Annual travel insurance but cancellation cover not high enough

chica1625

I have annual family travel insurance via my employer which is very comprehensive. The cancellation cover is limited to £5000. We plan to travel on a big long haul holiday for which the cost will exceed that limit. I cannot change the level of my annual cover as that is a standard offered to all employees. Can I get specific cancellation cover (not covering medical treatment) elsewhere for the single trip and if so where would be best to look? 

Mark_d

Do you need the increased cover?  I've previously needed to cancel a holiday and most of companies I dealt with let me cancel/re-arrange with minimal costs.

400ixl

Is that the total cover, or per person?

Having two policies covering the same risk can get very messy as to who is responsible for paying out.

chica1625

Mark_d said:

Do you need the increased cover?  I've previously needed to cancel a holiday and most of companies I dealt with let me cancel/re-arrange with minimal costs.

I see what you are saying and hopefully that would be the case but I would prefer to cover it as the difference is significantly more than the £5k.  

Brie

I would suggest you talk to the company that provides the cover you already have.  It might be simplest if they can provide something additional for you so you don't end up with 2 deductibles and squabbling about who is covering what.  Also check that your current policy covers you for where you are going.  Some countries may be excluded completely.  

DullGreyGuy

chica1625 said:

I have annual family travel insurance via my employer which is very comprehensive. The cancellation cover is limited to £5000. We plan to travel on a big long haul holiday for which the cost will exceed that limit. I cannot change the level of my annual cover as that is a standard offered to all employees. Can I get specific cancellation cover (not covering medical treatment) elsewhere for the single trip and if so where would be best to look? 

Policy limits are typically per person not per trip, if you're spending over £5k per person then you'll need to look elsewhere. 

You can't buy cancellation only insurance, its far too niche a product to have any demand for it and as such the prices would be the same or higher than the mass market product thats really cheap because of the competition.

Just look for appropriate single trip cover 

NoodleDoodleMan

400ixl said:

Is that the total cover, or per person?

Having two policies covering the same risk can get very messy as to who is responsible for paying out.

My understanding is that you cannot claim across two separate policies - and you have to agree to that condition when making a claim from your chosen insurer.

Maybe somebody can expand on specifics ?

TELLIT01

NoodleDoodleMan said:

400ixl said:

Is that the total cover, or per person?

Having two policies covering the same risk can get very messy as to who is responsible for paying out.

My understanding is that you cannot claim across two separate policies - and you have to agree to that condition when making a claim from your chosen insurer.

Maybe somebody can expand on specifics ?

I have heard of cases where somebody has more than one policy covering a possible scenario.  The additional problem is that any payout would be made pro-rata by the insurers but there would be multiple excesses charged.  They would not be pro-rata.

DullGreyGuy

NoodleDoodleMan said:

400ixl said:

Is that the total cover, or per person?

Having two policies covering the same risk can get very messy as to who is responsible for paying out.

My understanding is that you cannot claim across two separate policies - and you have to agree to that condition when making a claim from your chosen insurer.

Maybe somebody can expand on specifics ?

When two insurers become aware of each other they'll ask for a copy of each others terms to work out how their terms interplay. Policy A may say it won't pay if any other insurance is in force whereas Policy B may not have any terms on joint insurance and so B alone has to deal with the claim.

If both say won't pay if any other insurance then they will have to share the cost of the claim and they will debate how that is going to be done especially if one covers up to £3,000 and the other up to £5,000 but the loss is valued at £7,500

It happens fairly often given Travel insurance and Home insurance can both cover your possessions outside the home. 

They want to agree it in advance thanks to L&G -v- Drakes where L&G settled in full then approached Drakes who refused to reimburse and effectively successfully argued the second half that L&G paid without Drake's agreement was an ex-gracia payment. 

chica1625

DullGreyGuy said:

chica1625 said:

I have annual family travel insurance via my employer which is very comprehensive. The cancellation cover is limited to £5000. We plan to travel on a big long haul holiday for which the cost will exceed that limit. I cannot change the level of my annual cover as that is a standard offered to all employees. Can I get specific cancellation cover (not covering medical treatment) elsewhere for the single trip and if so where would be best to look? 

Policy limits are typically per person not per trip, if you're spending over £5k per person then you'll need to look elsewhere. 

You can't buy cancellation only insurance, its far too niche a product to have any demand for it and as such the prices would be the same or higher than the mass market product thats really cheap because of the competition.

Just look for appropriate single trip cover 

You are absolutely right, the cover is per person and therefore is sufficient. Thank you!

DullGreyGuy

chica1625 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

chica1625 said:

I have annual family travel insurance via my employer which is very comprehensive. The cancellation cover is limited to £5000. We plan to travel on a big long haul holiday for which the cost will exceed that limit. I cannot change the level of my annual cover as that is a standard offered to all employees. Can I get specific cancellation cover (not covering medical treatment) elsewhere for the single trip and if so where would be best to look? 

Policy limits are typically per person not per trip, if you're spending over £5k per person then you'll need to look elsewhere. 

You can't buy cancellation only insurance, its far too niche a product to have any demand for it and as such the prices would be the same or higher than the mass market product thats really cheap because of the competition.

Just look for appropriate single trip cover 

You are absolutely right, the cover is per person and therefore is sufficient. Thank you!

Enjoy the holiday! Though maybe not as much as if it had been £7,500 pp