Friends of Zimbabwe – Travel

You’ve got your suitcase packed, someone to look after the dog and feed the fish, you’ve dug your passport out from the back of the cutlery drawer. In other words, you are ready to go on that holiday of a lifetime!

Or are you?

Too many people find their holidays ruined because they overlook one small detail – insurance. It’s not just your skin you need to cover while holidaying in the sun! Things can sometimes go wrong during a holiday, so it is worth insuring against as many of them as possible.

Even not going on holiday at all can be expensive if you aren’t covered. Here, we are talking about insuring in case you need to cancel for reasons such as a death in the family, jury duty, even things like a fire at your home or place of work. Having insurance will safeguard against losing all your money – you should be able to reclaim a large percentage of what you have paid for the holiday.

Illness is the main reason most people take out travel insurance. Simply avoiding the water may not be enough to ensure a healthy holiday! Health insurance should pay for treatment at a private clinic, including the cost of any medication, and most policies will also cover you in case you need to cut your holiday short because of ill health.

Another popular reason for holiday insurance is theft or loss of personal belongings. As long as the theft or loss is not because of your own negligence – leaving a purse sticking out of your unattended bag while you go for a quick dip may well be defined as being negligent – you can claim back the value of any goods lost while on holiday.

Likewise, you can be insured against your luggage going missing en route to your destination. This will normally take the form of covering the cost of having to buy replacement things.

Most policies are taken on an ad-hoc basis; just covering the time you’re actually on holiday. But if you’re one of the lucky ones that can take several holidays per year, it’s worth considering annual travel insurance. Paying a one-off yearly fee can work out a lot cheaper than paying for individual premiums every time you go away. This type of insurance is also recommended for people who travel a lot on business.

For a standard holiday it shouldn’t be too hard to find cheap travel insurance with all the cover you require. But bear in mind, certain types of holiday may require extra cover, possibly from a specialist company. Winter sports holidays, for example, tend to be high-risk and some companies will not insure for them. They can also cost up to twice as much as a normal policy because of added medical expenses, and personal liability cover is usually included in case you cause injury to others.

It’s also worth making sure you have up-to-date house insurance, especially if you’re going away for an extended holiday abroad, but check your policy if your holiday is longer than 30 days – a claim may be invalid if you do not inform your insurer of a stay longer than this.

By: Jay Tillotson

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