What Holiday Insurance Won’t Cover

By Patrick Chong

cheapest holiday insurance

People should always read the small print on travel insurance policies. It is advice I’ve given many times, but I still hear of people being surprised when their policy doesn’t reimburse them after they make a claim. The truth is that there are certain things that policies will charge extra for, or simply won’t cover at all. With that in mind, here’s a list of the things you’ll need to check the small print for, as the majority of policies won’t cover it by default:

If Your Baggage is Delayed for Less than a Day

If your baggage goes missing, your holiday insurance will cover it – that is, if it’s missing for over 24 hours. The trouble is that if it returns on hour 23, your travel insurance won’t help out with any emergency expenses you’ll have needed to make. For that reason, you should always keep important supplies in your carry on luggage in case you might be without your luggage for a little while. Oh, and delayed luggage is usually only covered on the outbound journey.

Watch out if you’re pregnant

If you’re pregnant, be extra aware of the small print involved. Some holiday insurance companies will cover child birth and complications of pregnancy but others will not – read the small print carefully, and be aware of any problems that might arise.

Death of a Furry Loved One

Although death and illness in the family is considered a suitable reason to claim your holiday cancellation insurance, death or illness of a family pet is not. Be warned, this doesn’t even extend to guide dogs!

If Your Holiday is Cancelled by Your Tour Operator

It’s common knowledge that cheap holiday insurance typically covers travellers claiming if certain circumstances prevent them from travelling (a death in the family, army conscription, etc.), but if the tour operator cancels then it’s a whole different kettle of fish. Most insurers won’t cancel this, so check your cancellation insurance carefully, and check what kind of guarantees your tour operators offer.

War Zones and Civil Unrest

On a similar note, if war or civil unrest breaks out during your visit, your holiday insurance company may not be keen to help. Certainly, no travel insurer will cover you if you choose to go somewhere that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advises against.

Check the Personal Item Coverage

Sometimes, you’ll find the most important items you could lose are not covered amongst your baggage and personal items coverage, so keep them on you at all times! These can include keys, money, tickets, documents and credit cards!

Extreme Sports Injuries

Cheap holiday insurance is not a license to be reckless! Be aware that many extreme sports won’t be covered as part of your regular travel insurance. So, if you’re planning on enjoying some sport while you’re abroad, check the list of exclusions to ensure your policy will protect you. As a general rule of thumb though, you’ll have a hard time finding a travel insurance company prepared to cover you against accidents obtained while white water rafting, bungee jumping, mountain climbing or paragliding!

Divorce

Despite it being one of the most stressful things that a family can endure, the majority of cheap holiday insurance policies will not allow a trip cancellation based on either party filing a divorce. So if you’re yet to go, you’ll have to cancel out of your own pocket, and if you’re already out there you’ll have to either stick it out or pay to come home early yourself.

Mental Illness, or Injury Caused by Mental Illness

Mental illness is generally not covered by holiday insurance, so if you have any kind of emotional or mental crisis while on holiday, you’ll be paying for the damages from your own pocket in the majority of cases. Check the small print very carefully!

Annual Travel Insurance – Is It Enough?

In theory an annual travel insurance policy sounds great, you pay a one-off fee and all your journeys are covered for the next 12 months. Today people travel for a wide range of reasons and the travel insurance policies available to you have evolved to meet the more varied demand for appropriate cover. This form of insurance provides cover for activities such as skiing and snowboarding, covering both injuries and the loss or damage of sports equipment. When purchasing adventure holiday insurance always ensure your planned activities are covered by the policy.

Backpackers insurance is a form of long term insurance that can last up to 18 months. If your work requires you to travel abroad you should consider taking out business insurance. Business insurance also covers you for personal injury and liability, something that insurance provided by your employer may not.

Many standard insurance policies have an upper age limit (usually this is 65).

Check out my articles on Insurance in UK