Internet is the best place to look for travel insurance

When it comes to purchasing single trip or annual travel insurance, people should turn to the internet to identify the best deals, it has been suggested. According to travel expert Sophie Butler, a "common pitfall" when purchasing holiday insurance is to accept packages being offered by tour operators or airlines.

Writing in the Telegraph, she explained that doing so could leave holidaymakers paying out more for insurance that provides them with less cover than a policy from a specialist provider. Ms Butler also urged customers to consider buying an annual policy if they are planning on travelling more than three times within 12 months.

She wrote: "You're likely to get the best rates by purchasing cover on the internet." Urging travellers to check the small print of their holidays, the travel journalist suggested that it is "deadly boring to do, but it's the only sure-fire way to know what you are and aren't covered for".

Earlier this month, the Air Transport Users Council predicted that the online check-in procedure being introduced by Ryanair could lead to cheaper flights for passengers.ADNFCR-1320-ID-19064002-ADNFCR

news source : http://www.world-first.co.uk/

Five Historical Figures In Need Of Travel Insuranc

1. Byron :

In 1824 the immoderate libertine found himself in Messolonghi consorting with Alexandros Mavrokordatos on how best to recapture the Turkish fortress of Lepanto for Greece. Falling ill in mid-february he responded badly to the treatment of ýbleedingý, eventually developing a fever from which he never recovered. With the choice of repatriation offered by a basic travel insurance policy, would he have stayed and lost his life before the battle began? We will never know.

2. Hannibal

A nightmare proposition for any insurance broker. ýYouýre taking those elephants whereý?ý. Still, most holiday insurance policies would have offered ample compensation for the loss of a third of Hannibalýs army and most of his cavalry. With that kind of financial muscle, which was apparently unforthcoming from Carthage, very little would have stopped a march on Rome herself. Ah, what could have beený

3. Napoleon

Mired in snow and mud, starving hungry and marching towards an enemy that fled before their every approach, Napoleonýs invasion of Russia in 1812 was as catastrophic an experience as the Frenchman had even known. With a monstrous trail of dead behind them the French took Moscow, only to find the city razed and barren. Now, if travel insurance premiums had been top of his concerns, who knows how Napoleonýs plans would have developed? Perhaps, without finding a broker crazy enough to support him, le petit caporal would have stayed in Corsica and become a lawyer like his father. Or perhaps not.

4. William Buckley

With an astonishingly strong claim for ýWorst Holiday Everý, we have William Buckley. Transported to Australia in 1803 for stealing a piece of cloth, Buckley and a group of fellow convicts managed to escape their prison ship onto the shores of modern day Victoria. By now alone and lost in an unreal landscape of venomous creatures he was taken in by the Wautharong Aborigines. After 32 years of an affectionate life amongst this new community he was rediscovered by a European settler ship in 1835. Officially pardoned and then hired as an interpreter he soon became disenchanted and left for Van Diemenýs Land, where he lived until his death in 1856 in as much obscurity as he had lived. Madness, we say! He should have milked his holiday insurance for all it was worth and retired to a beach-side mansion in Queensland. If it had existed.

5. Odysseus

If thereýs anyone that could benefit from travel insurance, even cheap travel insurance, then itýs Odysseus. What if the Trojans decided to press charges after he sneakily trashed their city with his wooden horse? Surely thereýs some mental trauma involved in trawling through Hades? Just how many shipwrecks was this man involved in? Slaughtering the cattle of the sun-god Helios was definitely a bad choice too. Now, he may be mythical, but these are things that concern a dedicated insurance broker and all weýre saying is that if heýd had the support of a decent policy behind him maybe it wouldnýt have been such an Odyssey afterall.

news source : http://www.eco2day.gr/

Holidaymakers urged to buy insurance for breaks in Britain

Cash-strapped holidaymakers who opt to save money by spending their vacations in the UK instead of abroad are being urged not to overlook travel cover. Although the number of Brits planning to spend their holidays in the UK this year is booming, travel insurance providers say there has been no corresponding increase in the number of policies taken out for UK travel, prompting concerns that travellers are forgoing insurance simply because they do not think it is relevant if they are staying in the country.

