ACI – Vancouver

Last week my wife and I booked a two centre holiday on the Scottish Isles. Seven days on Skye and then a ferry over to Steornabhagh for a further seven days on the Isle of Lewis. Wonderful scenery, plenty of walks and masses of peace and quiet.

You could have blown me over when my local travel agent assumed that I wanted travel insurance for an additional £27.50. Not on your Nellie the Lock Ness monster, I thought. Who needs travel insurance for a holiday in Britain? The National Health Service is free and in an emergency, my son could drive up and bring us home.

Later in the relaxing setting of my sitting room I got to thinking.

Holiday misfortunes don’t only happen abroad. So with my pessimistic hat on, I made a note of the risks:

Some rotter might steal our luggage

Last week I bought an all singing and dancing digital camera especially for the trip. Got it on the Internet. I might lose it whilst away.

If either of us were hospitalised we wouldn’t want to be marooned on Skye. We’d want to transfer to our local hospital in Warwickshire.

My wife’s parents are getting on. God forbid, but I’d have to cancel the holiday if something happened to them just before we’re due to go.

One of us could be taken ill before we depart and we’d be forced to cancel. As the ferries and the hotels were non-cancellable, we’d lose everything we’d paid.

There may be a major delay at the ferry going over to the Isle of Lewis. Besides the inconvenience, we have to arrange an extra overnight stay on Skye.

One of us might be called up for jury service.

Then it struck me. If I were holidaying in the Britain, my existing Home and Contents policy might cover me for loss of my camera or luggage. I dug out the policy document. Lucky I did. I was only insured for “personal possessions” if they were listed and as I’d just bought my digital camera I hadn’t got round to listing it as a valuable item on my policy.

Another aspect struck me. I’d lose my no claims discount if I made a holiday related claim on my Home & Contents policy. That wouldn’t be a good idea. I’ve got a ten year claims free record that policy and it still cost me £310 a year. I jotted down a another note — remember, when the policy comes up for renewal, see if I could get it cheaper on the Internet.

By now a travel policy at £27.50 for was looking worthwhile after all.

Now my wife says I’m a bit of an old skin flint. So keep up the image! I know, get back online and check out the travel agents’ policy at £27.50. Is it competitive?

Not all the web sites I surfed could offer me a single trip travel policy for a holiday within the UK but within ten minutes I’d found what I wanted – and a saving of over £10!

Time to study the small print to confirm I had the cover I wanted. Great, all the risks I had noted were covered. The insurer would even pay out £30 if my ferry was delayed for up to 12 hours and then give me the option to cancel my trip to the Isle of Lewis and get my money back.

Now what wouldn’t they pay for? I wasn’t covered if my holiday was for less than two nights or my hotel was less than 25 miles away from home. I also had to meet the first £30 of any claim. Seemed fair to me.

The decision was made. Simply type in my credit card details and I was insured in a CLICK.

Peace of mind restored!

Michael Challiner
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/travel-insurance-do-i-need-insurance-for-a-holiday-in-the-uk-10612.html

It’s a fact: skiing and snowboarding holidays carry with them significantly higher risks than beach holidays or city breaks – which explains why insurers offer separate policies for winter sport getaways. Yet despite the obvious risks, countless Brits continue to hit the slopes without insurance cover, exposing themselves to exceptionally costly medical bills.

A number of things can go wrong on a skiing holiday – the most severe being serious injuries – or, in the worst case, death. But a serious injury isn’t the only thing that can halt the fun on your skiing and snowboarding holiday. Extreme weather issues – such as blizzards and avalanches -  could also result in your trip being cancelled; or, you may find yourself the victim of theft. And with expensive equipment like skis, snowboards, and other wintersport gear, theft without insurance is sure to put a damper on anyone’s holiday.

Erik Nelson at insurer Norwich Union told the Independent: “Winter sports is a high-risk activity so you need insurance to cover all eventualities – especially expensive medical costs, which can escalate quickly. For example, a broken leg would incur between £3,500 and £7,000 in medical costs in Europe, but in America this would be £13,000 to £16,000.”

Many Brits turn to their European Health Insurance Cards (EHICs) for cover, which entitles holders to free or discounted medical treatment on the same terms as all nationals in EU states. However, cover is provided solely on a medical basis and is basic – so it excludes things like air ambulances or repatriation. Moreover, because EHICs are only for medical purposes, they don’t cover things like trip cancellations, loss of baggage or personal liability – which can turn out to be extremely costly.

For this reason, <a href=”http://uk.insurancewide.com/insurance/travel/”>ski travel insurance</a> is vital for anyone who’s planning to hit the slopes. Specialised winter sport cover will cover all the aspects of a ski trip that regular insurance and EHICs won’t. And given the high risks and high costs associated with ski trip mishaps, it simply makes sense to secure a policy that caters to your ski trip.

With countless policies available on the market, it can be difficult to determine which level of cover is right for you. But industry specialists recommend about £2m for medical expenses, £1m for personal liability, £3,000 cancellations, £1,500 for baggage cover and £250 for lost or stolen cash.

However, a spokesperson at the Ski Club of Great Britain urges skiers and snowboarders to shape their insurance cover based on what they plan to do on their holiday. She said: “Some policies do cover advanced skiers for off-piste runs but they might not insure beginner skiers who try tobogganing or dog-sleighing. So you need to be sure you are fully insured.”

Harvey McEwan
http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/hitting-the-slopes-without-ski-travel-insurance-why-take-the-chance-724848.html

I am traveling to Hong Kong and China for a total of 18 days, and would like to purchase travel insuranc, please recommend a reliable one.

What country are you in? Unless you say that how do you expect people to advise you?