Travel Insurance Guide Blog

Going to the Olympics?

2008-08-08T13:43:38Z

The start of the Beijing Olympics is fast approaching and, if you are one of the lucky 500,000 people expected to attend from overseas, it is well worth checking that you are adequately insured. Research carried out by moneysupermarket.com has revealed that almost 15% of us do not bother with travel insurance when holidaying abroad, with many of us seeing it as an added expense which we are willing to take the risk on.

If these people have to cancel because of illness or, worse still, fall ill whilst in China, they may well live to regret their decision. Lost baggage can also turn a dream holiday into a nightmare, especially when uninsured. For those of us who do the sensible thing and take out insurance it is vital to remember to pack the policy and contact numbers in case of emergencies abroad.

As well as ensuring that your paperwork is correct (passports should have at least six months validity and you must obtain a visa in advance from the Chinese Embassy), you should by now have had all of your vaccinations, particularly typhoid and Hepatitis A. A quarter of travellers from the UK travelling to exotic destinations do not bother to check what the requirements are and many fall ill as a result.

The Foreign Office website is a mine of information on health and safety issues for those visiting China. In view of the bombings earlier this week and the fact that this is the tropical cyclone season, visitors would be well advised to acquaint themselves with the advice contained there.

Plan your adventure in advance

2008-08-01T13:54:09Z

We Brits may not have the reputation for being the most adventurous travellers abroad and yet more than one in three of us have taken part in a “daring” activity on holiday.

Whether it is bungee jumping, hurling yourself out of a plane, white water rafting or zorbing (the latest craze in New Zealand where you roll down a hill in a huge ball, rather like a giant hamster), it is vital that you make sure, before you indulge, that you are insured. Good holidays are full of spur of the moment decisions but in this instance they are not a good idea.

Even if you are not one of the foolhardy who deliberately stick their heads in the sand and opt not to pay the extra for travel insurance, you may nevertheless be uncovered for what your insurance company deems to be dangerous sporting activities. This can even include such relatively safe pastimes as horse riding.

Travel policies vary hugely and only a careful read through of the small print will tell you what you really need to know. If you are still not clear as to the definition of extreme sports, it is worth giving your company a ring to check and, better still, to get something in writing in case of arguments later, should you be unlucky enough to have to claim.

Moneysyupermarket.com has recently discovered that the cost of adding on insurance cover for some of the more dangerous holiday activities varies quite considerably from insurer to insurer. Some of the smaller names will charge just an extra £15 for two weeks cover in America, whilst a few of the more well known insurers will want an extra £75 for the same cover. As always, shopping around can save money!

A third of holidaymakers suffer from food poisoning

2008-07-23T15:50:31Z

Recent research shows that a third of us have suffered from food poisoning whilst on holiday abroad. You may well think that this somewhat alarming figure is the result of us seeking ever more exotic holiday destinations. However, it is the ever popular and familiar Spain which comes out as the worst culprit, with 23% of the 2000 holidaymakers surveyed having experienced gastrointestinal problems whilst there.

Next in the offenders’ league comes Greece with 13% of us experiencing tummy problems whilst holidaying there, and then Turkey and Egypt (which you may be forgiven for thinking would have fared worse) with 11%.

Food poisoning is usually the result of exposure to contaminated food or drink, with common causes for this stemming from:

unhygienic handling of food by those who are preparing or serving it – even the most expensive of restaurants are at the mercy of those who work there;
water which has not been purified either being drunk, used in ice cubes or for brushing teeth;
cooked food which has not been stored properly or which has been sitting around being kept warm in a hotel buffet, often open to flies landing on it and the sun beating down on it;
raw fruit and vegetables, including salads, which have either not been washed at all or have been washed in water which is contaminated.

38% of those taken ill on holiday say that they suffered for two days or more, and 30% of them also say that it is not just their enjoyment which is curtailed but also that of their travelling companions.

All of this underlines the importance of having good insurance - perhaps even opting for a policy with the Halifax which pays £50 compensation per day if you are confined to your room or hospitalised.

A staggering one-in-three people do not bother with travel insurance, leaving them open to hefty bills should they need to seek medical advice for their stomach ailments.

