Things often don’t
go according to plan while you’re
on holiday. You could lose your luggage,
get ill or have your camera stolen.
You may even have to cut your holiday
short or cancel it completely because
you or someone in your family is ill
or has an accident. Taking out travel
insurance can help protect you if something
does go wrong.
What kind
of travel insurance is available?
There are different travel insurance
policies to cover different parts of
the world. Most insurance companies
divide these into:
UK and
Ireland
Europe
Australia &
New Zealand
Worldwide (excluding
North America)
Worldwide (including
North America)
Once you have decided
which one of the above suits you, there
are a number of further categories to
choose from:
Single
trip
This sort of policy is the cheapest
and covers you for a single trip that
typically lasts for a few weeks or
less.
Annual
multi trip
This insurance is designed for people
who go away more frequently. It covers
you for as many trips as you make
in a year, although most policies
state that each trip should be less
than 31 days.
Long-term
or backpacker cover
Policies in this category are designed
for people planning to travel for
an extended period.
You can then choose
if you want your policy to cover:
Just you (Individual)
You and your
partner (Couple)
Your family.
What does
travel insurance cover?
As with most insurance, cover varies
from policy to policy. However, typical
travel insurance covers you against
medical problems, enforced cancellations,
delays and lost luggage. Why not try
to answer the question below to see
how much you think you know about holiday
insurance.
Specialist
cover
Sports
such as skiing, which have an increased
risk of injury, aren’t usually
covered by standard insurance policies.
You may get the option to add Winter
Sports to your policy in exchange
for paying a higher premium or you
could take out a specialist policy.
Most travel
insurance policies have an upper age
limit of somewhere between 65 and
75 but there are now a growing number
of specialist travel policies for
people of pension age.
