Thousands of holidaymakers are running the risk of spending thousands of pounds on medical bills as they travel abroad without insurance.

According to the 2011 ABTA travel trends report, 21% of British holidaymakers travel abroad uninsured, mistakenly believing the government will cover their medical bills in case of an accident. This figure rises above 25% for young adults under 25 years of age.

Moreover, 17% of Brits travelling abroad rely solely on EHIC, the European Health Insurance Card to cover their medical bills and believe that an EHIC will cover their journey back to England should they become ill. However ABTA warns that the EHIC only provides access to basic medical care and does not cover repatriation costs.

Lynda St Cooke of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office commented on the findings: “If British travellers get into difficulties overseas, there are things the nearest British Embassy or Consulate can do, including contacting friends and family for them and giving them information on how to safely transfer money from the UK. But consular staff cannot pay hospital bills for British travellers, nor fly them home if they run out of holiday money.”

John de Vial, ABTA Head of Financial Protection said: “It is very worrying that so many people are putting their health and finances at risk by travelling abroad without insurance. Many wrongly assume that it is the Foreign Office’s responsibility to pay for their hospital bills, particularly younger travellers. In the current economic climate customers should be careful to purchase insurance at the time of booking their holiday to obtain cancellation cover for redundancy as well as any potential illness prior to travelling. ”

These high numbers of uninsured travellers can be partially attributed to FSA (Financial Services Authority) regulations on insurance sold by travel agencies. Since 2007, these regulations boggle travel agents down with extra costs and red tape dissuading them from selling travel insurance. Therefore travel insurance sold through travel agencies now account for less than 17% of the total sales since agencies chose not to sell travel insurance because of the regulations.

Greg Lawson, spokesperson for the travel insurance company Columbus Direct said: “No one wants an unexpected bill and certainly not on holiday. We would join with Association of British Travel Agents and the Foreign Office to recommend that, as well as an EHIC for travel in Europe, travellers take out insurance whenever they travel overseas or in the UK.”

How about travel insurance that’ll pay out if it rains on more than four days during your holiday? Sounds good? Well some leading French package holiday companies are offering just that!

The insurance, underwritten by AON, pays out a “substantial refund” if it can be proved that it rained during four days of the holiday. We have more than a suspicion that this offer won’t apply to holidays taken in Britain.

Nevertheless, British travel agents could be making a similar offer for holidays taken in warmer Mediterranean climes.

AON will be using photos from satellites operated by France’s national weather centre to assess how much money clients would receive and the cash would be paid out within days of the holidaymakers’ return.

The insurance sounds a good gimmick to us but whether it is a good buy depends upon how much the insurance costs. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see.

Few people are aware that most comprehensive motor policies revert to basic third party status when you take your car abroad. This means that if you were involved in an accident which was your fault, your insurer would pay up for the damage to the other party’s vehicle but not your own. Neither would they pay to recover your car.

Statistics issued by the AA show that the average repair cost in Europe is £400 but the cost of returning your car to Blighty could easily be £1,000.

Those companies that only provide third party cover for driving abroad include Churchill, Aviva (previously Norwich Union), Direct Line, LV, Sheila’s Wheels and Esure. Of the remaining insurers, some provide just a few days free comprehensive cover whilst others preserve the comprehensive cover.

Our very STRONG ADVICE is contact your insurer if you are intending to take your car abroad and double check the level of cover you will qualify for. If it drops to third party cover, get the cover toped up back to fully comprehensive.

The typical cost for upgrading to fully comprehensive is from £15 per week depending on the car you drive but there could also be an administration charge for £20 to £30.

And if you are driving outside the EEC always speak to your insurer and find our what you’re covered for.

Almost 66% of packaged holidays to destinations in the UK are being charged Cancellation Insurance and charging as much as £45 for a week’s holiday for a family of two adults and two children.

What’s wrong with that you may ask.

