Why it pays to value your valuables!

Picture the scene, you get home after the perfect holiday and open your suitcase and unpack. Only then do you question, “Where did I put the camcorder? I’m sure I packed it alongside the souvenirs or did I?” “Not to worry, I’ll claims against the travel insurance”. But this is where it can all come unstuck because most insurers put restrictions on items, such as photographic equipment, and lump them under the disarming term, ‘valuables’. And it doesn’t stop there as this term includes many other articles, some which you would expect to be looked upon as a valuable item, such as jewellery and watches, but can also include such everyday items as spectacles, sunglasses, mobile phones, MP3 players and more. You name it, and if it is an attractive and fashionable item, then you can bet that, for insurance purposes, it will be grouped into the valuables definition.

It doesn’t stop there because your money, travel documents, passports, credit cards will all also come under the stricter care rules that are applied to ‘valuables’. So returning to the camcorder, most travel insurance policies will not pay up if it looks like negligence on your part. For example, valuable items packed into your hold luggage are rarely covered because theft from unattended baggage will invariably be excluded. If you can prove that the items were with you or locked in your hotel accommodation then insurers will probably pay out but they may ask for further information, such as the circumstances of the loss or theft and a police report or hotel report to back up your story.

Highly valuable items, such as money and jewellery, will always be expected to be locked away in a hotel safe or safety box when not on your person; inside a locked suitcase inside a locked hotel room is rarely good enough for the travel insurance company.

This is why it pays to look at the small print of your policy before you travel, if only as a last minute reminder about the extra care needed to look after your valuable items. No-one wants to lose these items in the first place but it is doubly painful to find that they are not covered when you come to claim because simple safety precautions were not followed. A final point to remember is that if your travel insurance does not cover it, then some household insurance policies cover ‘all risks.’ This means that personal belongings could still be covered but travel insurance providers will still apply the golden rule that the articles must be properly cared for whilst on holiday.

A riotous holiday may not always be in your best interests

Riots, civil unrest, civil war maybe! The New Year headlines are full of commotion in Pakistan and Kenya and even the odd national strike nearer to home. All are reminders of what can happen unexpectedly on holiday. What can start as a normal holiday break can quickly deteriorate leaving holidaymakers isolated, often helpless and in some cases endangered through no fault of their own.

The term ‘far away places’ normally conjures up visions of palm tree beaches in sultry exotic locations but the true fact is that cheap long haul air travel has opened up the globe as never before. Whilst this is good news for all holiday makers, at the same time it comes with an increasing risk of being mixed up in local strife and disturbances. Whilst the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be giving out important travel advice and, in extremis, will have contingency plans in place to extract British nationals should it ever be deemed necessary, as occurred in 2006 in the Lebanon, most of us will have to rely on tour operators and local representatives to look after us when on holiday.

This is where a good travel insurance policy comes into play because when it all starts to go wrong on holiday, you need to have something to fall back on to get you out of trouble. But please be aware that most travel insurance providers will have general exclusion clauses when it comes to civil unrest, disturbances, terrorist acts and war so it does pay to check your policy wording. Generally, medical expenses and medical repatriation will be included within your travel insurance policy but if you want to be covered for all eventualities then you will have to pay an increased premium for this. Thankfully the chances of being caught up in these types of incidents are still very slight, and even when they do strike, they tend to be away from the main tourist destinations.

A little preparation before you depart in noting down the latest advice from the FCO or tour operator is always a wise precaution and, in the event of being caught up, it is still possible to keep abreast of developments when at your holiday destination if you have access to the internet or television and most holiday resorts should have this. Tour operators should also be providing their own advice as will the FCO through its website www.fco.gov.uk. But as the title suggests, whilst you might have a riotous holiday and come back safe and sound, never underestimate that it’s the riot in riotous that can easily catch you out and that’s when it’s time to sit up and take note of what is happening around you.

Pre-existing medical condition – Declare or not?

Most people taking out a new travel insurance policy are confused by the term pre-existing medical condition and it is an area that the insurance industry is currently trying to address and simplify. After all, medical conditions tend to be technically expressed, not always explained well and, if cured or controlled, often forgotten about over time.

So why do insurers make such a song and dance about it? Well put simply, insurers argue that the medical cover provided by a travel insurance policy is there for emergency cover and is not a substitute for private medical insurance. There are specialist products on the market for private health care and all that travel insurance is covering for is the unforeseen medical emergency that might occur whilst on holiday and provide for hospital care in country and repatriation if required.

Once back in the UK, patients can then use the NHS or individual private health care plan they may have in place. This allows travel insurance policies to have lower premiums than their private medical insurance equivalent though these premiums do vary considerably by area visited and the much higher medical costs in the USA will see North American destinations more costly than elsewhere.

