Brignall Archer

As a first port of call in the case of medical emergencies, residents of the UK always have access to the NHS. However, when travelling, many find to their detriment that no such provisions are available in other countries. It is not uncommon for travellers to fall victim to disease, and they may find themselves saddled with debilitating medical bills after receiving care at foreign hospitals. Therefore, medical insurance is an essential consideration for travellers.

It is a mistake to think that disregarding health insurance for holidays will save money. The risk of paying large amounts of money for unexpected illness treatment is too great, and could ruin an otherwise great holiday. The cost of holiday health insurance is generally quite small, since most people only travel for a week or two. Consider that in the US, if a traveller has to be repatriated to the UK, they may have to pay a huge £45,000 for travel by air ambulance. Compared to this, a few extra pounds for travel health insurance seems insignificant.

Insurance is especially important on holidays involving sports. Skiing, mountain climbing and biking, as well as any driving, carry a certain amount of risk, and will merit taking out insurance.

Airline companies have made room for those who wish to travel with their pets. With the correct paperwork and container, there is no reason for the family pet to stay behind. For those who travel with their pets, looking into pet travel insurance can be a worthwhile investment.

Travelling with a pet does come with some risks. There is always the potential for them to become ill, get lost or stolen, or injure themselves and suddenly require emergency veterinary treatment. It is also possible for pets to cause accidents, which could make you liable.

For these reasons, it is good practice to check out the various types of pet insurance. While most pet insurance policies cover the same elements, different companies do offer different levels of cover. You can generally expect to be covered for things such as quarantine fees, emergency medical costs, third-party liability, recovery costs and repatriation. Most insurance companies will also provide cancellation protection.

When travelling, it is important that your pet is properly vaccinated and undergoes a complete health check. They should be adequately treated for all ticks and parasites, micro-chipped in case they become lost or stolen, and have their blood tested.

Even if your travel is within the UK, having pet insurance is still a good idea. Additional certification and paperwork will help you to meet the government requirements. Pets can easily become lost in unfamiliar territory. It is important to make sure you and your pets are covered by insurance and a PETS certificate.

While normal travel insurance is always very important for people travelling abroad there are also types of specialist travel insurance available. Sometimes people decide to take winter sports holidays, adventure holidays or spend time abroad backpacking. There are others whose foreign travel is for business. Specialist travel insurance is available for these types of trip.

A winter sports holiday offers extra risk. People can suffer injuries while skiing or they may need rescuing from the ski slopes. The equipment they take with them will be expensive to replace in case of loss. Winter sports holiday travel insurance can be bought as a stand-alone policy or as an addition to standard travel insurance.

Adventure travel holidays, which might include activities such as white water rafting or bungee jumping, also have very obvious risks, so participants will require specialised travel insurance. Adventure holiday insurance can be purchased as a freestanding policy, or as an add-on for standard holiday insurance.

Those going on a backpacking holiday should consider purchasing long stay insurance. It is always important to check that it will cover the countries you will visit. If the traveller is planning to visit countries where there is civil strife it is absolutely essential to ascertain whether he will even be covered.

Business travel insurance is available for those who travel abroad in the course of their work. It usually has to be purchased annually. As well as the other elements covered by travel insurance, items relating to work, such as laptops, will be covered.

Two of the more neglected elements of travel insurance are extra baggage and cancellation cover, with most people placing greater emphasis on the chance of having an accident abroad than they do on the problems associated with baggage or being stranded by cancelled flights. However, baggage and flight insurance should never be ignored. Having your flight cancelled or losing your luggage is never a great start or end to a holiday and could potentially ruin your break before you even get off the ground.

The value of your luggage is the critical factor when considering personal baggage cover, and you should bear in mind that there’s usually an upper value limit. Especially valuable items will probably require separate insurance. Delayed or lost luggage are normally both covered, and good cover will include allowance for purchasing essential items if your luggage is delayed, even if it does turn up eventually.

Personal baggage cover might be included in your home contents insurance policy so it is worth checking before taking out a separate policy. Credit cards and tickets may not be covered, and many insurers will require proof that you were taking proper care of your possessions when they were lost.

With cancellation cover, check the “’reasons for cancellation’ sections of the policy, including the definition of a ‘close family member’ in case serious illness or death of a close relative forces you to cancel your flight. Redundancy, illness, and death in the family are usually included as standard, but it is always good practice to check on the details and understand exactly what your policy covers.

Gap year travel is a rite of passage for many young men and women in the UK.  They set off on an extended holiday, often lasting between six months to one year, usually between the time they leave secondary school and start university.  If you are planning on gap year travel then you would do well to look into ‘gap year’ or ‘backpacker’ travel insurance.  These policies cater for young adults and are designed to cover an extended length of travel, where a standard travel insurance policy is designed to cover a month of travel at the most.  A gap year travel policy will usually cover the same things that a standard travel policy does, but also includes most types of outdoor activity. 

When shopping for a gap year travel policy, make sure you list everything and anything you plan to do while on holiday.  This should include any water sports, motor biking, skydiving, bungee jumping, and any other activities that could be considered dangerous.  Always ask the insurance provider if there is coverage for the activity, you intend doing while on holiday.  You will then know whether or not the policy will cover any fees associated with accidents as a result of those activities.  In addition, if you intend doing any physical work while abroad, such as helping to build a school in a poverty stricken area, ensure that you mention this to your provider as some policies will not cover this type of activity.

The price of travel insurance differs according to the company you take out the insurance with, the destination to which you are travelling and what you plan to do on your travels.  However, on average, travel insurance usually costs around £25 per week. 

The Insurers

Travel insurance is usually offered by travel agencies when you book a holiday and by airlines when you book a flight.  This usually appears to be the easiest option, as you can pay for your holiday or flight at the same time as buying the insurance.  However, this isn’t necessarily the cheapest option. 

