multi trip travel insurance + gadget?

cautious_mum

Hello,
I would like to know your advice/experience re: travel insurance.
I have read the relevant articles on MSE and thought they are useful, I'm still not sure what to do/where best to look.

This is what I want to cover:
normally we insure only single trips abroad and (once) a gadget (as it was a wretched 'apple' product which we had already suffered broken screens on).

Now we have an unusual year coming up, which would be easiest to combine a multi trip family insurance, but would also need gadget insurance.

As follows:
individual and various combined members of our family are going on the following trips:

1. A school trip to Europe (no skiing involved) -
school has insurance, but I'm worried about the iPhone 5se which was new at Xmas and is in my name and I'll be paying for over 2 years. I should have got out insurance when I purchased it, but couldn't decide what to do. (my daughter uses it)

2. A family holiday in England,
No issues with this, all going, am attending a festival, so might be nice to have ipods/digital cameras covered. The cottage rental is covered already.

3. The big trip to New York, USA
This is the one I'm 'having kittens' over. Paid with credit cards, but need insurance for all the usual:
medical insurance, flights delayed/cancelled/ ongoing knock on effects, plus the gadgets above (Ipod, iPhone, maybe cheap netbook and other phone - worth about £150). Though probably not the digital camera dslr, even though it cost about the same as the iPhone. (more a size and weight thing)
Only 2 of the family are going on this trip.

4. possible one child (17 yrs) may go away pre-uni and do limited travel within Uk including festivals. Older child (20) may do similar, or maybe Europe.

Where to start??????
- If I just get a family world wide + USA insurance, how do I check it covers 'onward' delays (2 flights involved) and apartment booked independently of flights.

- Should I do gadget insurance separately? is it worth doing 'multi gadget' or just do the iPhone....
- Either way does gadget insurance cover travel and would I need to name the family members using 'my' phone?

Argh!
Any help appreciated.
Cautious Mum

Blibble

Most gadget insurance will cover some period out of the country; usually 90 days although Gadget Cover go up to 180 days per year abroad I believe. You wouldn't need to specify the family member in this case, although make sure that the family member whose care it will be in can be covered under their policy terms before buying.

How many gadgets are there? If it's just an iPhone that can be insured around £7p/m depending on which iPhone it is.

Most of the above should be covered under contents though if you have personal possessions cover - have you enquired with your contents provider about this?

cautious_mum

I haven't checked our home contents insurance, not sure about personal possessions cover outside of the home, but I know my partner changed insurance provider, so will need to check up on this and get it changed.
If it won't cover the iPhone, would be worth covering it separately for this year at least. The rest I'm not so bothered about and I have a feeling that the digital dslr is probably too 'old' looking at the articles on here.

In which case I'll have a look at 'best buys' on MSE for general multi trip cover.
Thank you

Blibble

As a final note, if you've got any DSLRs you wish to insure I'd have thought it better to go through a new-for-old cover, i.e., your contents insurance.

A lot of gadget insurance policies will send out a refurb of similar age or condition, but you can never guarantee the quality of it especially with something as precise as a DSLR.

I'd have thought enquiring with your contents provider is the best first step here.

ThinkingOutLoud_2

As you have noted - many travel insurance policies are not going to have a single article limit that matches you aspirations for your more valuable gadgets for all trips. So the above advice on looking at house contents options makes sense. Many specific gadget policies look to cover newly purchased items - so just check that limitation is not relevant whatever you do.

As regards the pure travel side
- sounds like ski trip and festival cottage & UK festival for 17 yr old are best sorted with the contents solution.
- not all family travel policies cover independent travel of kids (i.e. without an insured adult) - so may be easiest to get a specific policy for 20yr old.
- it depends how long your trip is to New York - unless you are going on more holidays / for along time - a single trip policy may be better value for your all - compare when you quote.
- most policies are not suited only to all-in-one package holidays and so long as the cover limit is adequate your flights and apartment should all be in the cancellation cover
- you are right to read/check the travel disruption /delay wording to check your multiple flights are covered (but remember if you have a single ticket, your airline is responsible for connecting flights)

Are you renting a car?