What travel insurance medical cover does have in its favour though is the wide network of specialist medical assistance companies to call in when an emergency does occur. The big question will always be “will I be covered if I have a medical history and what does that mean exactly?” All policies have similar interpretations but you should read the medical section of a policy before taking out that travel insurance.

A medical history of heart, kidney, respiratory conditions or cancer should be always declared and this may very well be expanded to the medical history of close family members and travelling companions. The reason for this is to allow the insurance company to see what the potential risk is of you cancelling or curtailing your trip or falling ill whilst abroad. An insurance provider may well decline you insurance at this point or may offer to cover you for an additional premium or may even insure you but void any subsequent claims if related to the declared condition. Certainly you will not be covered if you travel against the medical advice of your doctor and there will be strict rules on when you can travel if pregnant. So do you need to declare? Yes, you do though not all declarations will result in a higher premium but provided you have done so and the insurer has provided you cover, then it will greatly simplify the process if you ever have to make a claim.

Icebergs can really spoil your day!

The sinking of the MV Explorer in the Antarctic is a dramatic example of what can go wrong on holiday but, thankfully, these incidents are very few and far between. But as more travellers venture into more remote areas on the planet, there is an element of risk that will invariably attach itself to such holidays so using reputable tour operators and having adequate travel insurance cover is an absolute must. But returning this incident for a moment. Like the Titanic, the MV Explorer had next to no warning. The iceberg, or growler as it is called when in a submerged state, was invisible, it was dark at the time and the outside conditions below freezing. So the odds were heavily stacked against both ship and passengers. The evacuation and subsequent abandonment of the ship was handled extremely well resulting in no loss of life at all and is a credit to the well organised and professional ship staff. But what of the passengers? With very little time to prepare, they had to leave most, if not all, of their belongings onboard, brave the inhospitable polar seas, and, though not uppermost in their minds, curtail their holiday and return home.

To be honest, this is a small price to pay for surviving such an ordeal, but they will now be seeking some form of compensation from both the Tour operator and their travel insurance. This is such a good example on why travel insurance is so necessary when going on holiday. Most people tend to think about losing a bag or suffering a delay at the airport but travel insurance covers so much more. The list is almost endless. Passengers will be eligible for reimbursement of the rest of their holiday by having to curtail it short, any hospital costs from injuries sustained should be covered with repatriation included where necessary, personal belongings will be covered, legal costs should also be covered for any subsequent litigation and any lasting injury or death as a result could be covered by the personal accident part of the policy. Thankfully, this type of incident is rare but it does happen though the Tsunami in Indonesia and Thailand in 2005 falls into this category as another example of where it paid to have travel insurance. It won’t stop the incident occurring but will significantly ease the distress and pain in the aftermath.

So when deciding on purchasing travel insurance on your next trip, do think of the bigger picture rather than the loss on an ipod. Travel insurance is a bit like an iceberg. With an iceberg the damage is done by what you don’t see, whilst travel insurance comes into its own in the sections that you don’t normally read.

Why family cover is a great deal?

All insurers will offer inexpensive travel insurance cover for families and this includes single parent families. Obviously, when choosing the right policy, it pays to read the small print, but the normal deal is that children are covered free within the policy and the adults pay the normal rate that applies for couples, or a percentage of this price for lone parents. That must be good news and anything that helps to reduce the overall cost of trips abroad is a real bonus when everything else is generally charged on a per person basis.

But before you buy, do check what is covered within the travel insurance policy and what may have to be included as an extra. For example, how many children are counted as free? Many insurers cap this at 4 kids but there are providers who extend this to 6 or even an unlimited number, which is great news for the old woman who lived in a shoe, but then again she probably couldn’t afford to go on holiday in the first place!

Do also check the family definition to make sure it includes foster children and legal guardian within this. Generally, family travel insurance cover includes children up to the age of 18 years, but again some providers offer cover up to 21 years or even 23 years if they are in full time education so this can be a great saving though, by the time they have reached these ages, not many want to go on family holidays together with their parents but it is a good option to have all the same. Look out for annual travel insurance policies that permits kids to travel independently of their parents for just a small additional premium. This is good option to consider when the children are of secondary school age and above because this provides cover for school ski trips, cultural visits abroad and summer expeditions which crop up within school and university life. The alternative is to pay out for insurance for these trips separately but this will invariably be more expensive than adding this to a family travel insurance policy.

But do remember, your travel insurance cover is only as good as the policy you purchase and the cheaper the policy, the greater the restrictions there will be in place. So don’t assume that you have the right cover by ticking the travel insurance box when you book your flight or holiday. It always pays to check the small print to make sure that your family is properly insured.

Silver Surfer – why it’s cool to be over 60!

