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General Guide to Travel Insurance
Introduction - travel insurance or Holiday Insurance, the terms are interchangeable and vary
from insurer to insurer is usually a short term insurance contract to cover a
person whilst travelling. Whilst most people take out this form of cover for
travel abroad, it can be purchased for Travel within the home country. Most
Travel Insurance policies are sold on a package basis, that is to say, the
policy will various sections covering different eventualities, more specialised
contracts are also available where the policyholder can picj and choose the
sections and limits of indemnity required. As with most insurance contacts
Travel Insurance has evolved, contract offering Medical Expenses & Baggage to be
able to offer extra cover including Loss of Money, R-Travel Delay & even Hijack.
Cover is available from only a few days until 12 months ( Although not all
policies will actually provide cover away from the home country for a period of
12 months).
How Do Insurance Companies Rate this Product? - if your'e over a certain age, you may find that the insurance company will want
to charge an extra premium. If you decide to proceed with the insurance (
regardless of age) you will have to declare any medical history. Sometimes, the
insurance company will want to apply a " [pre exit sting medical condition
warranty" . This will exclude all claims for medical expenses or arisen out of a
pre existing medical condition. In many cases, on phoning the insurance company,
they may be happy to actually provide cover, this usually happens where a
condition is established and is under control. Travel to obtain medical
treatment is almost always excluded. Generally speaking Travel most be for
pleasure purposes, it is possible to obtain Business Travel insurance which will
include cover whilst working. One other area which can result in extra premium
relates to any special activities you will undertake whilst on holiday, these
usually concern hazardous sports such as scuba diving or paragliding etc.
To help them calculate how much
premium to charge you, you will usually have to answer a few simple questions.
These include:-
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The dates of your Travel
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The area you will be visiting ( Usually four separate ratings are used; United
Kingdom, Europe, Worldwide United States of America
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The ages of the Travellers
Covers Available - there are various sections of cover under a policy and
different insurance may list the covers in a different order but generally,
they typically are as follows:-
1)
Medical Expenses - many consider this to be the most important cover under a
Travel Insurance policy as it is where the biggest claims can arise. Moist
policies will have a limited of indemnity and these have been gradually
increasing over the years. Cover is bow available up to £10,000,000 which should
be adequate for all parts of the world including the United States of America.
Many insurance companies will not provide this cover if you are travelling
within the United Kingdom as they believe you should be able to make use of The
National Health service. Cover usually will be subject to an excess Cover should
include medical treatment; this will include surgical fees, hospital charges, emergency
dental treatment. Certain countries have reciprocal arrangements with the United
Kingdom hereby the benefits of each states Health Service is available to
visitors'. Previously a form E111 was obtained but with effect from 1st January
2006 The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is the replacement for the E111
for persons resident within the UK. The EHIC can be used to cover any necessary
medical treatment due to either an accident or illness within the European
Economic Area (EEA). The EHIC entitles the holder to state-provided medical
treatment within the country they are visiting.
-
Additional accommodation and travelling expenses of the patient or a family
member or friend or a nurse to travel with the person if necessary
-
The cost of repatriation to the United Kingdom including use of an Air Ambulance
-
Additional delay expenses of other members of the group
Most policies now contain a 24 claims or helpline facility and its probably best
to give this a ring in the event of an incident to make sure you are covered.
Certainly if the incident is of a serious nature, the insurance company will
want to co ordinate matters for you. A European Health Card can be applied for
online at http://www.ehic.org/apply.html. Always make sure you apply for this
card within a good amount of time, a credit card size card will then be posted
to you. The card will include your name, date of birth, a personal
identification number, a card identification number and an expiry date.
2)
Hospital Benefit - if you are detained in hospital, this section will provide
you with a small cash benefit to help you cover expenses whilst you are detained
in hospital £10-£20.00 per day is typical with a ceiling on the maximum amount
payable.
3)
Cancellation & Curtailment - both the above terms are used to describe this
section and cover is provided for loss for those people weho are unable to
travel or have to return home early A limit is usually applied to the policy £
3000 is fairly typical, so if you are travelling on a really expensive holiday,
make sure you have adequate cover in force. This section of the policy caters
for situations in which an insured person is unable to travel as planned
provided it was caused by an insured event. Typical events include: Injury,
illness death ( or death of a near relative) jury service and sometimes even a
serious incident occurring at the home address. There are of course a number of
incidents not covered and you certainly wont be covered if you simply change
your mind about travelling., its important to study the policy wording
carefully. The insured event can happen to anyone that is travelling with the
group insured.
4)
Personal Accident - cover under this sections is usually provided in units
depending on the severity of the accident and the part's) of the body affected.
As well as capital benefits, some covers will also include a weekly benefit
although it is not usual to provide this cover for children.. Certain activities
will be excluded from the cover ( basically anything dangerous). In some cases,
excluded cover can be reinstated but you will need to speak to the insurance
company about it.
5)
Personal Liability - cover under this section is provided for legal liability
for injury to another person or damage to another persons property. Usually, a
sum insured of up to £2,000,000 is available. This can be use full if you are
involved in an incident abroad and are forced to defend yourself in a foreign
court which logistically alone could prove difficult.
6)
Travel Delay - cover does vary from policy to policy but in essence it is
designed to provide an indemnity for missed flights due to the failure of public
transport. It may also include cover following mechanical break down to aircraft
or ship or even bad weather Some covers are also extended to include withdrawal
of services. Sums insured are usually quite low.
7)
Baggage - this section of the policy covers loss of or damage to baggage carried
including personal effects. Cover is arranged on an " All Risks " basis. Most
insurers will place a single article limit and sometimes this can be quite low.
Often, Camcorders and many items of Jewellery will be above the single article
limit, so its a good idea to check the limits before you accept cover. Often,
cover under this section is " duplicated" as many home insurance policies with
have an All Risks section which will include cover for a limited amount of time
abroad. If you are forced to make a claim under your policy, you mat fins some
insurance companies asking if you have Contents Insurance. For a claim to be
valid, the loss must occur during the course of the journey, once you have
safely returned home, then cover is no longer operative. You may also find that
certain restrictions apply, depending if you are on the outward or inward part
of your trip. This section of the policy will have an excess ( The first portion
of the loss you must pay yourself ) This is to prevent policyholders making
small claims. When deciding which cover is suitable for your needs, checked the
sums insured on offer, they must be adequate for your needs, its possible that
in the event of a serious loss, if you are underinsured, your claim will not be
met in full. Delayed baggage is sometimes in including in the above section or
it may be included in its own right, as mentioned above, sometimes different
covers apply depending on which part of your journey, you are on.
8)
Personal Money - this section covers you for loss of Personal Money although the
levels of cover are not usually that high, £250.00 is fairly typical with small
amounts for children. There will be an excess covering the first portion of the
loss.
9)
Additional Covers - some other covers that are available include
Hijack,
Mugging,
Overseas Legal Expenses,
Loss or Damage to Sports Equipment,
Holiday Abandonment,
Scheduled Airline Failure.
The above form the core covers under a Travel Policy Wording. They may be
packaged in various disguises, to suit the target market. Thus policies are
available for Families, Business Travellers, Backpackers, Students and elderly
travellers. Which ever policy you purchaser, its importance that you study the
policy wording most carefully7, Travel policies do contain quite a few
restrictions and conditions and in many cases, claims are refused as the correct
procedure has not be followed. There will be a set procedures for claims under
each section of the policy and its vitally important that the policy document is
taken on holiday with you. A good idea, is to leave a copy of the policy with
friend or family member at home son as you have all the important numbers to
hand in the event that you need to make a claim
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