Being 'forced' to take out co travel insurance?

Amf_3

Hello,
New here so be gentle plse!
I have just tried to book (online) a holiday(camp) in France but got to the insurance part and you HAVE to take out insurance before being allowed to book.
I called my usual company to try and sort it out - and they can't give quotes without a firm holiday booking. Catch 22.
So, I call the holiday company and they say that I have to tick their insurance(80+ pounds) until I get my own....and they will then pay it back.
hmmmm, this seems very wrong to me, anybody any thoughts?

lisyloo

3 thoughts

1) Book the holiday and say, yes you have an annual policy but your husband/wife has the details. No guarantee but most companies will take your booking.

2) Ditch your usual company and try another one.

3) Have you considered an annual policy? You don't need to give a specific reference for this. Will be worthwhile if you do several holidays a year.

If you are really stuck then take out an annual policy but check that it has a cooling off period. Book holiday. Cancel annual and then get the policy you really want. Obviously a bit of hassle.

Amf_3

thanks for suggestions, can't do 1 as it won't progress the application without a policy number.. may try 2, 3 -we don't go away enough.
Just annoyed that the company is making insurance compulsory when as even the insurance compance said 'it isn't law'

greyteam1959

I think you are being ripped off big time.
A husband and wife policy for Europe is only £45 for the whole year !!!
Personally I dont think what they are doing is legal might be wrong.
Quick call to local trading standards or a Google search might confirm my thoughts

Amf_3

yep, I agree.. it really doesn't feel right at all... shall check it out.

lisyloo

Personally I dont think what they are doing is legal might be wrong.

It is entirely legal and perfectly sensible IMO.

Why should the holiday company be stuck with disposing of a dead body (or whatever other problem) you've imposed on them?
Anyone who travels without insurance is off their head IMO.

But despite that I think they are (both) being very intransient about the practicalities of booking.

C_Ronaldo

there are companies who dont ask you to take out your insurance

lisyloo

there are companies who dont ask you to take out your insurance

This may be helpful from a booking perspective but I would again strongly advise against travelling without insurance.

If you (for example) break a leg then the costs of converting 9 aeroplane seats for you plus a nurse to get home is VERY high.
Despite health care being free in some European countries this does not necessarily extend to the equivalent services that we get in the UK, so for example in France you may well have to pay for an ambulance.

Apart from the potential of losing your money if you have to cancel through sickness or death the thing you should be most worried about are the HUGE bills that could arise from repatriation, medical treatment or legal bills.
Anyone that puts their entire home and life savings at risk for the cost of a small premium is off their head IMO.

Of course everyone should be able to shop around and companies that are totally unflexible in their booking system as a way of forcing you to take thei insurance should be boycotted in principle (of course it isn't always that easy in practice to find another one offering the same holiday at the same price).

ianfao

Is it with a company called French Life? That aside, by law you have a 14 day cooling off period once you have purchased insurance. Book it with the insurance then call them and ask for it to be taken off. They will want to know who your insurance is with though.

ArchieB_2

Most travel companies allow you to declare that you have insurance in place. You could simply buy a single trip policy - I haven't heard of a provider preventing somebody from buying the insurance until they have booked their holiday. All you usually need is the destination and duration of travel.

See https://www.direct-travel.co.uk as an example.

Travel agents/tour operators can place Travel Insurance as a condition of booking but they cannot insist you take their own.

olly300

There are a few companies that make you take travel insurance out before you book. This is so they can sell you their own travel insurance, as the travel insurance industry is not regulated by the FSA. This was a condition of me booking a trip 2 years ago and I was peeved when I found out so found cheaper insurance using the internet.

The best thing for the OP to do like others have suggested is to go elsewhere for insurance as lots of companies providing insurance don't actually stipulate that you have to have booked your holiday first. You just need to know the dates.

OP should really shop around for a single trip policy because depending what country they are going to and there particular needs they will probably end up using a different insurance company each year they travel. Use one of those online sites i.e. moneysupermarket, to get a single trip policy if you only go abroad once or twice a year otherwise get an annual policy as it is cheaper.

I calculated because of the kind of trips I did they really varied in length, activities and location that unless I was making more than 3 sight seeing trips i.e. no dangerous sports which where over 5 days a year it was cheaper for me to get tailored single policies.