Have annual travel insurance but holidaying with family, what extra cover?

Temrael

Hi all,

Sorry, bit of an odd question, but hoping someone here might have some helpful insights on this…

My wife and I have a joint annual European travel insurance policy with Admiral.

In September we're taking our two grown up kids and their other halves on holiday (so 6 of us in total).

We're paying for most of it for everyone (flights/accomodation) and so we want to ensure we're covered for everybody should something unexpected happen e.g. we need to cancel, come home early etc.

What sort of policy should we look to buy?

a) A policy for just this trip that covers just my kids and their other halves (i.e. the 4 of them)? Seems simplest but I'm not sure I could buy a policy I'm not listed/included on?

b) A policy for just this trip that covers all 6 of us? Would mean the annual policy was a bit of a waste.

c) Attempt to get our annual provider to add our kids and their other halves onto our annual policy for just this trip? I'm not sure this would even be possible.

Thanks for any pointers on this,

Brie

frankly I'd go for option c). that way should anything happen (& I hope it doesn't) then you're only dealing with one provider and 1 policy.

If you go for a) you might end up not being properly covered or only being able to claim for a part of your gang.

If you go for b) then you'll have double coverage and each policy (annual & single trip) will split the responsibility and you'll have 2 excesses to pay.

Temrael

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82011203#Comment_82011203

Thanks Brie, yep might be worth a go, if Admiral can do that. I'd not thought of the issues with "b", thanks for the head's up.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6669727/have-annual-travel-insurance-but-holidaying-with-family-what-extra-cover

Presumably you've checked with your kids to ensure they dont haves their own insurance anyway?

A) probably the simplest, and yes you can buy the policy even if you arent travelling but remember that you have to declare all medical conditions and will they want to tell their potential future father-in-law about the case of gonorrhea they had recently?

The one potential problem with this is if a pre-existing condition is the cause of cancellation/early return, yours won't be declared on their policy and visa versa, there are some policies that have a slight fix for this but others would simply decline it.

B) Probably the safest bet but as you say you end up covered twice

C) Not going to be possible, you can potentially add them for the remainder of the term but not just this trip. Im guessing they dont live with you which may be a roadblock as "Family" policies normally need people living together whereas people living in different addresses normally need a "Group" policy and changing a policy from one to the other mid term reduces the chances of them being happy to do it.

Temrael

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82011461#Comment_82011461

Thanks for that. No, the kids don't have their own policy. I'd be happy for them to sort their own but doesn't it need to be in my name, if I'd be the one claiming the costs in the event of a problem?

Surely if they sort their own insurance and something happens, the insurer will ask them what their costs are and there won't be any (as all the flights and accomodation were booked by me/are in my name)?

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82011482#Comment_82011482

No, travellers are insured for their share of the cost irrespective of who paid for it, it's a common mistake. Similarly the sum insured (eg £5k) is a per person not for the whole trip.

Insurers see it no differently to if you gave your kid a £5k watch for their 21st birthday, then 6 months later it's stolen… they are the ones that have suffered the loss not you, they are the ones that claim off their home insurance even though they hadn't paid for it.

Temrael

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82011484#Comment_82011484

Ahh ok, wow. That makes things loads easier and makes "a" a lot more tempting. I certainly don't want to know all their other halves ailments, as you say.