Archive for July, 2009

Avoid taking an insurance holiday on vacation!

Friday, July 17th, 2009

If you are getting ready for your summer holidays at home in the British Isles, now is a good time to organise your family’s insurance. How easy it is to be of the opinion that when staying at home holiday insurance isn’t as important a necessity as it is when holidaying abroad. Beware of falling into this minefield of misapprehension for accidents unfortunately tend to happen wherever you are!

According to the article “Top tips for a hitch free summer holiday” summer holiday insurance doesn’t have to cost a fortune with a little help from the people at the moneysupermarket.com. By cutting back on our holiday insurance in order to save money, we could be walking into a false economy nightmare.

Why not kick off with a good travel insurance deal. Surprisingly, only 52% of the British holidaying public will purchase holiday insurance when vacationing at home! Accidents can happen wherever you are and for as little as nine pounds a family of four on holiday for a week can be covered. Why not get yourself a bargain and buy yourself some peace of mind?

Setting off for your holiday may not always run without a hitch. You could need roadside assistance and your holiday could be set back hours if you haven’t done your preparation! When taking out roadside cover doesn’t it make sense to (at the same time) check out caravan cover, courtesy car arrangements and other added extras that you might consider relevant.

Camping insurance is set to raise a few eyebrows this summer as the price of tents come down and holidaymakers forego the comfortable self catering option en masse for some basic living. Camping insurance is not expensive which is surprising especially as tents are generally left unattended for hours on end. Camping insurance for the year could cost as little as £16 for the year covering equipment to the value of £10,000. While our possessions will be covered by our home insurance policies, the sensible thing to do is to not leave anything of any value inside an unguarded tent.

Caravan insurance offers great value for money in equal measures. If you are planning on caravanning this year for an annual £100 premium a policy could offer you cover of up to £1,125,000 as well as £15,000 personal accident protection.

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Insurance – what to keep when economising

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Everybody wants to cut back whether this means shopping in Tesco instead of Marks and Spencer, going on holiday in England instead of abroad or cutting back wherever we can. Many are looking at cutting their insurance premiums and according to the article “Insurance-what do you need and what can you live without?” rather than cancelling our policies, there may be ways to economise instead.

An essential insurance is car insurance. It is a legal requirement and the aftermath of an accident could prove very expensive without it. The only way to cut your driving insurance expense is to reduce from fully comprehensive to a third party policy, this way you will save a considerable mount of money without breaking the law. Don’t stop there either as you could shave another pound or two off the bill by shopping around for the most competitive price.

Consider next the effects of cutting your life insurance. According to the article, people who are free of dependants and debt could do worse than consider cancelling their life insurance policy. Keep it going however, if you fear for your children being saddled with your debts or being unable to support them should the unthinkable occur. If you are thinking of cancelling your life insurance do bear in mind that picking up a policy later on in life (when more health issues may possibly come into play) can be more expensive than if you were to continue with the one you have now.

Looking to economise on your home insurance? Take some good advice and leave it well alone as this is one type of insurance policy that is absolutely necessary. If anything you could be able to get a better price by shopping around and therefore even with this save some a few pounds!

While travel insurance is by no means mandatory, you ought to still have it. Shop around for the best deals instead of not getting any altogether. The same applies to pet insurance. Though not an obligatory insurance, the absence of a pet insurance policy could cost you a fortune in the long run. Again, shop around for the best deals.

Economising is a good thing but only when sensibly managed. These tips could save you some considerable dosh without cancelling all the protection you have.

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When holiday interruption pays insurance claims

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

Many of us are being tempted away from our usual favourite Spanish resorts as we follow the bargain offers for the Caribbean, Florida and Mexico in the autumn. According to the article “Travel insurance limits Hurricane benefits!” many of the best deals are on offer during the hurricane season leaving holidaymakers wondering where they stand in terms of protection and insurance.

In the event of having to cancel a holiday or end your holiday early to avoid bad weather, many travel insurance policies only tend to offer the minimum of protection. On the positive side, many people holidaymaking during the hurricane season will not witness anything stronger than a sea breeze.

While it is rare that your travel insurance will cover any claim during anything other than a severe weather disaster, there are some exceptions to the rule.

What if you are aboard a cruise when a hurricane strikes? The good news is that ships are very likely to be able to steer around affected areas so you should be safe in the capable hands of the ship’s captain. Remember if your cruise liner uses a port that doesn’t feature on the itinerary to avoid sailing into trouble – there is some likelihood that your insurer will not entertain a complete refund. Although, depending upon the situation a cruise company may see fit to allow you an opportunity to reschedule your trip for another time.

On a further note, if you are concerned about your future travel, opt for a policy that will let you cancel for any reason. Be warned though, for peace of mind they do tend to cost you just that little more.

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STOP! Book travel insurance AFTER reading this!

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

Travel insurance, what’s the big deal? At last, the moment we have all been waiting for has arrived, an article about travel insurance. By reading this article, you too can decide for yourself whether travel insurance is all it is cracked up to be.

The holiday season is suddenly upon us and as many of us consider the type of travel insurance we will require over 40% of us could be paying over the odds by purchasing cover through a travel agent. According to the article “Read this before buying travel insurance” many of us find taking out travel insurance with our travel agent saves ‘mucking about’ but are unaware that we could be saving money elsewhere. By shopping around for travel insurance we could save considerable amounts of money but we continue to take our policies out with the holiday companies.

One fact to bear in mind is that by no means is travel insurance an obligation when booking your holiday. Although it is good practice to purchase travel insurance as early as possible you do not have to get it at the point of booking.

What is a good travel insurance policy? Firstly, it should provide (at the minimum) a million pounds of cover for third party in addition to legal fees and five million pounds worth of cover for medical expenses. Thirdly, cancellation cover (without a large excess) to protect against the full cost of the holiday is very necessary. Note these points are essential cover, other types of cover such as for delays in departure, delay of luggage and cash are considered non-essential in comparison.

For the better insurance deal check out moneysupermarket.com for ease of shopping as well as to make some considerable savings.

Next when shopping for travel insurance to best suit your needs, compare all the excesses and exclusion factors of all policies. Be aware that more often than not, a policy will exclude pre-existing medical conditions. Beware also of policies that do not cover you for accidents incurred whilst under the influence of alcohol.

When putting in a claim for lost or stolen items be prepared to provide your insurer with a police report. In the event that police are not interested in your lost phone, check your policy for accidental loss also check if there is a possibility of making a claim on your home contents insurance.

When buying travel insurance, do not be fooled into thinking a policy is better than it is because it covers you for all kinds of incidents. Certain types of cover may not be as useful as first it may seem! Considering departure delay and whether or not this is a good thing added onto your policy could be a saving grace. Many insurers rarely pay out on this kind of incidental although Virgin will pay £25 after a delay of 8 hours and a further £25 for an 8 hour delay thereafter. If your holiday is delayed by 24 hours, the majority of insurers will allow you to cancel your trip and some will even allow you to cancel your holiday after 12 hours.

Last but not least, don’t allow yourself to be seduced into saving money by not taking out travel insurance, it is a false economy to not do so even in this time of credit crunching. Save money on your travel insurance instead by shopping around for the best deals!

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