Travel Insurance help

joannajmiller

Ok folks

I am in desparate need of advice - the more I read, the more confused I become, and the policy documents really don't make much sense!

Looking for advice on the best cover for a DIY trip to the USA next year

Flights booked with Virgin
4 hotels booked separately
Car hire also to be booked

Have read alot about requiring independent traveller cover, insolvency cover, indirect loss, etc etc etc and now am left with no CLUE as to which policy might be best for me.

Any recommendations, PLEASE?!

huckster

I think the argument is about having different suppliers of parts of the trip. You might have a travel arrangement cancelled by one operator during the trip, which meant you couldn't then use items you have already booked and paid for or you incurred further expense. To be covered properly in this situation for these missed items of trip or extra expenses, you would need the independent travel extension in cover.

You are best to get a range of quotes, by actually talking to companies and asking them to explain the benefit of additional cover they are offering an independent traveller. I think they all vary.

One company you could try is the Post Office Travel Insurance offered by Fortis. Phone them, don't go into a Post Office and PO counter staff won't know.

mchllbo

Hi there

I am also planning a DIY trip to USA next May, also flying with Virgin and have been looking around for travel insurance.

I am considering the AA travel insurance policy which seems to tick all the boxes for me. As well as the usual stuff being included, they also include supplier failure cover, and it seems to cover you if any part of the holiday goes wrong and you are out of pocket because of it. I think this might cover your situation, eg, if one of your hotel bookings goes wrong and you have to pay for another to be able to continue your trip. They also give you options to have no excess for a higher premium. Have a look and see what you think, I am sure there will be others that might also be ok for you.

Jot down the main worries/concerns that you would want to get covered and have a look in the policy wordings to see if it seems to cover them. You can usually phone up and ask for clarification too. Don't forget to go through Quidco too to get cashback when you find the one you want (17% cashback for the AA policy and kids are covered free too).

I also found some info online somewhere about the best insurers for paying out and AA came out fairly good (can't remember where it was now though, but if I find it again I will let you know.)

Hope this helps some.

Michelle