Well first of all it’s a price rip off. The same family could buy a full travel policy for £6.60 for a weeks holiday and that would include £3,000 for cancellation and well as luggage, health cover and travel delays etc.

Secondly, when the Cancellation Insurance is being sold, the clients are not being asked whether they already have travel insurance. Those clients who already hold Multi-Trip or Annual travel insurance policies will already have cancellation cover – so if they buy Cancellation Insurance separately for their UK holiday they are in effect insuring themselves twice! What a waste of money!

It is clear that the holiday companies selling these holidays must first ask whether their clients already have travel insurance. And in any case, anyone wanting any form of travel related insurance should first get online and check out the prices. Competition online is fierce especially at this time of the year so great price deals abound.

Indeed, if any travel agent tries to sell you travel insurance, say NO! We can almost guarantee you’ll save money by buying online.

Off on your holiday? Then don’t buy your foreign currency at the airport. The Bureaux de Change’s based in airport thoroughfares give the worst value for money effectively charging £45 more for 500 euro’s than the cheapest you can get.

Worst Airport based deals for 500 euros
Travelex cost £507.84
American Express cost £485.08
TTT cost £484.31

Cheapest deals for 500 euros
Euroexchange cost £461.07
ICA* cost £463.00
No1 Currency cost £465.37

*online delivered to your home

And when it comes to buying US dollars the situation is very similar.

Now all these companies advertise that their exchange is “commission free” so why do we get such wide differences in cost? Well, it’s all down to the exchange rate they give you – the number of euros to the pound. Currently, the Tourist Exchange Rate is 1.08 euros per £ ,but as the rate changes each day, if the Bureaux at the airport gave you 1.06, you might just assume that 1.06 was just the daily rate. But the fact is that they are profiteering by giving you a poor exchange rate – albeit “commission free”!

It is a fact that the recession has made people more price conscious. And the fall in the value of the £ has increased the cost of hotels, travel and entertainment. So that makes it even more important to shop around – just avoid those Bureaux de Change at the airport!

If you’re anything like me, probably not. In fact I may at one time have known what an EHIC card was, but the details have long been forgotten.
They’re the cards given to us by the UK government which entitle us to free medical care within Europe. It seems that over half or us were totally unaware that they had expiry dates – or at least we’d forgotten the fact.

The result of this is that many of us travelling abroad are at risk of healthcare costs should we become ill or have an accident.

It’s important to realise that the EHIC is not meant to be an alternative to travel insurance. It will not cover any private medical healthcare or the cost of repatriation to the UK. What it will provide is access to the same state-provided healthcare as a resident of the country you are visiting
For these reasons and others, it is important to have both an EHIC and a valid private travel insurance policy. Some insurers now insist you hold an EHIC and many will waive the excess if you have one.

Applying for an EHIC card is simple and free and it’s valid for up to five years. You can apply on-line to the NHS or collect an application pack at the post office. For phone enquiries call 0845 606 2030.

The government is keen that everyone should have an up to date EHIC. Check yours now.

Credit crunch woes are affecting everyone, but if we’re looking for a silver lining, then it has to be the fact that more people will be holidaying in the UK. This has to be good for hoteliers, owners of self catering accommodation and the like.

Just because you can load up the car and drive to your holiday spot doesn’t mean that your holiday isn’t going to make quite a dent in your budget. You’ll save yourself some Euro-angst but don’t forget that not everything runs smoothly – even in the good old UK.

Travel insurance is invaluable. What if Great Granny (who wasn’t coming with you anyway) should suddenly be taken ill and need care – that could mean cancellation or cutting short your holiday? And you know what children are like – well one minute and covered in spots the next. You’d still have the expense of hotels or holiday accommodation. Accidents can happen wherever you go and it’s good to have the peace of mind that insurance can give.

It’s not expensive – in fact you’re probably covered for personal effects under your household policy. You can forget your medical troubles too, with NHS care readily available.

