Personal Insurance for Travel: What Extra Cover Do You Need?
So, you’ve booked your trip – perhaps the trip of a lifetime – and it’s time to start preparing. On top of packing, logistics, and your itinerary, there’s one more important thing to consider: your travel insurance.
Whether your trip is two days or two months, if you’re travelling abroad you should make sure
you’re covered in the event that your trip is unexpectedly cut short, or you require medical attention while away. But what other kinds of specialist travel insurance are there, and when do you need to consider them? We’ll be exploring these in this blog.
High net worth travel insurance
High net worth travel insurance offers a higher level of protection than standard travel insurance, specifically for individuals who have more complex risks as a result of being considered more wealthy, or having lots of financial assets.
Usually this type of travel insurance is combined with other policies as part of a high net worth personal insurance policy, such as a high net worth home insurance.
Regular travel insurance policies will have certain exclusions and will only cover up to a certain amount, such as £5000. High net worth travel insurance expands this bracket and could provide cover for trips in the tens of thousands, so if you’re planning a trip like this, definitely consider a higher level of cover.
High risk travel insurance
High-risk travel insurance generally covers trips to destinations that are considered high-risk for various reasons, such as war zones, areas in crisis, or areas recently affected by political unrest or natural disasters.
High risk holiday insurance is a specialist type of cover that adds extra protection, such as evacuation cover, emergency medical aid, counselling, and more.
To check whether the country you are looking to visit is considered safe or unsafe to travel to, use the FCDO’s countries list. You can still travel to countries that are considered unsafe from this list, however high risk travel insurance would be highly recommended.
High altitude travel insurance
If you’re the type to enjoy a bit of adrenaline and hard work on your holidays, you might need to consider high altitude travel insurance. This type of travel insurance is made to cover trips where the individual is embarking on a high altitude trek or climb.
Treks and climbs pose unique risks that regular travel insurance usually won’t cover, such as medical cover for things like altitude sickness, frostbite, and injuries from falls. It also can help with medical cover for getting attention to these conditions in sometimes remote locations.
Business travel
As the name suggests, business travel insurance aims to cover those going abroad for work purposes. In addition to regular cover, this can also protect you against loss or damage to business equipment, such as laptops. It can also cover ‘business money’ which refers to large amounts of money that you may need to take with you, if it gets lost or stolen.
Other examples of what might be covered with business travel insurance are replacement colleague cover, sports equipment cover, and cancellation cover.
Volunteer & missionary travel insurance
If you’re travelling specifically to volunteer for a charity or organisation, or as a missionary or church group, it’s best to find specific cover for this kind of trip. This can be purchased as group cover, or for individuals, but it’s best to ensure you’re covered for anything you’re specifically worried about.
Types of cover included in this type of travel insurance policy are: medical and emergency repatriation expenses; personal accident cover; and personal property and business equipment.
Sports & activity travel
If you’re feeling adventurous and are adding extra experiences to your trip, it may be that you need to consider activity or sports travel insurance. Each activity you add to your holiday can present unique challenges and dangers that it would be wise to cover with your insurance.
For example, if you’re planning to go bungee jumping or snorkelling on your next holiday, first of all, have fun! But make sure that your travel insurance covers these types of activities and the related dangers – as regular travel cover may exclude things like this. Sports travel insurance can cover emergency medical expenses, personal accident cover, and similar.
Senior travel
Last but not least, if you’re over the age of around 75, regular travel insurance may not be suitable for you. There’s no age limit to having the trip of a lifetime, of course, but many insurers may consider those over this age to be of higher risk, and may not cover you as a result.
Having specialist senior travel insurance can help alleviate some of the worries of travelling as a senior, and often these policies will be offered by specialist insurance brokers that will be able to find the right cover for you.
Whatever the kind of trip you’re planning, it’s vital to make sure that you’re covered for what you’ll be doing, and the unique risks this may pose. That way, should the unexpected happen, you’re protected.
For more information on our personal insurance for travel, including any of the specialist types we’ve covered in this blog, just get in touch with our friendly insurance brokers today. Call us on 01458 270324, or Request a Call Back at a time that suits you. Our travel insurance experts are on hand to help find the right cover for you.