Hotel and Accommodation

“Hang on” those of you with a little more reserved character may be shouting at me. “Don’t tar us all with the same brush; we’re not all like that”. This may be the case but I’m sure there are still many out there who can admit to becoming a little tipsy whether a pre-conceived plan or not, whilst on holiday. Let’s concentrate on those who knowingly set out to have a little alcohol fuelled fun whilst on holiday.

The majority of us now realise what an important factor travel insurance can be and the costs that could be incurred without it. Do we also realise that by drinking excessively whilst on holiday we could void our policy? You may be one of the lucky one’s who escape the scrutinisation of the insurer and receive a payout for treatment of the broken leg and 3 fractured ribs your received whilst drunkenly stumbling down the steps outside you holiday apartment. Unfortunately for some the insurance companies will find out the error of your ways and refuse to pay out on your claim.

In certain circumstances the insurers will be a little more watchful, especially if you’re attending a hen or stag party with a large group of the same sex. Of course the holiday insurance companies know you will want to let your hair down whilst abroad and do expect a certain amount of alcohol intake and merriment. The problem is drawing a line at a certain level which is easier said than done when socialising with a large group as peer pressure can be very hard to ignore. In a report released by the observer it was stated that 2 million Britons a year travel abroad for hen and stag parties. You can see how this figure could worry your insurer.

The wording on your policy can vary considerably from company to company and I would always advise that you read your documents carefully before travelling. The financial Ombudsman service has come to the rescue of many tourists refused an insurance payout after only consuming 1-2 drinks and falling foul of an accident. They state that unless an alcohol ban is worded clearly and strongly on the policy the insurer should pay out in this situation. Obviously if you have drunk excessively there is little this regulatory board can do.

As it stands it is very difficult for a travel insurance company to gauge how much alcohol you have consumed at the time of an accident without blood tests which usually will not have been taken. This doesn’t mean you should disregard everything you’ve just read in this article; it simply means you should be wary and drink within what you know to be your limit. The insurance industry is ever changing and a blood test to determine the level of alcohol in the bloodstream may become a standard procedure to rule out this cause of an accident.

Remember when looking for cheap travel insurance for your holiday; price isn’t everything. Of course the more money you have in your pocket to spend on your holiday the better. Be sure to check the features you require are present on a prospective policy and don’t settle for it just because the price is attractive.

Did you know you could be spending much more on your travel insurance policy than is really necessary? On average buying a single trip policy from a supermarket or similar for a couple with no health problems to a European destination can set you back by £34 for that one trip. Spending just a little extra time and effort searching around can help you find premiums as low as £8-9 for a single trip for 2 people. Of course you should be wary of the features a policy as cheap as this offers as you may find it lacks in some crucial areas. More often than not you will still have cover in all the basic areas you require.

An area where many constantly lose money is in the choosing of policy type. If you are aware you may travel more than once in a year, you could save money by opting for a multi-trip policy. As the name suggests, this will allow you to travel several times under the same policy which can quickly add up to a large saving when you consider the cost of a the average single trip policy. In general you may find an annual travel insurance policy (multi and annual will sometimes be branded together) the best value for money as this will allow you to travel at a higher frequency and for longer durations. The average cost of an annual policy for a couple falls at around £79 (when purchased from a supermarket or similar). As you can imagine if you’d travelled 3 times during a year, which is not that difficult these days, you would have just paid £132 on 3 single trip policies. If you utilise an internet comparison site you can quite easily find a similar policy for half of this price.

When looking at a prospective policy remember to check you are covered in all the areas you require. Cancellation and baggage cover can sometimes be optional extras so you should ensure you have these. Make a mental note to check the policy excesses in the event of a claim as these can vary considerably. Check the level of medical cover exceeds £1 million and if visiting America try to get double this amount as it is not unknown for tourists to be quite literally bankrupted by private medical bills.

When you consider that the average annual policy allows you to travel an almost unlimited amount of times (each trip not exceeding a figure of around 45 days) you could save a large amount of money by utilising this type of policy. If you spend a little time looking and maybe utilising comparison sites you will find that cheap travel insurance is not all that elusive.

When planning a backpacking trip, travel insurance may be the last thing on your mind.

The result is that many backpackers leave the UK without such a policy in place despite carrying an average £600-worth of luggage, according to a survey carried out by one travel insurance company.

In the consumer society we live in it is quite usual for a backpacker’s luggage to contain mobile phones, digital cameras, laptops, mp3 player and other expensive items. The minimum value of the gadgets carried by the average backpacker currently stands at £200 – with many carrying far in excess of this amount.

Yet a third of travellers fail to take out any insurance policy, which means these items are uninsured against loss or theft.

Statistics appear to show that one in 10 tourists have found themselves the target of thieves whilst travelling abroad. The average loss in these cases stands at over £100. It may not sound a lot but when you’re travelling on a budget £100 can go a long way.

In addition, 8% of travellers have their luggage stolen from the baggage carousel in the airport – without travel insurance in place this can be very hard to replace without using a large amount of the spending money you originally set aside.

Finding travel insurance for a backpacking holiday is not that hard – in fact many companies offer cover aimed specifically at this type of vacation. You will usually find that it is very cost effective, with the average policy costing less than £5 per week on a 12-month trip.

The majority of those who fail to take out cover do so purely because of the cost which is really a false economy. With over £600 of luggage and a 12-month policy costing a fraction of this, they stand to lose a lot if they should become the unfortunate victim of a crime.

It seems that the biggest reason for failing to take out travel insurance is not so much the cost as lack of awareness and understanding. If you take some time to read the key features of a policy you will find you are covered for many eventualities and the benefit of the policy becomes self-evident.

Finding cheap travel insurance is easier than you think, as long as you are willing to spend a little time researching the topic and visiting several sites to get a good spread of quotes. Aim for a minimum of three quotes.

The same applies when looking for hotels and accommodation in advance. There are now many comparison sites that make the process of finding and booking accommodation online considerably easier.

You can usually find an internet café on your travels and you can often book just a day or two ahead. You may find that using this method makes your backpacking trip that little bit easier – and your money stretch further still.

An insurance company that has been recently launched was developed to cater for breast cancer sufferers – both male and female.

Many sufferers, even if they’ve been in remission for several years, find themselves turned down for travel insurance or find their premiums very high when searching for quotes.

The company was founded by a breast cancer survivor in order to cater for people with a history of breast cancer. The company works closely with breast cancer charities and insurance professionals with specialist knowledge of the disease.

The scheme specialises in offering travel insurance to those who have – or have had – breast cancer, including cover for cancellation because of medical reasons – these can include, but are not necessarily limited to, complications arising as a result of breast cancer.

According to breast cancer charities, the mortality rate for breast cancer in the UK is falling, and whilst an increasing number of sufferers return to an active lifestyle, many experience difficulties in finding cheap travel insurance and additional expense if they want to travel abroad.

Many survivors still encounter difficulties in finding affordable insurance, even after years of remission, and usually have to seek a more expensive premium from specialist medical insurers in order to cater for a variety of medical conditions.

Such tailored schemes come as a breath of fresh air in the world of insurance, as the numbers of those travelling increase each year, the need for affordable travel insurance for those with medical conditions has become more of an issue.

Similar schemes which cater for male-related conditions, such as testicular cancer, are being considered for the future. It is hoped that such schemes would come as welcome news to survivors who want to travel and enjoy their lives after difficult times.