It may be more cost-effective to spend some time on insurance comparison websites in order to find the cheapest option.  Policies can then be paid for online or over the telephone, and your policy details will be sent to you in the post.

The Destination

The price of your insurance will be partly dependent upon the destination of your travels.  Insurance which covers you for travelling within Europe will cost less than insurance which covers you when travelling further afield, for example to the United States, Australia or New Zealand. 

What You’re Going to Do

What you plan to do when on your travels can also affect the price of the insurance.  For example, if you are going to be taking part in risky sports such as skiing or rock climbing, the cost of your insurance will go up.

According to research conducted by Alliance & Leicester (Santander), on an annual basis, UK holiday travellers shell out £1.3bn more than they need to on travel insurance.  Why, when travel insurance does not cost that much and may appear relatively cheap?  For each week spent abroad, the cost of insurance is around £25.  If it is so affordable, why is we are overspending so much?

Almost 60% of UK travellers take the ‘easy’ option by buying their insurance through their travel agent when they are booking their holidays.  Travel insurance obtained through travel agencies is an expensive proposition when compared to buying it separately.  You could actually be paying up to five times the cost of purchasing it directly from the insurance provider.  In certain instances, travel insurance is offered as a promotion with the holiday package, but the fact of the matter is that you might be paying over the odds for it.

Thanks to the power of the internet, online travel companies have further expanded the holiday market and they have many advantages.  By not having to worry about maintaining high-street stores, online travel retailers are able to offer cheaper flights, hotels and car hire.  However, beware, as the same price advantage may not apply to travel insurance.

A set amount (excess) can be accepted by you towards the cost of any claim and this is pre-determined between yourself and the travel insurance company.  The greater excess you are prepared to accept the lower will be the premium.  The amount is classified as standard (mandatory) or voluntary.

The majority of travel insurance policies will cover the expenses listed below. It is important however, that you read the fine print to make sure your particular policy covers all of this.

Hospital room costs This will normally be a fixed amount per day. Make sure emergency room fees are also covered.

Emergency dental care This is important for painful issues such as breaking a tooth or developing an abscess.

Ambulance fees and air evacuation services It is very important to ensure that your policy covers these expenses, as they can be very substantial.

Medical devices, such as wheelchairs, slings, walkers and casts. A policy not covering these is not worth considering.

Fees of a licensed and registered doctor Make sure the policy also cover specialist’s fees.

Outpatient fees The policy should cover you whether you were first admitted to a hospital or not.

Incidental expenses These are costs incurred while you are in hospital which might not be directly related to your treatment.

Something else you have to make sure about is what the excess amount on your policy is. This is the amount you have to pay out of your own pocket. Some policies have a fixed amount, e.g. 500 GBP, while others have a co-payment clause, which means you have to pay e.g. 20% of the costs yourself, regardless of the amount of the claim.

A vital point is to remember that if you leave earlier than planned, or stay at your destination longer than you anticipated, you will be without cover. Since it is a statistical fact that more claims are submitted close to the beginning and end of holidays, it is vital that you phone your insurance company to inform them of your new departure and arrival dates.

Have you ever been sick while on holiday? Many of us have, even if it’s only a light flu that kept us in bed for a couple of days. Fortunately not many people end up in hospital during their travels, but when you do, the cost can quickly run into thousands of pounds – the last thing you want to spend money on when on holiday. Talking to a number of travel insurance companies revealed that a few of the most common claims they receive are for:

Infections of the Respiratory Channel: When that irritating cough turns hoarse overnight and you can’t breathe, it could simply be bronchitis; it could also turn into pneumonia, which will probably require hospitalisation and medical bills that can be as high as £10 000.

Gastro-enteritis: You have probably all heard about Delhi-belly or the Curse of the Pharaohs. It’s not only in India or Egypt where people fall prey to stomach bugs though – it can happen to you anywhere in a foreign country. Your stomach is not used to the local bacteria and you will contract infection much easier than the locals. The average doctor’s bill: a few hundred pounds.

Insect-born illnesses: One example is malaria; another one is dengue fever. Depending on where you are and the cost of treatment there, the bill can be as high as £5 000 – especially if you have to be airlifted to a hospital. A common insect bite that becomes infected can easily cost you a few hundred pounds to get treated,

Sunburn: Your holiday to that tropical island paradise can quickly turn into a nightmare if you spend too much time in the sun and develop sunburn. The cost of treatment?  This can easily escalate to over £500, depending on the treatment needed.

Without travel insurance, all these expenses will be for your own pocket. Spending £25 on travel insurance will not ruin your holiday. Spending £5000 might mean that you have to return home, because you have run out of money.

While many people who are suffering from an illness or recuperating after treatment find that a break away from the pressures of daily life can help to recharge their batteries, this type of traveller has very specific cover needs and is unlikely to be covered by any basic travel insurance policy.

For this reason anyone with an existing medical condition will need to look into specialised medical travel insurance.

While purchasing cover for those with existing medical conditions will be more expensive than for other people, putting this type of policy in place before you travel gives the whole party peace of mind – allowing everyone to relax and enjoy the trip, rather than dealing with constant concerns about the condition or care of their travelling companion.

When buying specialised medical travel insurance it is important that all aspects of an existing condition and any ongoing or possibly necessary treatments are declared to ensure that the policy will pay out in the event of a claim being made.

But with specialised medical cover in place, patients can travel with confidence knowing that if their condition dictates that they need to return home early they will be able to do so, and equally will be able to seek treatment and medications in their country of destination if needed without having to worry about the cost.

Anyone who has an ongoing medical complaint must seek advice from their insurance broker regarding medical travel insurance before they set off in order to avoid possible problems.