If you’re thinking of a series of short breaks, things can go awry even if you’re only taking a weekend break. Annual insurance is inexpensive and it’s just one less thing to think about if it’s already in place when that brilliant weather forecast or bargain break crops up.
It’s well worth it.

Author: Emma Mayo

It might be predicted that it would be hard to get life or private medical insurance once diagnosed with cancer – but travel insurance? Well that is exactly what has been happening, as the charity Cancerbackup has revealed.

Its survey found that 9 out of 10 people suffering from cancer found it either difficult or impossible to get travel insurance, and 7 out of 10 people found the experience of trying to get travel insurance distressing. This didn’t just apply to people suffering from cancer at the time of application, but also people that had been diagnosed in the past and were now cancer-free.

7 out of the 10 people surveyed were completely fit to travel, but they were still quoted very high premiums if they were not rejected at the offset. As a consequence, one in 20 of the people surveyed decided to travel without getting insured first – not a recommended action. However, the other option is not ideal either, as one in 10 people cancelled a trip because they were not able to get travel insurance.

Some travel insurance companies will not even consider people that have suffered from cancer, basically putting a blanket ban on the whole matter. Other will insure, but at vastly inflated prices. Considering that travel insurance covers a whole host of potential situations such as lost or stolen items and flight cancellations, it seems very unfair to force cancer sufferers into this difficult position.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has pointed out that travel insurance is available for cancer sufferers, although perhaps not with the mainstream, cheaper companies. The Cancer Research website directs people towards insurers that specialise in these areas, companies like A and B. They may specialise, but they’re not cheap, as this example shows: a 48 year old woman who has suffered from breast cancer within the 5 years previous to making the application would be charged £248.70 with Company B for 17 days worldwide cover. Compare that to a woman of the same age with no medical issues and the premiums fall to just £20 for a cheap policy.

The cost of the travel insurance for the cancer sufferer could potentially be more than the cost of the flight – so of course anyone diagnosed with cancer has to wonder if it really is worth buying, and taking a gamble instead.

The ABI does not recommend this course of action, and suggests that people that have been diagnosed with cancer try out the specialist insurers. Company A agree – saying that in a time of difficulty when morale is low, a holiday is often just what is needed. As a spokesperson for the company said, “Being refused insurance can have a terrible impact on their morale.”

A spokesperson for a charity has also added to the discussion, pointing out that with over one million people that have been diagnosed with cancer at some point, the issue is only going to get worse. They also said: “The insurance industry needs to recognise that not all cancers are the same and treat people accordingly.”

The ABI has offered to discuss the issue with the charity. Perhaps they will look into the issue to see if cancer sufferers are being treated unfairly. They will also be wanting to make sure that cancer sufferers are not diverted from getting insured as a result of Cancerbackup’s survey results.

In the meantime, we advise cancer sufferers not to give up, and to look on the Internet for specialist companies that can help. The Cancerbackup website (www.cancerbackup.org.uk) and Cancer Research website (www.cancerresearchuk.org/) both contain lots of useful information.

Technocrati Tags[travel insurance]

Have you ever totted up how much you spend on insurance? Home and Contents insurance, life insurance, critical illness insurance, medical insurance, income protection insurance, travel insurance, mobile phone insurance and car insurance but to name a few.

Try adding up your premiums now – we think you’ll be shocked at how much you spend.

You’ll be even more surprised to learn there’s also a likelihood that you’ve duplicated some of the cover you’re paying for. Cut the duplication out and you’ll save precious money.

Many people have insurance cover for theft, legal expenses, loss of income, even death without even realising it. This arises because lots of people don’t fully appreciate what’s covered by the policies they have, especially if the policies had been arranged for them by brokers and financial advisers.

