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Travel Insurance – A Glossary

When you’ve booked all the exciting parts of your holiday – hotels, flights, activities – and are left with the job of finding travel insurance, it can all seem a little tedious.

What you don’t need is the additional confusion that comes from the wide variety on offer, which might persuade you to give up altogether. Ultimately, as long as you know what you’re dealing with and what key features to look out for, your decision about travel insurance should be quick and painless. It’s best to start from the very beginning, so make sure you understand all the terms and features before progressing any further.

Annual and Single Trip. It may sound simple, but in reality many customers lose out when they buy their travel insurance because they don’t fully consider which kind of policy best suits their needs. If you are likely to travel a lot during the year, an annual policy could save you a lot of money (Go Travel Insurance, for example, offer an annual holiday insurance policy from about £30). If, however, you know that you’ll only be taking the one holiday this year, don’t waste the extra pounds covering yourself for the whole year – single trip cover will ensure that you have exactly enough insurance for your travel needs.

Cancellation and Curtailment. One of the key things covered by most travel insurance policies, there are actually many people who are unaware of what exactly cancellation and curtailment cover really means. To put it simply – you will not be given any money from your policy for a cancellation that is down to you, i.e. a simple change in plans. However, if your trip is cancelled or delayed due to reasons beyond your control (natural disasters, accidents en route, unannounced strikes) then you should expect compensation from your insurance policy.

Medical Expenses. Travel insurance policies will always offer cover for medical expenses, but just what kind of cover should you expect? Well, this clause generally refers to unexpected medical expenses, which can include: emergency medical treatment or surgery, extra accommodation and travel expenses if a medical condition delays your return home, and extra expenses for someone to travel from the UK to stay and return home with you, if this is deemed absolutely necessary under medical advice.

Excess. It is worth remembering that most companies will ask you to pay an ‘excess’ when you are making a claim, so check what your excesses are to see if claims will be worth it.

Though sorting out travel insurance can seem like a bit of a headache, as long as you know what the terms and features are referring to then the process should be quick and hassle-free.