Help me choose travel insurance

maman

We received our renewal notice for annual travel insurance today from Staysure and the premium has leapt up from £333 to £450 and that's supposed to include a £129 loyalty reduction.

We've not made any claims and everything is the same except for being 1 year older.

Looking at the mse recommendations, I checked out LV (where I have car insurance) for a quote. I haven't looked at comparison sites yet.

The LV quote is coming out at £300 for Europe and includes cruise cover which I don't have with Staysure.

Any views? Advice?

TIA

NoodleDoodleMan

Do any medical conditions factor into the premium quote ?

maman

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81971115#Comment_81971115

Exactly the same medical conditions as last year. I copied them word for word into the new quote and answered all questions truthfully.

NoodleDoodleMan

Can I suggest you call them and ask the reason for this price hike.

They are the go to route for clarity.

We have a joint annual worldwide travel policy with Aviva, part of the Nationwide FlexPlus bank account - basic price £18 monthly - £216 is reasonable, with £30 each for routine/minor medical add ons…..happy with bottom line of £276.

maman

Thank you @NoodleDoodleMan .

I had planned to call Staysure to ask why the huge increase.

We don't have insurance available through bank account and conditions are fairly common but possibly more than yours which is why I'm impressed with the £300 from LV. I've checked Trustpilot and reviews are good which is encouraging as many people only post when they have a problem.

I'll take a look at comparison sites too as I've got a few weeks to renewal.

MyRealNameToo

Call them by all means but dont expect an explanation from them. Call centre agents typically see no more information on the pricing than you do when doing a quote on their website, at most they may know what discount they are allowed to give.

Have you done a new business quote on their website? Travel insurers arent banned from giving new customer discounts (unlike Home and Motor) and so you may be able to get a better price from them as a new customer. Make sure you understand any differences in policy terms though, I dont think they grandfather policy terms but some insurers do and so new business prices can also be lower because new customers are being offered worse terms than renewing customers.

NoodleDoodleMan

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81971312#Comment_81971312

You might want to have a look at a packaged bank account like ours - there are other benefits included, not just travel insurance, although that is the headline act.

I have hypertension (much like half the adult population ) and am on two different tablets daily (for life 🙄) - her ladyship also has routine commonplace conditions. Our previous bank (Co-op) travel insurance with AXA didn't even take an extra premium - not sure why Aviva are different, however they now have no upper age limit, so as long as you develop no significant medical issues you get an attractive deal.

Nationwide are a decent bank IMO - and the debit cards that come with the FlexPlus account are fee free abroad when paying for goods and services 😁.

I suggest you give Aviva a call on 0800 0512 352 and get an idea of what premium they woud quote - then you can go to Nationwide if it's in your confort zone.

maman

Thanks for the advice @NoodleDoodleMan ,I'll certainly look into that. I did look at Compare the Market and Aviva came up with a comparable price to LV as did others.

Of course you're right @MyRealNameToo

maman

Sorry @MyRealNameToo but the last post jammed (joys of the Rich Editor 🤔).

I spoke to the Staysure call handler and just got stuff about industry wide increases etc. although she did say that they were more affected than companies that offer a wide range of insurance products other than just travel.

She offered to try to get the premium down a bit but I declined as there was no way she was going to get it down below last year's premium which LV and others are offering.

katejo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6665028/help-me-choose-travel-insurance

I have an annual with LV now but 1st year and I haven't had to put them to the test yet. I like the way that they don't require me to declare any new referral/test/ diagnosis during the year until I come to renew. Many insurers insist pending tests are declared and then suspend all cover for pre existing conditions.

maman

Thanks @katejo , I wasn't aware of that.

I think I've decided to go with LV for this year and then explore taking out a Nationwide account before my car insurance is due because the breakdown cover would make me a saving even before I look at travel.