In a recent survey, The Financial Services Authority (FSA) found that optional extras such as legal expense cover and breakdown recovery, were often added to car insurance policies without checking whether the policyholder already had cover elsewhere. It is also quite common to find that people with Income Protection policies have duplicated their cover via their payment protection policies taken out to cover monthly mortgage, loan and credit card payments. The issue here is that if they claim on their Income Protection policy, their payout will be reduced because part of their claim is already covered by their other payment protection policies – so that’s a waste of money.

The Financial Ombudsman confirms our view saying, “People often contact us when they find themselves over-insured. They often do not realise until they make a claim that they have been paying for a policy that provides very little, if any, benefit”.

There is also plenty of evidence that some people simply don’t understand what they are actually insured for. Take the situation of Amanda Lariviere from West Yorkshire. The mother of two is recovering from ovarian cancer and had an allergic reaction to chemotherapy which was still keeping her off work. She decided to visit her building society to enquire if she could raise some cash by re-mortgaging to pay an unwelcome tax bill. The Society’s adviser wisely asked her to bring in all her life insurance policies so that they could be used in her re-mortgage application. So imagine her surprise when the adviser told her that the policies with Scottish Provident and Norwich Union which had been costing her £80 per month, were not life insurance policies at all – they were in fact critical illness policies with a combined insured value of £100,000. She has now received a payout from both policies, enough to pay off some of her mortgage and her tax bill!

Some typical insurance cover to check out.

Life Insurance
Some employers provide life cover within their pension schemes. Called death-in-service benefit, it typically pays out a lump sum worth 3-4 their annual salary if the employee dies whilst employed by the company.

Critical Illness Insurance
Critical Illness cover is often sold as an optional extra on a life insurance policy. Furthermore, some employers provide critical illness cover as part of their employment package. Check out exactly what you’ve got.

Income Protection and Payment Protection Insurance
Permanent Medical Insurance (PMI) is also known by some as Income Protection Insurance. It pays out the insured monthly sum if the policyholder is off work because of illness due to a wide range of specified medical conditions - and some policies will also pay out during redundancy. The policy continues to pay out indefinitely or at least until the policy comes to the end of its term.

The point is that PMI policies eliminate the need for Payment Protection insurance – the sorts of policy frequently sold alongside credit cards, loans and mortgages to maintain monthly payments. Indeed, you cannot make claims against more than one insurance policy for the same event – only one policy will agree to pay out! (The others will reduce their payouts by the value of money you are receiving from the other policies)

Legal Expense Insurance
Cover for legal expenses concerning disputes relating to your home, will normally be included in your home and contents insurance policy. Many car insurance policies provide legal expense cover as standard or as an optional extra. Some trade unions also include automatic access to legal advice as part of their service to all their members. Check this out before you pay for more cover!

Mobile Phone Insurance
Most mobile phone policies have a hefty excess. You might be better off changing to a pay-as-you-go plan.

ID Theft Insurance
According to the consumer magazine “Which”, you’re only legally responsible for the first £50 if your identity is stolen. Is the premium worth protecting just £50?

Other Insurance cover
Most credit cards automatically insure your purchases for a specified number of days following their purchase. Take Barclaycard for example. If you use Barclaycard to buy something between £50 and £2,000, you are insured against accidental damage and theft for the next 60 days.

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Technocrati Tags[life] [insurance]

Do you remember the E111 form you were supposed to get if you travelled in Europe? I can see all those shaking heads!

Well, the good news is that it doesn’t matter any longer as the E111 form was replaced on 1st January 2006 by a new European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

This new card, which is valid for up to 5 years, entitles you to the same level of health care in the country you’re travelling in, as would be enjoyed by a resident of that country. It covers free and discounted healthcare plus emergency medical treatment and applies to all the EEC countries plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. But be aware that this might not include all the treatment you get free in the UK under the NHS.

Nevertheless, it’s important to have an EHIC as it could save you time, money and a great deal of hassle if you’re unlucky enough to need medical attention. It cuts through some of the red tape you would be faced with if you were relying just on the medical provisions of your travel insurance policy.

