What to look out for when buying travel insurance

There are so many travel insurance sites around, all offering what looks like very similar products that it is easy to get confused. After all, I get cover through my bank account/credit card/household insurance anyway, so why bother?

Well it is true that you may already have the cover you need and if so, well done, you need read no further! But before being too complacent, just take a moment to check the cover that you have and make sure it does what you need it to do.

For example, if you are taking a grown up or a student gap year, most insurance policies only cover travellers who spend up to 70 days away from home, so it’s no go if at the age of 55 you suddenly decide to take off for 12 months to see the world! So check the small print.

And what happens if you do have a backpacker or gap year policy, but half way through your travels, brother/sister decide to get married, or granddad decides to fall off his perch? You have to come back, you have no choice, but it comes as a surprise to many that for most insurance policies, the cover ends the moment you set foot back in the UK, even though you may bought a 12 month policy.

And what about bungy jumping? When you left the country, the thought of leaving your fate to some bloke in New Zealand and trusting him to pick the right bit of elastic for the job, so you do bounce right back up there, was probably the last thing on your mind. That was then! But in the last 5 months, you’ve done Everest base camp, swum with dolphins, bought one of those South American knitted hats that they wear in Cuzco and sell for 3 times the price at Camden market and now a bungy holds no fear. Well that’s fine, but if your insurance doesn’t cover you for adventurous activities, then you could be stuffed if that bit of elastic breaks. And even if you get a rush of blood to the head and check the small print the night before, a phone call to your insurance company back home may not be enough to get you cover as a lot of companies won’t let you change once you are abroad.

But even if you just travel once or twice a year, you should still make sure you get the best travel insurance for your trip. Work out how many times a year you travel and see if it makes more sense to take out an annual multi-trip policy, which saves you money and means that you are covered for those last minute trips, when the next door neighbours offer you a chance to stay at their Spanish villa for a week or Uncle Fred gives you the keys to his pile in Tuscany.

Travel insurance doesn’t have to be a chore. The True Traveller adventuretravelinsurance.co.uk has a range of policies to suit travellers, heading off for any time from 4 days to 12 months and beyond, but wherever you buy your travel insurance, just make sure it’s the right one.