Travel Insurance For Children – What To Look Out For
Published January 31, 2012 | 
Ask any parent and they’ll tell you that their child’s safety is their number one priority, and the majority of parent’s find they spend a great deal of time worrying over what their kids are up to. As their lives are the parent’s responsibilities this is of course, a good thing, but when travelling abroad, the children become just one concern of many. It’s strange, but often the family holiday, a break from the stresses of everyday life, is actually more stressful than the life they’re trying to escape from!
Having worked in the industry for some time, I like to think I know a thing or two about children’s travel insurance. So here are some things to look out for:
Children go free?
Quite a few companies are now offering free child travel insurance when buying a policy for accompanying adults. There’s no reason to be suspicious of offers like that (we have such a policy at Insuremore), but it is important to see if the small print matches your requirements. For example, how many additional children are covered by an adult policy? If it covers 2, and you have a family with 3 children you need to contact the company about getting additional cover. Likewise, some companies’ family policies have very tight definitions of who would be covered. If you have foster children, or are the legal guardians, make a quick check to ensure you’re covered.
How old can a ‘child’ be?
This is an interesting one, because some companies’ definitions of ‘child’ are pushing it a bit. The majority of companies will provide children’s travel insurance for sons and daughters up to the age of 18, but it’s not unheard of for 21, or even 23, to be the age gap if the relation is in full time education. Of course, by that age, they may not be enamoured by the idea of a family holiday with the folks, but if for some reason they are, then it’s a great little saving if you can find a provider who have such an ‘interesting’ idea of the word ‘child’.
Independent Child’s Travel Insurance
One thing to look out for is annual children’s travel insurance, as some of these offer children the opportunity to travel independently of their parents or guardians, and still be covered. These usually cost an additional premium, but if your child is likely to be needing to travel on their own regularly (for school trips, for example), then this is a great solution. If independent trips are likely to be few and far between, it may be worth paying for one-off single trip child travel insurance.
Check the Small Print
It should go without saying, but all child travel insurance policies are not born equal. Compare a few policies and ensure that your kid is covered for whatever you may plan on getting up to on holiday – for example, if it’s a skiing holiday, you’ll very likely have to pay an additional fee to ensure that your child is completely covered for the trip.
Of course on top of this, there’s the usual advice of being vigilant. Children can be unpredictable, and while travel insurance should rightly provide you some peace of mind, it does not mean you can completely relax. The usual care for children’s safety should be observed even with the child’s travel insurance protection: plenty of suncream, all the right vaccinations, a wrist band on toddlers with contact information in case they get lost – that sort of thing.
When travelling, there are hundreds of things that can go wrong, but with the usual vigilance you would observe for your kid at home and some quality child’s travel insurance, you can avoid the majority of problems that could arise and enjoy some quality rest and relaxation in your holiday paradise of choice.
Travel Insurance and Alcohol
Published January 4, 2012 |
Whilst we are by no means suggesting that you abstain from alcohol whilst on holiday it’s important to release the implications that heavy drinking will have on your holiday insurance policy. Take the example of Theo Paget, a 20-year old male who suffered a spinal fracture when plummeting 50 feet from a balcony in Marmaris, Turkey. It was a miracle that Theo survived a fall from such a large height and whilst the tabloids have dubbed him ‘rubber man’ one thing that he won’t bounce back from so lightly is his astronomical hospital bill. You see after Theo admitted that he was on a cocktail of drugs and booze at the time of the fall his travel insurance policy refused to pay the price of his hospital admission. And why would they? We do a lot of things drunk that we certainly wouldn’t do with a sane mind and if under the influence of alcohol we believe that we can successfully jump 50 feet from a balcony, it is unfair to make our holiday insurance company pay out when we soberly face the consequences in a foreign hospital bed.
What are even more alarming are the sozzled skiers that admitted to being drunk on the slopes. A whopping 14% of people surveyed by a British holiday insurance provider admitted that they had indeed taken to the slopes drunk. Whilst we’re all for having a warming cup of mulled wine we prefer to enjoy our beverages apres ski and with the French medical care being so costly who can blame us? Whilst the EHIC card has a reciprocal health care agreement with many people, France is one of the few countries which this doesn’t extend too. If you invalid your travel insurance policy by drinking over the reasonable limit, then you should expect to pay around
Different Types Of Travel Insurance
Published January 4, 2012 |
We all love to travel to different locales. However, it is important to be safe from traveling risks. You should always ensure that you have travel insurance, especially when you are going to a new place or to a place for the first time.
There are many different types of travel insurance that you can get from your travel agent. Find out a package that best suits your needs. It might be possible also to make a tailored travel insurance if you cannot find one that is suited for your kind of trip or vacation.
Some of the different types of travel insurance are as follows:
o Single trip travel insurance is for you and your family when you a planning just a single trip or a holiday. It will give your basic cover for trip cancellation along with medical insurance for the duration of your trip. At times, it is quite possible to include some additional coverage at an elevated price.
o Multi Trip Travel Insurance is for frequent fliers and travelers. Some insurance companies specify the number of trips that can be covered by the insurance. This insurance offers a good discount and you include additional coverage like winter holidaying or golf.
o Long stay travel insurance is for duration of 3 to 18 months and is ideal for those who like to take long trips. This is especially suited for holidays when you are visiting your relatives or friends.
o Medical Travel Insurance covers all health related issues that might occur during a holiday. However, you have to declare all pre-existing medical conditions and you might have to take a special coverage for those.
Then there are other types of insurance that will cover you when you go on a cruise, business travel or a group travel. You should find one that best suits your traveling needs and if you cannot get it from your travel agent, contact your insurance company.