SAVE - TRAVEL INSURANCE

Is travel insurance really worth it? Your dad always mentions it, but it’s probably not top of your pack list when you’re planning a trip – in fact until you hit the grand old age of about 45 or you have a bad experience on holiday you probably won’t think it’s as important as he does. 

According to the UK Gov website, falling and breaking your leg in Spain could cost you £25k if you don’t have valid travel insurance, so whilst it sounds unlikely, you definitely wouldn’t want to be dropping £25k for a plaster cast and crutches.

In reality, travel insurance cover for a single holiday or trip will probably cost you about the same as a couple of meal deals and take less than ten minutes to buy – so yes it’s probably worth it. 

The great thing is, if you’re going on a beach trip or city break and won’t be doing any planned risky activities (as in skiing or diving, not having too many frozen margs) then you can take out a basic policy and be covered for most eventualities, including losing your phone, your luggage going MIA or the airline cancelling your flight.

Like most normal people, you probably don’t know the names of travel insurance providers off the top of your head, but the thing with insurance is that even if it’s branded as a company you know, it doesn’t necessarily make it any better than one branded with a name you don’t. 

You can sometimes choose to pay for travel insurance cover through your bank or a high street shop, but you could probably find cheaper cover just by going online and using a comparison site to find the cheapest price. Insurance provided by the same underwriter is often sold by loads of different brands as a whitelabel product, so it’s exactly the same cover, just with a different logo on it.

It’s worth looking into your policy choice a bit deeper if you’re taking your laptop or an expensive camera / gadget with you – you might need to check the details to make sure it’s covered if someone steals it or you drop it in the sea. If not, you can often add on gadget cover or find a policy that includes it.  

There are different types of insurance for travel and they don’t all do the same thing, you can also get super specific insurance for different types of sports and activities too. If you’re going skiing or backpacking, think about taking out a policy specifically to cover these activities as it’s slightly different (and if you don’t have the right cover you might end up paying loads for medical care if you’re injured or equipment if it’s stolen).

If you’re taking a summer holiday then your cheapest option is probably just a single trip travel insurance policy. However, if you know you’ll be taking multiple trips you might find an annual or multi-trip policy gives you a better deal.

For people with no pre-existing medical conditions, it’s probably the length of your trip and the destination that will affect the price most – you’ll pay more over a longer trip and more if you’re travelling far (e.g. travelling to the USA vs Europe will give a higher premium purely because the cost to get you home would be so much higher.)

Don’t forget that travel insurance is just as important to have before your trip as on it – it’s probably covering you for unexpected flight cancellations or emergencies that mean you can’t go away any more, so think of it as cover for stuff that can happen before you’ve even got on the plane, not just in case you break a leg.

This information is intended for editorial purposes only and not intended as a recommendation or financial advice