Travel Insurance

The importance of having Travel Insurance

In tough economic times, it's perfectly understandable that some people start to question the importance of travel insurance. The logic may run along the lines of:

"we've never used it before so nothing will happen this time......", or perhaps; "we're only going to an EU country so our E-forms will cover us.........".

This may not always be the case!

Travel and holiday woes

If you travel, you are exposed to several risks the list of potential problems is almost endless, covering illness, travel delays, accidents while away from home, crime, the collapse of holiday companies, lost luggage and so on.

Of course, none of us wants to let the worries of what might happen put us off travelling but equally it is prudent to keep in mind the exceptionally high costs that you may incur if these things come to pass and you do not have travel insurance to help.

An interesting illustration is provided by some published statistics showing the indicative cost of claims made by people travelling between January and December 2008:

• £747 for trip cancellations;
• £770 for trip interruptions (also called curtailment); 
• £210 for theft of, or stolen, baggage; 
• £1,923 for legal expenses; 
• £184 for insect bites;
• £491 was claimed for gastroenteritis (a total of 314 cases were reported in 2008).

Source: Direct Line Press Release 11.08.2009

So travel problems are not just an abstract possibility!

Health care issues

One of the biggest potential problems that emphasises the importance of travel insurance is being taken ill while overseas.

If you are outside of the European Union (EU) the costs of medical treatment may prove to be staggeringly high - easily running into hundreds or thousands of pounds or even more, particularly in countries such as the USA where health care may be excellent but also phenomenally expensive.

Even if you are in a member state of the EU and carry the appropriate E form, this only provides you with cover for urgent medical needs. It may not cover things such as care and transport while you're recovering outside of hospital and waiting to go home.

Repatriation costs

If you are sufficiently badly injured or unwell, you may need to be repatriated by air ambulance or similar. If you did not recognise the importance of travel insurance and purchase some before you went on holiday, the costs may prove devastating.

Just an example of the possible repatriation costs by air ambulance:

From the USA:

• West Coast £50k
• East Coast £35k
  

Europe:

• West Europe £15k
• Eastern Europe 25K
  

Asia:

• West 25K

further away such as Asia-Pacific and Australasia:

• £50k +
  

Source: Direct Line Press Release 11.08.2009

If your illness or injury necessitates the presence of a medical care professional while you're in transit, you may also be faced with needing to pay their costs by way of escort fees:

A Doctor - average case fees:

• from Europe £600-1000
• from Asia £1500
• from the US £1500

A Nurse - average case fees:

• from Europe £500
  
• from Asia £1000
  
• from the US £1000

Source: Direct Line Press Release 11.08.2009

So travel problems are not just an abstract possibility! You may also need to pay the Doctor or Nurse's airfare costs.

Other risks

Although health is typically at the top of most people's list of worries when travelling, other things may equally go wrong and the statistics above show just how common problems can be.

The importance of travel insurance is that although it cannot prevent the emotional distress itself, it may help insulate you from the worst of the financial consequences. You can find details of our travel insurance policy detailing the cover it provides on our website.

As with all insurance policies, exclusions and limitations apply and it is important that you read the terms and conditions of this policy to determine if these apply to you and for full details of the cover. This will also help you understand the level of protection that this product provides.