Furthermore, in many areas of Europe, the best medical attention is still reserved for those with private insurance cover. Private insurance also bypasses those long hospital queues – after all who wants to spend their holiday not only ill, but queuing as well!

The other point to be aware of is that nationalised hospital facilities may be many miles away from your holiday location whereas private medical and dental clinics are to be found in many tourist areas catering primarily for holidaymakers.

Remember that private travel insurance covers you for much more than just medical expenses. Holiday cancellation (due to prior illness), loss of luggage or individual items are all insured.

We do recommend all travellers get an EHIC and comprehensive travel insurance. After all, you’ve saved up for ages for the holiday and if something goes wrong you shouldn’t have to worry about the financial implications.

The best travel insurance bargains are to be found online. Try searching on your favourite search engine for “travel insurance”. Even better, click on Travel Insurance on this web site and save time and money!

We say, get travel insurance and get peace of mind.

How to get a European Health Insurance Card
The card is free from any Post Office or by phoning 0845 606 2030. You can also apply online at the Department of Health website at www.dh.gov.uk/travellers

February is the peak month for foreign holiday bookings but watch out – don’t pay over the odds for your travel insurance.

In case something happens and you have to cancel, you’ll need insurance cover from the minute you make the booking. Take our tip – don’t buy the insurance from your travel agent or tour operator. If you want to save money, and in all likelihood get more extensive cover, buy online.

A travel policy for two for two weeks could easily cost more than £100 through a travel agent and you’ll save as much as 50% online. If you’re planning to have a number of holidays this year you’ll save even more money by buying an annual travel policy – again, the bargains are online.

And as I said in one of my previous articles on this Blog, you should even consider travel insurance for holidays in the UK. A policy will insure you for cancellation charges for hotels and travel arrangements, loss of luggage and personal affects and return transport if you’re ill. The only rider is that the holiday must be for a minimum of two nights and be more than 25 miles away from your home.

Technocrati Tags[travel] [insurance]

Last month my wife and I booked a weeks holiday on the lovely Scottish Isle of Lewis. A two day drive up to Skye and then park the car up and take a ferry over to Lewis and the village of Steornabhagh. Wonderful scenery, bird watching and plenty of peace and quiet. Time to unwind.

You can imagine my surprise when my friendly local travel agent presumed I wanted travel insurance for an extra £27.50. Not on your Nellie the Lock Ness monster, I thought. Who needs a travel insurance policy for a holiday in Scotland? Even in the far north, the National Health Service is free and in an emergency, my son or daughter could drive up and get us home.

Later in the day whilst relaxing in my lounge I started thinking …………..

Holiday misfortunes can happen anywhere, not just abroad. So I jotted down the some of risks I could think of:

· The car might break down or, even worse, we might have an accident. No problem. My car insurance and breakdown cover would get us home and sort that out.
· Some thief might steal away with our luggage
· Last weekend I bought an all singing and dancing digital camera. Bought it on the Internet especially for the trip. What would happen if I lost it whilst on holiday?
· If either of us were taken seriously ill we wouldn’t want to be marooned on Lewis or Skye. Don’t know even whether they have a hospital on Lewis. Anyway, we’d want to be transferred back to our local hospital in Yorkshire.
· My in-laws are getting on, a bit frail now. God forbid, but I’d have to cancel the holiday if something happened to them just before we were due to leave.
· My wife or I could be taken ill before we depart. Then we’d have to cancel. As the ferry and the hotel were non-cancellable, we’d lose everything we’ve paid.
· There could be a big delay at the ferry sailing over to the Isle of Lewis. Besides the inconvenience, we have to sort out overnight accommodation on Skye.
· One of us might be called for jury service.

Then I had a thought. If I were in the UK, my existing Home & Contents insurance policy should cover me for loss of my precious camera or luggage. I nipped upstairs and dug out the policy. That was fortunate. We were only insured for “personal possessions” if they were listed and as I’d just bought my digital camera I hadn’t got round to listing it as a valuable item on my policy.

