevitably mean that you have to pay more for your travel insurance premium, even if you no longer suffer from the disease or condition; cancer sufferers usually fare particularly badly.  However, the additional cost of the premium is a tiny amount when compared with the cost you would have to pay if something went wrong and you were uninsured.

A second key point, which sounds very obvious, but many people actually overlook, is that it is vital you are completely honest about your condition when filling out the travel insurance application form.  Failure to disclose the complete truth about your condition, however honourable your intentions, may result in any claim being invalidated.  That could leave you hundreds of thousands of pounds in debt.

The bottom line is that if you have a pre-existing medical condition, do your homework and be prepared to pay a little extra.

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Whilst travel insurance is vital for all of us, it is especially important for anyone over the age of 65.  There are two reasons for this; the first is that travel insurance can be significantly more expensive for more senior members of society, because of the increased likelihood of them requiring medical care whilst on holiday.  The second is that some travel insurance policies have special conditions that apply to anyone in their mid 60s or older.  For example, they are statistically more likely to suffer from serious illness.  Anyone falling into this age group will therefore need to do more research and make sure they read all the small print and terms and conditions extremely carefully.

Many insurance providers have policies with an upper age limit, usually 65 or 70 years of age, but there are also many providers with special policies for the older traveller.  Good places to check out are Help The Aged, Age Concern and Saga, all of whom offer travel insurance without an upper age limit.

It is likely that anyone aged 65 or over will have to provide details of their medical history before being accepted for travel insurance.  The key thing to remember is that you must be completely truthful with the details you submit.  Any errors, however unintentional they may be, could well result in a claim being disallowed, which could potentially leave you bankrupt, in the worst-case scenario.  A combination of medical history and age usually determines the exact cost of the policy, though each individual insurance provider will probably calculate the premium differently.

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Most travel insurance companies offer policies for both single and multiple trips.  If you are planning to take only one or two holidays in the year, the most economical option is to take out a single travel policy.  The maximum length of stay permitted with this type of cover can vary, depending on the company, so be sure to check the policy before purchasing.

Annual travel insurance is the best option for anyone taking multiple holidays each year.  It is also worth considering if you travel regularly as part of your job, because you are covered, even if you have to make a business trip at a moment’s notice.  Best of all, annual travel insurance represents excellent value for money, as it not only covers you and your personal belongings whenever you take a holiday, but is also cheaper than buying single trip insurance every time you go away.

It is important that you check whether or not your single or annual travel insurance policy provides cover for anyone travelling with you.  There are policies designed specifically for families, but the benefits and limitations will vary, depending on the insurance company you choose.  Therefore, be sure to find the policy that is right for you.

Taking out single or annual travel insurance will give you the flexibility of having insurance cover that best suits you, whether you take one or many holidays each year.  No matter what your lifestyle, you will be sure of having sufficient cover in case an accident or emergency befalls you or you personal possessions are damaged or lost.

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