Half-term holidays: make sure you've packed the travel insurance

With the school half-term fast approaching, many of us will be looking forward to a family getaway. If you haven't done so already, it is important to make sure you've arranged appropriate travel insurance or checked that your existing policy provides what you need - especially when it comes to protecting your personal possessions.

According to independent financial research company Defaqto, there is significant variation between travel insurance policies in terms of the features and cover they offer:

81% of policies provide cover of £1,000 or more for the personal belongings that people take on holiday

However, only 11% of policies provide a single item limit of £350 or more

And only 14% of policies provide £500 or more of cover for valuables

Although price is likely to play a role in which policy someone chooses, it is important that people place more emphasis on the features offered by different travel insurance policies to ensure they arrange cover that meets their needs.

Defaqto's Star Ratings for travel insurance aim to help people understand the overall level of features and cover different policies offer. Taking a wide range of elements into account, Defaqto has given each travel insurance policy on the market a rating from 1 to 5 depending on how comprehensive they are.

Mike Powell, Defaqto's Insight Analyst for General Insurance, said: "While many policies provide cover of £1,000 or more for personal belongings that holidaymakers take away with them, it is important to check the specific limits within the policy to make sure it provides the required level of cover. For example, there will be set limits for each individual item along with details of the maximum amount of cover that is provided for ‘valuables'. It is also important to check the policy definition of ‘valuables' as this can affect whether items such as jewellery, photographic and video equipment, iPods and mobile phones are covered.

"Everyone's holiday plans are different so it is essential that consumers match the features and benefits they need with those provided by the travel cover they choose.  Our Star Ratings help people understand what they're buying by providing an independent rating of the comprehensiveness of the different policies on the market.  The key is for people to look for the right level of product for their particular circumstances."

Consumers can visit defaqto.com/star-ratings/travel-insurance to access Defaqto's Star Ratings for travel insurance.