ABTA travel insurance

MimosaChi

MSE was my starting point for finding travel insurance after letting it lapse during Covid. Some really helpful advice and links, thanks - but just one thing...
ABTA is listed under Over65s Well Rated Annual Insurance. I began filling in the online form for a quote but could not get beyond 'Start date of [first] trip' as options only went up to mid-Sept (I have just booked a trip in Oct). Imagining this to be a computer glitch I phoned them. No, they said, they only start cover 30 days before your first trip. This is quite contrary to MSE advice and commonsense.
Nosing further around the ABTA website I discovered some odd discrepancies, eg:

• Aizerbaijan is listed as Europe but Turkey isn't.
• The incredibly long and comprehensive list of sporting activities classifies tai chi in the riskiest category 3 ... whereas elephant polo (said it was comprehensive!) is only category 2.

Thought this was worth flagging up to anyone else here looking for travel insurance.

sheramber

Classification for travel insurance is how that company classifies it as far as risks and costs go for  holiday cover.

It is not the same as  the geographical classification.

Spain is not classified as European cover for some policies , due to the high cost of health care in Spain.

Each company makes their own risk assessment based on previous claims. 

That is why it so important to read the policy document carefully to ensure you know exactly what you are covered for and ensure it meets your needs.

Alan_Bowen

Interestingly, having never seen any mention of ABTA insurance before, this is the second complaint today!