The insurance price comparison website Confused.com said only 2% of all travel quotes sought via its portal were for customers looking for UK cover. "The number of UK insurance policies sold is dwarfed by that of European and worldwide policies, and in our experience fewer people shop around for UK cover," said Steve Williams, head of travel insurance at Confused. "But travel insurance should be seen as a vital part of any holiday you are planning, whether it be in the UK or further afield."

Although Brits do not need travel insurance to cover them for medical emergencies in the UK, it is recommended in case of cancellations or curtailment, which could leave holidaymakers with lost deposits and reservation fees, or hefty cancellation charges. However, Williams said holidaymakers should be careful to avoid doubling up on insurance they already have – items taken on holiday may already be covered by home insurance policies, while people with annual global or European travel cover will automatically be covered for trips in the UK.

Direct Travel Insurance said the most common reasons for cancelling holidays were redundancy, family illness or jury service. Last year, more than 150 claims relating to holidays taken in the UK were made by its policyholders, with an average of £1,074 being claimed for cancellations. Hoburne Holiday Parks, which has seven holiday parks in the UK, has seen its bookings rise by more than a third compared with this time last year. The company offers its customers an optional holiday cancellation scheme for its family lodges, which can cost more than £1,000 during peak times. Under the scheme, the company will waive its contractual rights if customers are forced to cancel a holiday.

news source : http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Insurance industry accused of genetic discrimination

TONY EASTLEY: You've heard of age discrimination or discrimination on the basis of gender, but what about people suffering discrimination because of what's in their genes? A new study has found that the insurance industry is using genetic information to decide who gets cover and how much they pay.

Simon Santow reports.

SIMON SANTOW: About a thousand people who'd undergone some form of genetic testing were asked about their experiences with insurance companies. Ten per cent of them had run into problems.

KRISTINE BARLOW-STEWART: Life insurance was the most common domain of concern cited by these respondents.

SIMON SANTOW: Each was in good health and unaffected by the area of family medical history for which they'd been tested.

According to associate professor Kristine Barlow-Stewart from the Centre for Genetics Information at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital, there was plenty of evidence of discrimination. KRISTINE BARLOW-STEWART: There was a range of concerns cited. In some cases people had been denied insurance outright either on the basis of their family history or because of a genetic test result.

In other cases their insurance premiums were loaded excessively or in other cases exclusion clauses were inserted into their policies for claims of cover at the onset of particular illnesses.

SIMON SANTOW: Simply because they had answered yes to a question 'have you ever had a genetic test for cancer' or that sort of thing?

KRISTINE BARLOW-STEWART: Some of the insurance applications would have asked that question directly but regardless of whether they'd been asked that question directly or not, it is part of the contract when applying for a life insurance that you must tell the insurer all information that is known to you that is relevant to your risk assessment. That would include, of course, your family history but also the result of genetic testing undertaken by you or your close relatives.

SIMON SANTOW: Isn't there a certain irony in all of this that genetic testing of course is completely voluntary and if you didn't find out, you couldn't be discriminated against? KRISTINE BARLOW-STEWART: Yes, and of course that's one of the concerns that we have. In two cases in this study we now have confirmed evidence that fear of discrimination by insurance companies and other perhaps employers are preventing people from accessing genetic testing and deriving the benefits that they may get from that and then this is a very concerning issue.

SIMON SANTOW: Experts expect the problem of genetic discrimination to grow with the popularity of genetic testing and screening at a time when medical science is evolving and becoming even more sophisticated.

news source : http://www.abc.net.au/

EHICs do not replace family holiday insurance

People should carry a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) with them when they travel abroad but it is not an alternative to travel insurance. That is according to the Post Office, which suggested that it is "essential" for Brits to carry their EHIC on holidays in other member nations of the European Union because it provides free or reduced-cost treatments.

