Holiday Insurance Value and Cost

Holiday insurance, otherwise known as travel insurance, comes in many forms; customers can choose to take out annual or single trip insurance, winter sports cover, backpackers’ insurance or even a dedicated business trip policy.

The majority of people take out holiday insurance to alleviate the risk of illness or injury on their travels, but this form of indemnity also provides cover against lost baggage, delayed flights and the theft of essential belongings such as passports and credit cards.

In reality, the cost of holiday insurance is extremely reasonable – it usually costs around £25 to cover each week spent abroad, and those who shop around on the internet can protect themselves during a four-day break for between £5 and £10.

However, research suggests the vast majority of Britons – around 60% - choose to take the easy option and let their travel agent sort out their holiday insurance. This allows unscrupulous agents to select a needlessly expensive insurance package (often four or five times as pricey as the customer really needs) and cream off the profits.

Thankfully, there is no longer any need (or excuse) to leave overseas cover in the hands of travel agents. Price comparison websites allow customers to compare hundreds of different travel insurance providers in seconds; instead of trawling through dozens of sites, and entering your details multiple times, you need only enter your personal information once, before the comparison engine does the rest.

Another reason many customers pay over the odds for travel insurance is that they don’t fully consider their own unique circumstances. Every policy is different, and each is tailored to a particular set of conditions. If a customer fails to tailor their search according to their specific needs and habits, they may end up paying for a policy which is unnecessarily costly - and unsuitable.

At the start of your search, you should ask whether you require single-trip cover (which, as the name suggests, provides insurance for a sole vacation), or annual cover (which encompasses several vacations over the course of a year).

Those who are retired or self-employed, and can afford to take regular holidays, should look at taking out annual travel insurance - this is far more time and cost-effective than booking one-off insurance packages for each individual trip. However, anyone wishing to book annual cover should check the small print first; some annual policies provide cover for only a certain number of days per trip, which may not suit someone going travelling for a particularly significant period of time.

If you have a family, you should look for a family holiday insurance package, rather than trying to sort out individual cover for each member of your tribe. Furthermore, you can arrange family holiday insurance for as little as £50, which effectively means you cover your kids for free.

If you’ve got a big family, say four or five children, it really pays to shop around when looking for holiday insurance. Some providers offer fixed policy terms for all types of family travel cover, so you can secure the same premium as a one-kid family!

If you intend to travel on business, you should look for a dedicated business travel policy, which is usually only available on an annual basis. Most policies will cover the essential equipment you take away on business, such as laptops and blackberries, and some will also include items you use for social business meetings, such as golf clubs – so, again, it pays to consider all the options before selecting a particular package.

If you’re going on a more active holiday, such as a ski trip or football tour, you need to select a form of holiday insurance which covers the event of injury. Skiing and snowboarding are covered by dedicated winter sports packages, and other policies can be tweaked or augmented to reflect the fact you will be playing sport on your trip.

Finally, you also need to bear in mind your age. Most travel insurers offer dedicated holiday insurance policies for those aged 65 or ever; these typically expanded emergency and medical expenses allowance, additional cover for cancellation and curtailment, and more cover for departure delays.