We often get so caught up in the delicate details of travelling like what to pack and what to do when we get there, that we completely dismiss one of the most crucial things, travel insurance! The problem is that when we go to purchase travel insurance often we don’t have a clue what we need, or worse yet, we ignore it or we buy something that actually doesn’t cover us properly. As a self-confessed travelling pro, I’ve actually been in both the situation of no travel insurance and also travel insurance that did not cover me. Today I’ve teamed up with travel guru website, Travel Insurance Explained to share with you the main things to consider when you are looking to buy travel insurance for your next trip. 

Always buy travel insurance!

Rule number one, always buy travel insurance – I cannot stress that enough. If you travel a lot like me, I’d strongly advise annual cover to save your costs. I’ve had one situation where I had not bought travel insurance and my bags were delayed on arrival until two days later. If I’d of had travel insurance I would have been covered for this, but I wasn’t and instead had to rely on communications directly between myself and the airline. Nightmare. I like the annual cover because I don’t have to always think, do I need to buy my insurance, I just know I can travel with peace of mind.

The price – don’t be fooled 

It is ridiculously tempting to pick travel insurance that is cheap, we’ve all seen those adverts where it’ll be £5 for travel insurance, but your excess for a claim (what you’d need to pay regardless) is always sky high. Often these sorts of travel insurance deals barely cover the basics and in turn, are pretty much useless. I’m not suggesting for a second you need the one that is very expensive, but it’s important not to go on price and instead look at what you are covered for. 

The basics of what it should cover

Travel insurance can be as complex and detailed as you need it to be, but you will always need the basics. These, in my opinion, are medical, delays, lost luggage, damages, cancellation.

Medical or injury cover

If you’re in an accident or you become poorly, you need cover for any medical costs. In many countries, the cost for tourists to have any treatment can be immense! I’d personally say this is imperative, nothing is more important than your health! My husband got extremely poorly on holiday and was on a drip due to severe dehydration, if we hadn’t had insurance it would have cost a small fortune. Obviously, we didn’t go on holiday with the intention for him to get poorly, it just happened as these things do, but luckily we were covered. 

Cancellation and delay cover

I cringe when I see those articles in the paper, airline suspends all flights and strands passengers, or airline goes into administration. It’s a holidaymaker’s worst nightmare, but it obviously happens and just like medical you cannot predict it! It’s not like an airline will announce that they might be struggling financially or be vocal about a potential strike, so, unfortunately, we have to prepare for the worst. Cancellation cover is absolutely imperative. I have had a lot of delayed flights, but say for example you have a flight that is delayed and means you have a stopover for a day you’ll need somewhere to stay – your travel insurance can cover those costs. Do you see why I’ve highlighted this as being important? Don’t get stranded abroad!

What else do you need to consider?

If you are heading off on a ski trip or for an extreme sport related holiday, you don’t just need standard injury cover you will need special cover. Why do you ask? Well, you’re taking part in an activity which puts you at a higher risk or prone to injury. If you injure yourself and you only have ‘basic’ medical cover, it might be void.

What about your equipment? If I travel with my bike for a triathlon or take my skis, what if they get damaged in the hold? Your insurance can and will cover if you select it. You tend to find this information in additional cover. The same applies if you perhaps travel with camera equipment – this is a must for Nick and me when we travel with our drone, Go Pros and big cameras, so if anything got damaged on the journey we’d be mortified.

This is a big one for people like me, and to make sure your travel insurance isn’t void is to declare any current medical conditions. It doesn’t bump your insurance up necessarily but you do need to declare it, for example, my epilepsy should be declared on my insurance. If you have a condition make sure all of your details are on your form or else it might make your travel insurance claim completely void.

Takeaway tips

• Don’t be tempted by cheap deals – check what it covers first
• Do you have an existing medical condition? Declare it!
• Do you have extra equipment? Going skiing? Add it on!
• Which country are you going to? Make sure you select the right area (you’d be surprised how many people select the wrong area – it’ll make your insurance void)
• Got gadgets? Add them on through additional cover
• Consider annual cover if you travel a lot as it will save you money

For more information of the dos and don’ts when making your purchase head over to Travel Insurance Explained to get further information.

*Post in collaboration with Travel Insurance Explained