What’s in a name! Quite a lot actually and the one being coined for the older age group at the moment is that of ‘silver surfer’ and what a great name it is. For those approaching retirement, it sums up neatly, and in such a positive way, what the future holds in store. No longer should terms such as ‘the grey generation’ be used to describe this large section of the population. Retirement is not ‘grey’ but bright and vibrant. ‘The future’s bright, the future is …..’ as one well known advert puts it but it could easily be used for a vision of the future of many people entering retirement, fit, healthy and better off than their equivalents of previous generations. Children off their hands, spare cash, mortgages paid off and free time, this generation has never had it so good. So the term ‘ Silver Surfer’ conjures up the picture of far off places, living new experiences, being active and enjoying life and why not. After all, isn’t this what we all work for?

But there is a fly lurking in the ointment, or sun tan cream for that matter. Why then, when life is starting to look up, is it so difficult to find a travel insurance policy that does not penalise us for being older than the average. Generally, if in good health, insurers will provide the same rates for anyone between the ages of 18 and 65 but boy, once this threshold is breached, it’s open season on anyone the wrong side of this notional bracket. Try and find an annual travel insurance policy when you are past 70, they exist but at a price. The simple fact is that those ‘over 65’ are deemed a greater risk for cancelling a holiday before going, curtailing a holiday once abroad and incurring higher medical costs but it is time that policies were more tailored to the individual rather than the group. There are many 70 year olds fitter than twenty something’s and less at risk on their cruise down the Danube than the bright young things strutting their stuff on the dance floor in Ayia Napa but it was ever thus!

There is no easy answer except it pays to shop around and there are travel insurance providers for the ‘over 65’ age group on the market which also provide cover for pre-existing medical conditions travel insurance. But don’t allow the extra premium you may have to pay to enjoy your new found lifestyle dissuade you from taking out adequate cover in the first place. A hefty medical bill will certainly drain those hot vibrant colours back to grey in no time if you do decide to take the risk of having no cover.

Travel insurance for holidays at home – worth considering?

Most cheap travel insurance bought in the UK is aimed at people resident in the UK and indeed, will require customers to indicate that they have lived in the UK for a period of six months. It is also a fact that most people buy travel insurance for trips and holidays abroad but insurers do offer policies for travel just within the UK. It is not uncommon to find that Ireland will be included in this definition. The big advantage of UK only cover is that the premiums can be ridiculously low – well below £5 for a 3 day break is very common place. But is it worth taking out in the first place? The answer really depends on the type of holiday planned, the length of stay and whether you want to accept the risk of not being covered if something does go wrong. It is also worth remembering that UK travel insurance cover is generally included if you take out the more expensive Europe of Worldwide cover, though do check the small print rather than assuming that this is always the case. A Europe or Worldwide annual multi-trip travel insurance policy will be more expensive as an initial payment up front but will cover you for an unlimited number of trips abroad, and in the UK, throughout the year, provided the length of stay of each trip does not exceed the policy limit, normally around 31 days away per trip.

So is a UK travel insurance policy worth considering? Probably yes if only one or two short breaks a year are planned and it will be very inexpensive to purchase for the cover provided. This can be very useful should you subsequently cancel a trip, say for illness, as your holiday costs will be reimbursed subject to any excesses to pay. Your personal effects will probably be covered too which is an important point to consider as theft and loss is not just confined to holidays on the ‘Costas’ – these things happen at home too. What you will almost certainly not be covered for will be for medical emergencies and expenses as insurers argue that the NHS is available for such instances and will point out that travel insurance is not a substitute for private medical insurance. The lack of medical cover in UK only travel insurance policies is the main reason why insurers can offer these policies for the very low prices on offer.

On balance, travel insurance for UK holidays and short breaks is probably a good buy for those holidaymakers who tend to stay at home for their breaks away and there is an increasing number of people who are doing this. One final word of warning though is do check the small print as many, if not most, insurers do require you to have proof of booked accommodation for a minimum stay of normally 2 nights away for the policy to be in force so the Sunday ‘trip out’ is definitely outside this definition!

Why it pays to take care abroad – reducing the risk to yourselves

The tragic news that British student, Meredith Kercher, was brutally murdered in Italy whilst on a study gap year is yet another sad reminder of the dangers and hazards that can happen away from home Sadly, this is not an isolated incident as more and more young people take time out and venture abroad. It is also true that for the vast majority of us who go on holiday or spend extended periods in other countries, our time abroad can be a totally incident free experience, but it is important to be aware that things do go wrong. Although the following tips, aimed primarily towards women travellers, should help to ensure a hassle free and safe trip abroad, many are just common sense suggestions that equally apply to male travellers and also for travelling in the UK.