That being said, Rachel Croft, head of travel insurance at the Post Office, warned holidaymakers that they should not feel the EHIC replaces any need for a comprehensive holiday insurance policy. "It won't cover costs such as mountain rescue, repatriation or lost baggage - so we urge people to ensure they are fully covered against all eventualities," she said.

To highlight the importance of being fully prepared for the worst, it pointed to several case studies suggesting that skiing accidents typically cost travellers between £4,000 and £10,500. Last month, moneysupermarket.com urged people with travel insurance to check their policies to see if they are covered for flight delays as a result of bad weather.

news source : http://www.world-first.co.uk/

Claims rise drives up Aviva car premium

HIBERNIAN Aviva yesterday said it expected to increase car insurance premiums by at least 7.5pc this year despite the deepening recession. The insurance giant's chief executive Stuart Purdy made the comments as he revealed a 50pc collapse in the company's annual operating profits, to €181m (€203m).

The poorer result included a €40m hit for weather-related claims, a multi-million euro provision for redundancies and a "5pc to 7pc" fall in average premiums, Mr Purdy said. Figures from UK parent company Aviva also showed the Irish division made losses of £4m on its core general and health insurance underwriting business last year, against profits of £101m in 2007.

Describing the result as "solid", Mr Purdy said increases in general insurance premiums were "needed" to deal with a 30pc rise in claims over the past year and significant falls in premiums over the past five years. "We're seeing an increase in 'own damage' claims and we're seeing people claim for things they maybe wouldn't have claimed for before the downturn," said Mr Purdy.

news source : http://www.independent.ie/

Brits scrimping on holiday insurance

Some 80 per cent of domestic holidaymakers do not take out travel insurance, according to the latest research from World First. With all figures showing domestic holiday traffic will increase sharply this summer – by as much as 30 per cent, according to Continental Research statistics - it is important these primary holidays are protected. Key advice from World First is that consumers at least take out cancellation cover to safeguard their 'staycation' holiday.

There are significant losses to be made if a UK break is cancelled for whatever reason; most hotels charge two thirds of the holiday cost and nearly all self catering, holiday and camping parks charge a full 100 per cent "Our advice has always been to ensure you are fully insured wherever you take your holiday," comments Martin Rothwell, managing partner, World First Travel Insurance. "However, a study of our own statistics has revealed that a worrying number of people forget to take out any cover at all if they are taking a domestic break.

"At a time when all of us are watching what we spend, financial protection is more important than ever before." “People simply forget that they could be charged for a holiday they cannot take and there could still be major cost implications during a domestic break. "For example, most long distance ambulance trips home following an accident whilst on holiday are not covered by the NHS; they are covered by our policies."

news source : http://www.travelbite.co.uk/news/

Mondial Assistance responds to new regulations

According to a report filed by e-tid.com, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) introduced new rules on 1 January requiring the sale of connected travel insurance to be conducted by authorised or exempt companies only. The new regulation means consumers can no longer buy insurance as part of a holiday package unless their agent, tour operator or online retailer acts as the Appointed Representative (AR) of an insurer or insurance broker.

Ben Smart, UK sales director for Mondial Assistance, said: “Offering travel insurance to customers allows travel agents and companies to deliver added benefits as well as enable them to reap the rewards of ancillary revenue. The new regulations made it imperative for us to act quickly to maintain this revenue stream for our clients and help them provide an uninterrupted level of service to their consumers.”

Towards the end of 2008, Mondial Assistance won a new contract with leisure travel group, TUI Travel UK & Ireland, to provide a complete travel insurance solution. It was shared that Mondial will provide underwriting capacity for both the UK and Ireland through its insurance arm: Elvia Travel Insurance International. In addition, Mondial will provide claims management and international medical assistance for travellers. In-branch sales and compliance training will be delivered in partnership with Citybond Suretravel, who will also act as the medical screening provider for the contract.

Travel companies, for instance airlines in the US, are increasingly looking at a la carte ­pricing. It is being said that already airlines in other regions of the world are taking notice of what the US network carriers are doing.

news source : http://www.m-travel.com/news/