The Right Holiday Insurance, At The Best Value

Check that your policy provides cover for all the activities that you have planned, for example adventure sports. You may need specialist insurance for certain activities.

Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL), managed by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), is a UK consumer financial protection scheme for air package holidays and certain flight bookings.

If you booked an ATOL-protected holiday from a travel business and it subsequently goes bankrupt, the ATOL scheme will protect you by:

• • supporting you if you are already abroad, and
  • providing you with financial reimbursement to replace parts of your ATOL-protected package.

Various insurance policies therefore do not provide cover for airline or supplier failure.

Thus check:

• • you booked an ATOL-protected holiday, or
  • your holiday insurance policy covers airline or supplier failure.

We recommend a policy with a minimum cover of £950 (or the full value of your possessions).

This cover is useful if:

• • your luggage goes missing or gets stolen, or
  • your stuff gets damaged while you are away.

Cover

We recommend a policy with a minimum cover of £1,500 (or the full cost of your holiday including paid for excursions plus the additional cost of getting you home).

Examples of when you might need your holiday insurance are:

• • • medical advice against travelling,
    • redundancy,
    • jury service,
    • a bereavement, or
    • a home emergency like a fire or a flood.

Accordingly, check what cover your holiday insurance policy provides.

Getting a refund

Should your holiday get cancelled, in the first instance you will need to seek a refund from the airline, accommodation provider or tour operator. Failing that, if you booked using a credit card you will need to try to recover your costs through Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act or via a Chargeback claim.

Holiday insurance only covers cancellation costs once you have tried all other methods of getting your money back first, provided exclusions do not apply.

Check what cover the policy provides for coronavirus-related events, including medical treatment and travel disruption if you:

• • cannot return home because you become positive during your travel, or
  • can no longer reach your destination during transit.

Check whether your insurance covers additional costs such as:

• • alternative flights,
  • accommodation, and
  • COVID-19 tests.

Medical treatment

If you booked a policy with a travel insurer who is a member of The Association of British Insurers (ABI) you will continue to be covered for emergency medical treatment overseas, including emergency medical treatment related to COVID-19. 

Policy extension

Insurers will usually extend your policy for a specific period, of at least 60 days, if events mean that you become unavoidably detained from returning to the UK but are making every effort to do so. This is so your policy still covers you against the risk of emergency medical treatment while you are stuck abroad. If you are unsure if your insurer will extend your cover, check with them as soon as possible.

Cancellation cover

If you are taking a holiday in the UK and are buying UK holiday insurance, make sure you are clear what cancellation cover the policy includes. While the policy may cover you if you get ill from COVID-19, it may not cover you for changes in Government advice. It is important to make sure you get cover that meets your needs.

Consider all the places you intend to visit, even if you are in transit, in case anyone covered by the policy needs emergency treatment in another country.

Cruises often require a particular level of cover. This is because it is more difficult to get to hospital for treatment. Therefore, check the booking conditions of the operator you plan to sail with for their stipulations regarding holiday insurance.

We recommend a policy with a minimum cover of £2 million.

This would cover any emergency hospital treatment and surgery that you need if you become injured while you are abroad.

Crucial details

Also check whether your policy covers:

• • treatment in public or private hospitals,
  • emergency transport, such as an ambulance, if charged separately from other medical expenses,
  • emergency travel home,
  • new return flights and getting home after medical treatment if you could not use your original ticket, and
  • the reasonable costs for someone to stay with you, or for someone to travel out to you to accompany you home.

‘Long-stay’ holiday insurance can cover extended periods of continuous travel.

Therefore, check the maximum duration allowed in the policy to ensure it meets your needs.

Make sure it also covers any work (paid or unpaid) that you may undertake.

We recommend a policy with a minimum cover of £1 million.

Useful if you:

• • accidentally injure someone and must pay them damages, or
  • face legal bills because of loss or damage to someone’s property while you are abroad.

Check that you have declared all existing conditions and pending treatments to the insurer.

Check that the policy includes repatriation costs if you or a family member die abroad.

As a minimum, make sure your policy covers you for emergency medical expenses and travel home in the event of a terrorist attack.

A European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) allows you to access state-provided medically necessary healthcare within the EU and Switzerland on the same terms as residents of these countries.

A point often overlooked is that a EHIC/GHIC is not an alternative to holiday insurance as it does not cover:

• • any private medical healthcare costs,
  • repatriation, or
  • additional costs such as mountain rescue in ski resorts.

With this in mind, apply for a free EHIC or GHIC here.

Excess

Certain insurers may waive any excess on medical treatment if you use a EHIC/GHIC within Europe. Contact your insurer to check if it is not clear from the terms of your policy.

Check that your policy offers a 24-hour assistance helpline to offer support and advice about appropriate treatment.