Consumer rights expert Martyn James explains everything he needs to know about travel insurance and why millions of people are put at risk if something goes wrong

Who does not love the holidays? We save all year for a few weeks to the sun, or the opportunity to explore cities and wild regions of the earth.

The National Statistics Office found that the citizens of the United Kingdom made more than 86 million trips abroad in 2023. But many can go wrong on a vacation, so you need the best travel insurance you can buy …

… would you think, right? However, according to several surveys, between a quarter and half of all British take a clearing on a holiday abroad without any insurance. In addition to that, yourmoney.com recently discovered that only 4.6 million THICs cards were issued last year, 18%less. The GHIC gives you some free hospital treatments in the European Economic Area (EEE), and some other countries also (request here).

Terificly, millions of people go abroad without any means of support when things go wrong. The irony of this is travel insurance is very affordable. So here is my guide on how it works, what to look for in a policy.

Unique annual journey?

There are two main types of travel insurance policy, although you will find a lot of variety with each type. The single trip insurance does just what he says in the can. It is often cheap and cheerful it is often sold along with vacation packages, flights or at airports.

Annual policies are worth it if you are taking a holiday in a year and it is useful if you want to take advantage of those last -minute travel bargains, knowing that it will be covered. It is also better for long distance trips and what it covers can be more extensive.

What is the cancellation cover?

If something unexpected occurs in the period prior to vacations (such as the death of a close relative, disease, a significant or unexpected event), then the cancellation coverage will pay a sum towards the costs of not being able to travel. This clause will allow you to recover the cost of your vacation, although the maximum limit will be limited, so always verify what that limit is.

Cheap policies can exclude cancellation coverage or have very restrictive conditions, so never assume that it is completely covered. Cancellation coverage is not for each eventuality either. You will find that you can only claim incidents that affect you or your immediate family, for example.

If you have a pre -existing medical condition that could affect your ability to travel, you must reveal this when you get the policy, or if you have an annual, when the condition is diagnosed. If you don’t do this, then your claim could be rejected.

Do I really need to read the terms and conditions?

Of all types of insurance, travel insurance is known for having exceptionally long terms and conditions. The good news that these have reduced dramatically in recent years, but the T&C of policies that cover more than 40 pages are not uncommon.

Somehow, this is inevitable, since travel insurance covers it for many more scenarios than other insurance policies. You can hide the main T&C if you know what to look for (see below). However, there is one thing that you are absolutely ought read.

You must obtain a ‘key fact’ brochure that indicates the most important things in the contract, such as excessive levels, significant exclusions, policy limits and how to claim. These days, the insurance company could send the key data brochure by email. Click the link, read and save the document, just in case.

What is an excess of rate and policy limit?

An excessive rate is the amount of money to pay when it makes an insurance claim, except that it is generally deduced from its liquidation figure. A policy limit is the maximum amount that your insurance policy will pay when it claims specific situations and losses.

This is how it works in practice: you may have to pay the first £ 200 of a claim for a canceled vacation (excess rate). In addition, the maximum policy limit could be £ 2,000. So, if you make a successful claim for a canceled vacation, the maximum that you could claim with this policy is £ 1,800, no matter how much you have spent on the trip.

Because there are many potential statements that I could do, there are many policy limits (or excessive rates) to verify when you get your policy. It is possible that you can pay a little more to extend the limits or reduce excess rates, so it is worth familiar with them.

It would suggest looking policies that cover it for at least 2 million for medical expenses/repatriation. This sounds a lot. However, if you need treatment in the United States, you can find that you need even more than that, depending on what happened.

Consider £ 2,000 to £ 3,000 for cancellation, £ 1,500 for lost or damaged luggage and £ 1 million for personal responsibility (in case you receive damage for damage caused, property or other people by accident). You will find that payments for things like your travel cash are low, so keep your currency safe.

Am I too high risk to get travel insurance?

There are some things that can make insurance more difficult or more expensive:

• Be greater (more than 70)
• Be pregnant
• Have a serious medical condition (even if it is treatable)
• Going to somewhere to travel is dangerous
• Participate in high -risk (legal) activities

Do not give up. There are runners, beneficial organizations and specialized insurance that can help you find coverage. Contact if you need details to contact for free.

You can find that making some commitments reduces the cost of insurance, depending on what you are willing to accept. If it has been treated for cancer and is in remission, an insurer can only offer a policy that excludes medical treatment abroad in relation to cancer, but covers it for all other medical emergencies. Talk to your doctor and make a decision on whether you are willing to accept a risk like this.

Can I get a family insurance policy?

There are many family insurance policies to protect you and your loved ones. If you leave with the children, it is worth opting for one. However, if your children will be out of view while they are on vacation, as in a holiday club or participate in an activity, verify to ensure that this is regulated and implies full supervision, which will be required by your insurance policy.

Family coverage will also generally allow you to keep a sick child in the hospital or travel home with them if necessary, but often this only covers a father. This can be distressing for parents when they discover this, but it is quite standard in policies.

Adrenaline Junkie? You will need a special cover

If you plan to do something wild holiday, make sure you have added an adventure sports cover, or winter sports coverage, to your policy. These ‘add’ policies or updates protect it for a wide range of activities, based on a risk scale.

The adventure sports cover includes obvious things such as bridge jumps, sky jumps, quadruple bicycle coins and even riding. A lot of people fall out of bicycles while on vacation (motor or pedal), so do not hire an additional cover.

However, quieter activities such as hiking outside hiking may also require this additional cover. If you participate in any holiday activity with a risk element, make sure that the service provider also has civil liability insurance and is trained and authorized to provide the service. You can consult this on your website.

What happens if you need to return home early?

There are times when it is possible that you should return home after a family event at home, or an injury abroad. This is known as ‘reduction’.

Verify what your policy covers (replace tickets, take it to the airport, medical support, what happens when you are at home). If you break a limb, you may have to wait for a flight that can adapt to it, so keep your insurer on how you can help you.

Values ​​and cost of what is in your travel bag

It is a common assumption that your travel insurance policy will be covered for all your personal possessions, but this is not the case. Most policies only have relatively limited payments for value objects and will generally have to pay an additional premium if you want to cover more items when you travel.

Back in more innocent times, people wore a tattered pocket book and some local vacation currency. But now we have smartphones, tablets, games systems, laptops, smart watches, faces and more. Can you afford to lose them? If not, then think carefully about what it takes.

Be sure to use a safe if the hotel has one; Most insurance policies will require it to do so. It will not be covered if it leaves the unattended items. This includes in your hotel room, in a loup and even in the hotel luggage store.

What happens if you need to make a claim?

I recommend photographing your insurance documents and/or save them on a smartphone or send them by email to yourself. He would also save his insurer’s emergency telephone number on his phone, in case he needs it in case of a medical emergency.

No matter what the situation that has given rise to a claim, you must contact the insurance company as soon as possible after the incident occurred. These time limits can be very tight, so it is not delayed.

If you are a victim of a crime, you will be asked to present a police report. If you are in a hospital, there will be a special emergency line that is there to help with medical problems. Contact them and talk about their options. The hospital may want to know if it is insured before continuing the treatment, especially if it is a private center. After any document that may be useful for the claim and send copies when you are at home.

Travel safely, knowing that you are covered

Despite the best efforts of Icelandic volcanoes, the striking air traffic controlle, the arguments of the bags and hurricanes, the vast majority of us will have a fabulous time and without holiday problems. But knowing that you are covered while abroad frees you to relax and have a good time. So buy today, don’t delay!

• Martyn James is a leader of consumer rights, television announcer and radio and journalist