When travelling around, the key is to act confidently. For women travellers, wearing dark glasses can boost confidence and think about how your clothing will fit in with local customs and attitudes. If travelling alone, you may attract unwelcome attention and you may receive unwanted propositions or remarks. It is best just to ignore them. Never accept car rides from strangers or hitchhike and if possible try and double up with someone you know when travelling by taxi. Always pack your own baggage and never leave it unattended. Never carry packages or anything else through customs for other people. In your accommodation abroad, never leave a key where someone can note your room number. Don’t leave your window open if your room is on the ground floor and use a door wedge on the inside of your hotel room door for extra security. Again women travellers need to take extra care when checking into hotels and hostels such as, don’t use a title such as Ms, Mrs or Miss, use only a first initial and be careful about opening your door to anyone – if in doubt check with reception.

Try and stay in touch. Keep your family and friends aware of your plans and leave a copy of your itinerary, passport, travel insurance documents and credit cards with someone at home. It is worthwhile taking a copy of these with you when travelling and keep separate from the originals. Once abroad, e-mail or telephone home regularly. Carry a list of British Consular offices in the countries you plan to visit.

Don’t forget to check out the latest travel advice from the FCO before you go and find out about the culture and customs of the countries you will be visiting. And why not take a look at the travel advice section on the Travel & Insure website which contains easy to read advice on the support you can expect from embassies and consulates worldwide should you get into difficulty.

Going skiing? Take out travel insurance – you know it makes sense

There is a one in seven chance of ending up seeking medical care during a skiing holiday and despite this a quarter of us will take to the ‘piste’ with no cover at all this winter. So say recent reports in the media. Apparently, more than 3million ‘Brits’ are looking to hit the slopes this season but you cannot avoid the element of risk inherent on a winter sports holiday, no matter if you’re a beginner sliding down a nursery slope or a more confident skier cruising those blues and reds. The net result is that an increasing number of skiers and snowboarders are injured each year and, while falls, tumbles and the occasional wipe out are part of the holiday experience, you could be hit hard when it goes wrong. Being rescued from the ski slopes will now cost you well over £75, while medical expenses could set you back a further £250. The more serious injury cases could be even more painful both physically and financially. Repatriation to London from the Alps will cost around £2,500, rising to a hefty £6,000 from the USA.

And if you think that a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) will provide you with full medical cover while skiing in Europe, then think again. The EHIC, which replaced the E111, entitles you to low cost, sometimes free, basic medical treatment on the same terms as all nationals in EU states, but it should not be viewed as a substitute for proper travel insurance as the EHIC will not cover costly extras such as an air ambulance, personal liability, trip cancellation, or loss of baggage.

That said, do not assume a standard travel insurance policy is enough, as most winter sports travel insurance cover has to be bought as an extra option and, even then, check the small print on your policy. It would be wise to check that the heli-sking or freestyle skiing that you intend to do is covered, not to mention those ‘off piste’ activities you have planned as your ski travel insurance policy could very well exclude these and that could mean being saddled with an unexpected bill if you get injured.

The golden rule is ‘Get the best cover for the activities you are planning to do’. This is one area of travel insurance where buying cheap travel insurance could definitely end up being a false economy.

Dreaming of a White Christmas? Why next year’s colour is GREEN

Summer is over and sights are set for the coming winter ski season. Let’s hope for better snow in Europe than we had last year. To be fair, after a very poor start, snow fell later in the season and most resorts fared better than had been feared but even so 2006 will go down as a poor season in Europe though much better in the USA and Canada. And if the forecasts are correct, the ‘El Nino’ effect will bring even better conditions across the Atlantic for 2007/8. But what about Europe which still attracts the majority of British skiers? There have been worse seasons in Europe than last year – the end of the 1980’s were notably bad but resorts across Europe are rightly worried that ‘climate change’ is a serious enough threat for them to look at measures to improve their ‘green credentials.’ Resorts at lower altitudes are right to be worried as a 2 degree C rise in temperature over the next century is enough to remove almost a third of ski stations across Europe. The Ski Club of Great Britain has launched its Green Respect the Mountain campaign to raise awareness on what resorts need to do to protect the environment but also gives the general public information on which resorts are better than others. If this gives resorts the added incentive to improve their practices and become more eco-friendly then so much the better. Solar and biomass powered lifts are a new innovation and watch out for more car free areas in resorts. Better recycling, less reliance on plastic, less use of chemicals in snow making and more widespread use of alternative energy supplies are further examples at the seriousness that some resorts have taken on this issue. There is widespread agreement and greater awareness that a ‘do nothing’ policy is just not an option these days.

If this also improves the snow conditions, then so much the better! For those contemplating a week or two on the slopes this winter then it is advisable that they buy a travel insurance policy that covers them for poor snow conditions. Most travel insurance policies offer cover to compensate for lack of snow (or too much) with the offer extending to bussing to other higher resorts if their resort closes. And whilst on the subject of travel insurance, do make sure that if you find there is little snow and you therefore want to try out the bungee jumping on offer, just check the small print allows you to do so!