Planning a Christmas break? Don’t double your cover for gifts – or skis

Around a third of travellers this Christmas will be paying twice for their personal property when they travel abroad – and many travellers will find their Christmas gifts are hardly covered at all, says AA Insurance.

Around a third of householders opt to additionally cover their personal possessions outside their home, on their home contents insurance. This means that when they travel, they may unnecessarily cover themselves twice for their luggage, money and valuables when they buy travel insurance.

But those relying on travel insurance alone could find they’ll not realise the full value of their gifts and possessions if they have to make a claim.

“Most home insurance policies provide increased cover for Christmas gifts over the Christmas period – and if you have taken out optional personal possessions cover outside your home, it is effective throughout the world,” says Gerry Barrett, head of AA Home Insurance. “But most travel insurance has policy limits for possessions which means you if it’s lost or stolen, your claim could fall short of the value of your losses.”

Gerry Barrett says it is worth asking your travel insurer to exclude personal possessions part of the cover and pay a lower premium, if you are already insured by your home contents policy.

But he warns: “Not all travel policies will exclude personal possessions cover, especially those bought as part of a package from a travel agent. AA Travel Insurance customers are asked if they would like to exclude baggage cover when they call and save 15 per cent (20 per cent for AA members) off their premium.

“It’s a useful wake-up call to check exactly what your home insurance covers before you take out a travel policy,” Gerry Barrett points out. “If high value items such as cameras, digital cameras or i-Pods – and Christmas gifts – are lost or stolen it’s likely that your home insurance will provide much more comprehensive cover than your travel insurance.”