15% of Brits never been abroad

2008-07-16T19:30:43Z

Recent research carried out by Sainsbury’s Travel Insurance has delved into the holiday habits of Britons, and has produced some surprising results.

The most interesting fact to come out of the research was that 15% of British adults (almost 7 million people) have never been abroad. This figure suggests that holidays within the UK are still very popular, and that classic holiday locations such as Butlins are keeping the great British holiday alive.

The research revealed that overall we go on 50 million domestic holidays each year, spending £10.9 billion on them in total. This provides obvious economic benefits to the country as the economy is given a real boost when people choose to spend their money at home rather than abroad.

Another motive behind the research was to find out about the insurance habits of holidaymakers, and the results suggested that not everyone thought about taking out insurance if they were travelling on holiday within this country.

Neil Laird, the travel insurance manager for Sainsbury’s Finance, said: “It can be easy to overlook travel insurance if you are not going on a foreign break, but many of the problems that you can encounter abroad can also happen here in the UK on holiday.”

The company was keen to point out that numerous problems can still prevent you from enjoying a holiday in the UK, including loss of money or belongings, illness or death in the family, lost money on hotel bookings and the inability to be transferred to a hospital near your home if you fall ill. All of these factors could easily ruin a holiday, whether it is in the UK or abroad, and therefore travel insurance is a wise purchase wherever you travel.

Guaranteeing the sunshine

2008-07-01T14:36:52Z

In the aftermath of last year’s British summer which was a wash out, many holidaymakers have decided to head for some warmer weather this year. Anyone going to Spain though may well have been disappointed, with heavy rain on the Costas and the Balearic islands spoiling holidays for many travellers.

So what can you do about it? Well, there’s no way of guaranteeing the sunshine but the blow may be softened if you can obtain financial recompense for a holiday spoiled by lousy weather. This has been impossible in the past but a new scheme is being offered to tour operators which will protect their clients against bad weather on holiday.

WeatherBill, an American company, is already operating in Canada and the States, where one operator, Priceline, is offering to refund the whole cost of the holiday (air fares, hotel bills and car hire) if at least half an inch of rain falls on more than 50% of the days you are away. Believe it or not, London is one of the hundred destinations covered by this promise.

WeatherBill was founded by two former Googlers, David Friedberg and Siraj Khalik, last year and it is not just the travel industry that uses it. Agricultural businesses and outdoors events organisers too have been quick to catch on to the possibility of being able to guarantee profits in the face of an uncertain climate. It is up to the customers to define what exactly they mean by bad weather – drought in the case of the farmers and rain for the theme parks – and customized contracts are quick and easy to draw up. The only requirement is that clients must be worth at least a million dollars.

The bad news is that this cover will not be available in the UK until 2009, so meanwhile all we can do is keep our fingers crossed.

M and S in the travel insurance game for independent travellers

2008-06-17T14:40:17Z

Until recently, if you took out a travel insurance policy with Marks and Spencer, you would not be covered if you were travelling on your own and not using a major tour company. However, now things have finally changed.

The Chief Executives at the M&S travel insurance offices have finally realised that people like to travel on their own and often don’t want to go on package holidays with household named operators. Not only are the ‘Michael Palins’ of this world now eligible for cover with Marks and Spencer on single trips abroad, but also with annual multi-trip insurance. This move feels as though the high street giants have joined the market place fully, as they will now be able to target a much wider clientele, with the likes of gap-year backpackers being a new entry for them.

With more and more travellers booking holidays away from the likes of Thomas Cook et al (last year roughly half of the 70 million ventures we Brits made overseas were booked independently) Marks’ really don’t want to miss the boat.

The cover is outlined in detail on their website and includes cover for Extended Cancellation or Curtailment Charges, Extended Delayed Departure, Extended Missed Departure, Accommodation Cover, Personal Travel Assistant and Online medical screening.

Many customers might not even be aware of the Marks and Spencer’s range in insurance packages but they were awarded the Best Online Travel Insurance Provider in 2005 at the Your Money Direct Awards and are slowly and confidently making their way in the market. With new deals such as this, they look likely to increase their share.