UK Ferry Tickets

The majority of people that go abroad at any time of the year will have some form of travel insurance in their locker for those just in case moments. After all, if anything can happen when you’re at home, it can definitely happen whilst you’re abroad. Regardless of whether you travel on the ferry or on an aeroplane, you could lose your luggage, get robbed or fall ill when on foreign soil. You don’t want anyone or anything to ruin your holiday so insurance is essential. After all, it softens the blow and can enable you to enjoy the rest of the holiday with peace of mind, but is it good value for money? 

Expert after expert advocates that travel insurance is well worth the money. For a single trip policy for one person, you are looking at a fee of £30 to £50, sometimes more or less depending on what you want your policy to include. It could potentially include winter sports cover (which is an optional extra), a variable excess or no excess at all, personal possessions and various other optional elements, all of which do not come as standard. This will lower or raise your premium accordingly, but this still does not tell you whether it’s good value for money or not.

I personally would never travel abroad without travel insurance but an incident that occurred a few months ago will definitely make me be a little bit pickier in the future. I want to share this experience because it highlights that the cheapest quote isn’t always the best. After a trip abroad earlier on this year, I had to claim for my digital camera. The security people decided to open my suitcase and my camera, which was in it, disappeared.

I had read the policy before I left and there were no clauses stipulating I had to carry it with me in the terms. Despite this, and despite the insurance company being one of the most renowned ones in the UK, I was told I couldn’t claim because I had no proof I’d locked the case in the first place. I paid £27 for the policy and consider it wasted money. However, I had a similar claim approved before, albeit for a piece of jewellery and not a camera, but that one cost me £42. The insurer and premium was the only major difference.

Whilst I am not saying that all insurers will not pay good claims, I am drawing the conclusion that cheaper is not always better when it comes to travel insurance. It is worth looking at consumer reviews as well as the price. Too many people only pay attention to the premium cost and not the value that it offers you in return. That is more important than getting the cheapest possible price.

Guest Article by Louise Crowley

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008