What holiday/travel insurance do I need?
Discussion
Asking as an idiot.
Due to being a financial failure I/we aren’t very well travelled. But that’s set to change in the next few weeks as the scenario unit are off on an epic Euro trip (ferry to France and then a short drive to a camping site in Holland for a week followed by a shorter drive to another camping site in Belgium then the ferry back to Blighty). So what insurance (if any) will we need or benefit from?
We’re driving our own car which is insured across Europe. We have breakdown recovery that covers Europe. We have fancy GHIC cards. The camping sites are paid for and are sunk costs in my mind. We have no health issues or other issues likely to lead to us cancelling. We’re taking approximately £3000 worth of pushbikes with us that are insured independently for international travel (including cover when unattended). We don’t have travel insurance provided through a bank or through a union or as public sector employees or whatever.
I don’t expect to travel outside of the UK before next summer at the very earliest.
Not being an arse, “happy” to pay for cover, just wholly inexperienced and looking for help.
Many thanks.
Edited to add, we’re not doing any exciting dangerous things while away. Just being a family on holiday.
Due to being a financial failure I/we aren’t very well travelled. But that’s set to change in the next few weeks as the scenario unit are off on an epic Euro trip (ferry to France and then a short drive to a camping site in Holland for a week followed by a shorter drive to another camping site in Belgium then the ferry back to Blighty). So what insurance (if any) will we need or benefit from?
We’re driving our own car which is insured across Europe. We have breakdown recovery that covers Europe. We have fancy GHIC cards. The camping sites are paid for and are sunk costs in my mind. We have no health issues or other issues likely to lead to us cancelling. We’re taking approximately £3000 worth of pushbikes with us that are insured independently for international travel (including cover when unattended). We don’t have travel insurance provided through a bank or through a union or as public sector employees or whatever.
I don’t expect to travel outside of the UK before next summer at the very earliest.
Not being an arse, “happy” to pay for cover, just wholly inexperienced and looking for help.
Many thanks.
Edited to add, we’re not doing any exciting dangerous things while away. Just being a family on holiday.
For me travel insurance is mostly about cancelation / curtailment and medical costs / repatriation. The rest is just a bonus.
I would suggest you either do a Confused and buy a policy from a leading broker and underwritten by a reputable insurer like Aviva, AXA, AIG etc
But more crucially try and find out who the assistance company is as it is rarely done in house.
The assistance company will be your contact point when you need help, in case of accident for instance (god forbid). They would be assisting you in case of medical needs / hospital and will even pay in patient costs so that it is seamless for you. They would also organise a medical repat for instance.
For this reason I use Aviva who use a decent UK based assistance company called CEGA.
I get it "free" on HSBC Premier but you can obviously buy direct.
I would suggest you either do a Confused and buy a policy from a leading broker and underwritten by a reputable insurer like Aviva, AXA, AIG etc
But more crucially try and find out who the assistance company is as it is rarely done in house.
The assistance company will be your contact point when you need help, in case of accident for instance (god forbid). They would be assisting you in case of medical needs / hospital and will even pay in patient costs so that it is seamless for you. They would also organise a medical repat for instance.
For this reason I use Aviva who use a decent UK based assistance company called CEGA.
I get it "free" on HSBC Premier but you can obviously buy direct.
I've never ever bought insurance for holidays in the EU (except below!!) and I am very well travelled, including living abroad in the past. I always buy it for the rest of the world where medical care and repatriation is not cheap. Also I buy I for high risk stuff. Skiing, dirt bike riding.
EU travel insurance is cheap as chips mind you. When you get a quote for your family you may well find annual cover costs the same. Due to COVID I currently have an annual EU policy running which covers cancellation etc as I flew to Cyprus last September. For two of us it was £111 . 2 week cover without cancellation cover would cost us £20 or so. I've paid £16 for a week's ski cover in the past.
EU travel insurance is cheap as chips mind you. When you get a quote for your family you may well find annual cover costs the same. Due to COVID I currently have an annual EU policy running which covers cancellation etc as I flew to Cyprus last September. For two of us it was £111 . 2 week cover without cancellation cover would cost us £20 or so. I've paid £16 for a week's ski cover in the past.
I've always assumed E111 cover won't include repatriation and that could become an urgent necessity quite easily.
Although you are not doing anything "exciting and dangerous" (I never do, although apparently swimming in the sea with no lifeguard present is, according to my insurer
) sudden serious ill health could happen anywhere unexpectedly, and RTCs are still a major risk. Given the relatively low cost of insurance I'd want that assurance, and especially if you are a family travelling together with dependents that might need help to get home if you can't drive after an injury/illness.
If you don't have an other cover for valuables, personal belongings etc these are still welcome to have - a campsite is not the most secure environment.
Although you are not doing anything "exciting and dangerous" (I never do, although apparently swimming in the sea with no lifeguard present is, according to my insurer
) sudden serious ill health could happen anywhere unexpectedly, and RTCs are still a major risk. Given the relatively low cost of insurance I'd want that assurance, and especially if you are a family travelling together with dependents that might need help to get home if you can't drive after an injury/illness.If you don't have an other cover for valuables, personal belongings etc these are still welcome to have - a campsite is not the most secure environment.
We used these guys several years ago for a trip to Turkey.
https://www.holidaysafe.co.uk/
Both my son and daughter got ear infections from the pool water, my daughter wasn't allowed to fly home because her's was so bad. They were brilliant, covered every single cost and expense, all of the medical bills (from a private clinic), accommodation, organised flights for her and my wife who had to stay with her, transport to the airport etc.
We were fortunate that the owners of the apartment complex had space and they could stay for another week in the same room. I just sent them a bunch of receipts when my wife and daughter returned, they deducted the excess and paid the rest.
https://www.holidaysafe.co.uk/
Both my son and daughter got ear infections from the pool water, my daughter wasn't allowed to fly home because her's was so bad. They were brilliant, covered every single cost and expense, all of the medical bills (from a private clinic), accommodation, organised flights for her and my wife who had to stay with her, transport to the airport etc.
We were fortunate that the owners of the apartment complex had space and they could stay for another week in the same room. I just sent them a bunch of receipts when my wife and daughter returned, they deducted the excess and paid the rest.
keeling54 said:
We used these guys several years ago for a trip to Turkey.
https://www.holidaysafe.co.uk/
Both my son and daughter got ear infections from the pool water, my daughter wasn't allowed to fly home because her's was so bad. They were brilliant, covered every single cost and expense, all of the medical bills (from a private clinic), accommodation, organised flights for her and my wife who had to stay with her, transport to the airport etc.
We were fortunate that the owners of the apartment complex had space and they could stay for another week in the same room. I just sent them a bunch of receipts when my wife and daughter returned, they deducted the excess and paid the rest.
Many thanks.https://www.holidaysafe.co.uk/
Both my son and daughter got ear infections from the pool water, my daughter wasn't allowed to fly home because her's was so bad. They were brilliant, covered every single cost and expense, all of the medical bills (from a private clinic), accommodation, organised flights for her and my wife who had to stay with her, transport to the airport etc.
We were fortunate that the owners of the apartment complex had space and they could stay for another week in the same room. I just sent them a bunch of receipts when my wife and daughter returned, they deducted the excess and paid the rest.
It’s a strange place, Insuranceland. I spent a few moments last night on a popular comparison website entering my details and submitting a request for two weeks cover. Out of curiosity I then asked for annual cover. Looks like I may ultimately save myself quite a few pounds by purchasing the (almost certainly unnecessary) annual policy.
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