Archive for July 4th, 2009

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.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

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!