New Travel Insurance discussion area

silverchair

dacouch wrote: »

FH Brit gave some good advice on which companies he finds are fair at settling claims which hopefully will help you.

The Swine Flu problem will show a lot of people how important it is to buy Travel Insurance not just on price but also on quality of cover and the quality of the Insurer

Hi

Thats why I was asking. Theres loads of cheap travel insurances out there, but theres no point if they are going to be difficult if I actually need to make a claim.
I've been looking forward to this trip & spent a bit of money on it & dont want to skimp on travel insurance. However, I've no idea what one is the best. I've checked out fortis & they seem good, but dont offer acts of terrorism cover. Im also not sure whether they cover flight cancellation if the airline folds. I'll give them a ring.

Thanks for your help

dacouch

The Fortis Policy through brokers includes Terrorism for Medical Expenses but excludes Terrorism for other sections.

It does not include Financial Failure of the airline or accomadation provider (This would normallt be covered by your credit card if you pay by card or you can buy stand alone cover for this)

The Fortis Policy through the Post Office offers wider Terrorism Cover in that it covers Medical, Personal Accident, Baggage and Money. The post office policy also exclude financial failure or the airline or accomadation provider.

luci

The Direct Traval annual policy cover Scheduled Airline Failure for an additional £2.50 premium. Not sure about terrorism, can't remember.

FH_Brit

luci & silver - Be aware that it is often not that easy to tell if you are flying Charter or Scheduled and some policies (unsure if Direct is one of these) state scheduled cover but then (like XL a few months ago) people then find out they are charter airline. It can also be that an airline is both scheduled and charter (dependant on flight route) and that is why XL customers found it easy to get home than other XL customers on certain destinations.

(devil's advocate here)

Terrorism??? Really??? to Canada, you are not flying over Iran/Iraq/Afg'stan etc.

Why do people put soo much emphasis on terrorism coverage?

You take a greater risk getting bus/train or driving your own car to work, but do you insure against this? No!(your regular car insurance probably does not cover act of terrorism either).

FH_Brit

As dacouch says - see a broker, they are mor expert in insurance knowledge - in my experience people by travel insurance from travel agents who know nothing (except they probably earn a commission when they sell a policy) about the insurance rules and often nothing either about the policy they are selling. I have heard many many times "but the salesman said I was covered" - well, bottom line in any case it does not matter a bit what anyone say's, its what you sign for (and who reads ALL they sign for) and agree to that will prove to be the obligation to pay by you or the insurers. Insurance brokers can be more expensive (not that much) but the specialist service or extra cover you can get may be worth it, but still shop around.

Travel Agents (in my opinion) should stick to selling travel tickets and not insurance!

luci

Thanks for the warning FH Brit. I book direct with American Airlines or whoever so know that I'm scheduled although I agree that those who booked a package with the likes of XL and it's ilk may not realise it is a charter.

katies_mum

I`ve just had the results from my blood test and don`t have an underactive thyroid everything is normal, does this mean that I don`t have to mention anything to the insurance company? Thanks

luci

You may be safer mentioning it, but I don't think it will affect the premium. Some companies are more fussy what you declare than others, but I would expect most of them to say they don't need to know.

Let us know how you get on if you declare it.

gem80w

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FH_Brit

katies_mum wrote: »

I`ve just had the results from my blood test and don`t have an underactive thyroid everything is normal, does this mean that I don`t have to mention anything to the insurance company? Thanks

As luci says - better be safe than sorry - call your insurers and ask them, but if they "bump up" your premiums ask them why. If they say because of your thyroid - say you have just proved it's normal. If they wont back down try shopping elsewhere.