Another point struck me. I’d built up a good no claims discount on my Home & Contents policy. Not a claim in ten years! If I made a holiday related claim I’d lose my discount and that would throw a big saving down the pan. Not a good idea! Even after the discount the annual premium is £310 a year. I jotted down a another note – when my Home & Contents insurance comes up for renewal, see if I could get it cheaper on the Internet.

By now the travel agents’ policy at £27.50 for was beginning to look worthwhile after all.

Now my wife says I’m a bit of an old scrooge. So protect the image! I know, go back online and check out if the travel agents’ policy at £27.50 is competitive.

Not all the web sites I looked at offered me a stand alone travel insurance for a UK holiday but within five minutes I’d found what I wanted - plus a saving of over £10. Great!

Time to study the small print to ensure I had the cover I needed. Yes, apart from the car, all the risks I had noted were insured. The insurance company would even pay out £30 if the ferry to Lewis was delayed for up to 12 hours. Any longer and I’d the option to cancel my trip to Lewis and get my money back.

Now what wouldn’t the insurance company pay for? I wasn’t covered if my holiday was for less than two nights or my hotel was less than 25 miles away from home. No problems there. I also had to meet the first £30 of any claim I made. All seemed fair to me.

So the decision was made. Time to enter in my credit card details and with a CLICK I was insured.

Peace of mind again!

Retirement has arrived. It’s a time to experience a slower pace of life, relax and enjoy spot of gardening. But not all of today’s over 65’s have got that message!

Retirement is taking a new twist. Less of the slower pace of life and substitute jetting around the world! International travel for the over 65’s is here and booming!

It’s a result of an increased sense of adventure and willingness to experiment, combined with more wealth. Lower cost air tickets also help! Even cruises, once the sole province of the rich and famous, have become affordable. A Caribbean cruise, an escape to Antigua and a fortnight in the Canaries are now all on the travelling schedule for the over 65’s.

Then a bluebottle lands in the ointment. Just try finding cheap travel insurance when you’re over 65. It is a real difficulty. Insurers recognise that folks have healthier lives and are living longer, and in many sectors the companies are designing bespoke products for the older market. But with travel insurance, older people are still faced with sky-high premiums.

Premiums escalate as you get older and if you want an annual policy to cover an extended holiday or a series of holidays, the problem no longer becomes simply finding the cheapest price - more of finding any policy at all.

The problem revolves around the insurers’ experience of the costs of medical claims. The over 65’s are far more likely to make a medical claim and the average claim size is higher too. Then again, older holiday makers reportedly take greater care of their luggage - but these savings are offset because their belongings are liable to be more valuable, so there are few economies here.

The result is that even if you are over 65 and fit, the lowest priced annual policy could easily cost £1,000 per traveller – that could be more than the holiday itself. Faced with these cost, the only solution is to find separate travel insurance cover for each trip. But even then the premium for a 3-week holiday in Spain starts around £65 even with a good medical history, and will rise enormously for destinations further a-field.

The solution? Shop around and get a range of quotations. Your travel agent may offer a quotation but don’t snap his hand off until you’ve got competitive quotes. You’ll almost certainly find much cheaper by surfing the Internet and buying online.

But don’t make the decision simply on the basis of cost.

When you’re buying travel insurance always examine the small print. Watch out because some policies will cover you for a trip up to 21 days, others to 31 days or 45 days. Some policies will only insure you if you’re staying in booked accommodation rather than staying with friends. No good for visiting family in Australia! Then you need to ensure that the policy provides liberal cover for medical and hospital expenses and that they’ll fly you home to the UK if your medical condition demands. Don’t forget to compare the excess you have to pay per claim and whether the policy pays medical costs direct to the hospital or whether you are required to pay first and then reclaim.

Then having booked the holiday and paid the insurance, comes the really good bit – jet off and ENJOY yourself!