It nearly always pays to get cancellation cover for your holiday trip abroad. All travel insurance
policies offer this, though you may find that cover is limited, the
cheaper the policy.
This is one reason why some travel insurers offer a
series of policies. Gold, Silver and Bronze for example is a popular
method to differentiate policies as is Premier, Standard and Economy.
Cancellation cover will be offered at various rates with £3,000 being a
common average figure. But do look at your personal circumstances and
make sure that the cancellation cover you take out is adequate for the
trip you plan to take. If you are going on a cruise, then it is quite
possible that you will require a higher level of cancellation cover
than, say, for a package holiday to the Mediterranean. If you are
booking a late minute deal, then perhaps you don’t need more than the
minimum, if any, level of cancellation cover. The rule here is to buy
the policy that covers your requirements and not just accept the
‘standard’ policy on offer. What is surprising is that latest research
still shows that nearly half of travellers (47%) wait until the last
week to buy their travel insurance. What people, perhaps, don’t realise
is that cancellation cover only comes into force when you take out
insurance and, if this left until the last minute, then you will not
have the protection which you would have had if you had taken out travel insurance
at the same time that you booked your holiday, which could be several
months before the actual trip. That way, cover would be provided for a
range of events, such as unexpected serious illness to the policy
holder, travelling companion and quite often, illness or worse of a
close relative which results in you having to cancel your trip. Whilst
on the subject of cancellation, do check that the same level of cover
extends to curtailing or cutting short your trip and also look out for
holiday abandonment, which is closely linked to cancellation, for when,
after a set period of delay at your departure airport or seaport, your
policy offers you the option of not continuing your trip and being
reimbursed for your costs up to a specified limit. So the best advice
is that travel insurance
should not be relegated to a ‘necessary evil’ purchased just before
your travel but should be considered as a fundamental pre-requisite to
protect your holiday investment.
Keith McGregor is a partner of Strawberrysoup, a web design agency with offices in Chichester and Bournemouth. Strawberrysoup specialise in creative web design, content managed websites, search engine optimisation, search engine marketing and graphic design
