Travel Insurance for Independent Travellers

davidlizard

As the title says, can anyone recommend somewhere to purchase travel insurance suitable for independent (or DIY) family holidays - i.e. those where the flights, accommodation, etc are all purchased separately without resorting to travel agents.

There is lots of advice on the web advising about the perils of non-ABTA/ATOL bonded DIY holidays (including this website!), warning that most insurance policies do not cover against "indirect losses" and some other nasties, however there appear to be very few companies that actually offer suitable insurance, despite the large number of people who make their own arrangements.

Specifically, what I am after is cover for "indirect losses", i.e. not being able to use paid for rooms if the flight gets cancelled. Scheduled airline failure cover provides some protection, but does not go far enough IMO.

To date, I have found the following, which all offer independent traveller oriented policies to one extent or the other.
- Axa
- Marks and Spencers (underwritten by Axa)
- Endsleigh

Can anyone add to this list?

Its a fairly tedious job picking through the small print of each insurer to try and work out to what extent I would be covered.

I know this has come up a few times before, but looking back through the threads does not come up with much current information. Googling for terms such as "indirect loss" hits just about every travel insurance company going as its in their website usage Ts and Cs.

As always, all advice greatly appreciated.

FH_Brit

I'd stay clear of Axa.

Try Post Office they are pretty good - Fortis insurance

Tippytoes

You will only find out how good an insurance company is when you need to make a claim! Not much help, I know. However, I did have occasion to claim from AXA, and I agree with FHBrit. Avoid.

Leanne1812

I recently took out a yearly policy for a couple. Worldwide and included independent travel, it was just under £40. I'm sure it was through moneysupermarket comparison site...........Just checked my emails and the company was getmY.com travel insurance. Excluded america/canada. Hope this helps.

trrk

I usually get insurance with Ensleigh and have had to claim 3 times with them with no problems though I think they have changed their underwriter since the last time I claimed. STA travel also does insurance aimed at independent travellers.

I always books flights and hotels separately but try to avoid any hotel booking where you pay the whole amount before you go. In fact I usually manage to book places without even paying a deposit so if a flight gets cancelled or I miss the last bus of the day I won't be out of pocket.

davidlizard

Thanks all - some useful pointers for me to chase up this weekend.

Theres a bit of a moral aspect to this as well - we often go to the same place for a week or so during our holiday - the owner knows us well and does not want deposits or anything (and often offers to buy us the ferry tickets so we can avoid booking/agent fees!). Of course he would be out of pocket if I failed to turn up, and thats something I would feel guilty about - and probably would not be able to return there in subsequent years.

trrk

Do you normally pay the owner in cash? If so you wouldn't have any hope of claiming money from an insurance company for accommodation you weren't able to use (the insurance company won't care about your moral obligation to the owner). Even if you pay by credit card you would still have to prove it's an official policy of the owner to charge for no-shows. If you were delayed by one night only it probably wouldn't be worth making a claim anyway as most travel insurance policies have an excess of £50-£100.

davidlizard

We usually do pay in cash, but usually several days after we have arrived - many of the owners seem not to expect us to pay until we leave, which is extremely trusting of them. So theoretically, we would not lose anything. As you say, probably not much we can really do insurance wise against that.

Found another one that covers independent travel: essentialtravel.co.uk (but again underwriten by Axa) - "superior" policy - includes some things, does not include others.

Voyager2002

I think you need to search for policies that offer cover against "travel inconvenience".

The only fully satisfactory policy I have found is one that is only for the super rich -- the cover that is included with the Diners' Club Card, and I am not in the income bracket they serve. However, check out 24/7 travel insurance (or 247travelinsurance), who seem to offer some of what is needed. Oh: the promotion code LP1 may give a ten per cent reduction on the premium.

newfoundglory

http://www.columbusdirect.com

mhr035

I was looking for the same thing and found getmy.com through Moneysupermarket (if you open and read through the policy they do have somehing about covering the independent traveller). I haven't bought it yet and not sure how good they are. Someone else said on the forum that they are okish.

I thought I might just go for a normal policy that will cover flight cancellations and medical and not bother about covering accommodation.