What to Buy

Practicalities Getting Organised Insurance What to Buy 

Norwich Union for example reports that the most common claims are for emergency medical expenses and lost and damaged baggage. While you could cut back on the cost of insuring the second, it is unwise to go without the first.

Beyond that, it all depends. If you have a child or children under two, most companies offer free travel insurance for them as part of a parent's policy. This means individual or a couple's policy may be most suitable. If you have more children a family policy will probably be more suitable and if you travel more than once a year an annual multi-trip policy may work out cheaper and will certainly be more convenient.

Separate Travel

You have to consider whether the members of the family will want to travel independently of each other. Always assume, unless indicated otherwise, that the people on the policy cannot travel separately. This can be a nuisance if at any stage the children for example travel with a grandparent or other carer rather than a parent. It can also mean that the annual policy does not cover an adult travelling independently. Under twos covered by their parents' travel insurance are almost never allowed to travel separately.

Level of Cover

You need to consider what level of cover you are looking for. Standard is sometimes unrealistically low for personal baggage but if you decide to focus on the most important medical element and save on the extras you could go for one of the options which allows you to opt out of cover for personal possessions. This may anyway be covered by your home policy.

In any case you might find that if you do claim for lost or damaged property on your travel policy the insurer claims this in turn from your home contents insurers. This generally means you lose your home no claims bonus. You might like to double check this issue in advance if taking out cover for personal possessions.

If you are taking any items of value you will need to make sure they are insured on your all risks home policy and are covered for where you are travelling. Most policies have strict limits on payments for items of value which might well not cover the cost of a good camcorder for example.

Geographical Area

If you never travel outside Europe you will save by looking for a policy which covers only that area. There are also policies which are worldwide bar the US and Canada which would be cheaper than one covering the entire world.

Business Travel

You might like to consider what it would be helpful to pay extra for. If either or both parents travel for work and you will be using this policy you will need to check that business trips are covered. It is more usual for this to involve an extra premium.

Trip Limits

If you pick an annual policy check the limits to the length of each trip, and the number of trips or total days per year. Some policies allow you to cover for longer trips at an extra premium.

Pregnancy

If you may be pregnant, check for restrictions. Some policies will cover for all the standard medical issues but nothing relating to pregnancy. Those companies which do offer cover during pregnancy require that there should not be any pre-existing or hereditary problem related to the pregnancy. Should your doctor have advised against travel it would be difficult to make a successful claim. However, if you had already booked and the doctor advised against travelling it might be possible to do so. Pregnancy cover, where offered, is only for emergency treatment and not routine tests, treatment or delivery.

Other Pointers

? Single parents and children are usually covered by family policies. Most charge them the full policy rate, though there is the odd exception.

? Given the possibility of a childhood ailment cropping up just before a holiday is probably well worth considering cancellation cover. This generally includes injury, serious illness or being subject to quarantine for anyone on the policy or an immediate relative. A medical certificate will be required and any holiday provider must be informed immediately. You may also be allowed to cancel if on the outward trip your journey is delayed by 12 or more hours.

? If your child has a pre-existing medical condition such as asthma, check that this is covered. If it is too serious the support group for the particular problem may be able to help or there are specialists in this field [policies].

? Worth considering is compensation for delay and delayed baggage. It is much harder to ride either of these out on a shoestring if you have small children with you and if the departure delay is significant you may wish to take a hotel room. However, given the limited level of cover for replacement articles and accommodation, you might prefer simply to run the risk and pay for anything you need out of your own pocket.

? Particularly if you are taking anything which would be relatively expensive to replace, for example a particularly smart buggy, it would be worth checking the single item limit on the personal possessions/baggage cover.

? Financial failure of an airline is almost never covered by current travel insurance policies. The reasoning is that if you have booked a package you should be covered by one of the bonding systems such as ATOL or ABTA. If you buy direct from the airline however, you will not be.

? Check that the cost of replacing airline tickets is covered. Some airlines make a charge for this.

? Check for exclusions, for example off-beat transport like a helicopter ride.

? Watch for the excesses. These are typically around £35 but may be higher.

? Consider the issue of renewal. It is a classic low-cost insurance scam to offer a free or low cost policy for the first year or even two, and then hike the premium when you aren't concentrating on the subject. If you are willing to shop around each year this can make for savings. Alternatively, a few companies offer discounts on renewal, particularly with no claims.

? Bear in mind that insurance policies are in a fairly regular state of flux. Details when you come to enquire may well b different from those quoted in [Insurance Policies].

? If driving outside the UK you may not be covered for medical or hospital expenses in case of an accident. You will need to check that you are fully insured with your travel or motor insurance company or a motoring organisation before leaving.