Best Value Travel Insurance?

Brendan Burgess

Brendan Burgess

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This is based on a variety of discussions on Askaboutmoney and an article in the June 2006 issue of Consumer Choice magazine.

There is no clear and easy answer to which is the best value, so here are some sites where you can get quotes:

For annual multi-trip cover
justcover gives discount to VHI members
getcover gives discount to VHI members
VHI if you are a member especially if you have an existing medical condition
Your local Credit Union
AIB Gold Visa - may have travel insurance included
good for hazardous sports - but not covered by Ombudsman scheme
www.ryanair.com but their approach to dealing with consumer complaints might not be compatible with settling insurance claims.

The AA, which is cheap for other insurance, seems very dear for travel insurance. However, they are good value for people aged over 75.

For single trip cover
www.ebookers.ie but not covered by the Ombudsman Scheme
www.getcover.com
www.justcover.ie

Travel agents are not covered by the Financial Ombudsman scheme so you are on your own if you have a problem with a claim.

Book your flight with your Credit Card - there is often some insurance attached to it and if the airline goes bust, you get your money back from the Credit Card company.

Get your cover to start immediately you book your holiday, so that you can avail of cancellation cover if necessary.

Annual multi-trip policies are the best value if you are taking a few holidays a year.

All policies have different cover limits and terms. Don't just go for the cheapest price - check what is covered.



Are there any other tips relating to holiday insurance?

Brendan
 
Brendan said:
Are there any other tips relating to holiday insurance?
Click to expand...
Yes - don't shop around on price alone. Always read the terms & conditions of the policy documents to make sure that the cover meets your specific needs. Policies vary widely by the cover offered under different headings.

I'm not 100% clear on whether you should put cover in place before booking flights/holidays in order to be covered for cancellation etc. I suspect that with at least some policies such events would not be covered if the insurance cover is put in place after booking.

I was shopping around for annual multi-trip worldwide (including USA) cover for a 75+ year old recently and found it difficult to get any cover. In the end AA was the best - €115 p.a. Many insurers would not cover people in this age bracket at all and some would only do single trip cover (often for almost as much as the AA's annual multi-trip).
 
May not be relevant, but I get travel insurance for self and wife as part of the package with my Gold Visa Debit card from my bank here in UK (LloydsTSB).
This covers us both for annual multi trip up to and including the age of 79.
 
Thanks Yorky - I have tried to incorporate as much as possible from their article.

Thanks ClubMan - very interesting as the AA is otherwise very expensive.
 
Travel Insurance for over 70's based on research in 2003

Summary : Annual travel insurance for over 70s

The AA

Accident & General: (01) 8749190
Condition: must not have had any medical treatment for past 3 years

Travel Insurance Co: (01) 8570600
BTI Travelwise (01) 6761872
Condition: over 79 must have a medical report

The Travel Broker (01) 8333921
Condition: over 80s must have a medical report

Brassington Insurance (01) 4061666
Europe Assistance (046) 77378 [Co Meath]

Source: Irish Times. The information had been provided by Citizens Information Service Carlow.
 
I recently took an an annual policy out with Blue Insurance underwritten by AXA I think. They were the most competititive at the time in the Sunday Times comparison chart. Their website is a bit confusing. They were helpful enough when I rang them - (01) 4053790
 
Thanks Paul

But their website is brutal. One of the worst I've seen. I couldn't get past the log on screen. So that rules them out.

Brendan
 
Insure.ie is promoting an 'award winning' multi-trip annual policy which looks reasonably inexpensive — €79.50 based on 2 adults and 5 children — but the cover isn't great, and over-70s are excluded.

My own Lloyds policy, through Brassington Insurance (01-4061666), gives very good family cover for €68 a year, but that's a [broken link removed] I get through my Trade Union — I'm not sure what they charge the general public.
 
What do you make of this insurance?For 2 months in Aus - £40

What do yous think?

[broken link removed]
 
I had a nightmare with travel insurance last year. I booked with Blue Insurance they farm out the contract to AXA My girlfriend got sick on holidays in the Caribbean, with really bad gastroenteritis the hotel doctor recommended she be transferred to hospital. I couldn’t admit her until AXA spoke with her, she could barely walk to the reception of the hospital but they still insisted on it. They then refused to let her stay overnight until the test results were faxed through. The next day their cut throat heartless American cost minimisation people got to work. The moment she woke the next day after a night on IV antibiotics they pestered her with phone calls trying to find out if she was better, they were desperate to get her out of the hospital and back to the hotel. The doctors recommended she stay another night on IV antibiotics. AXA said they wouldn’t pay, I got them to fax a letter saying they were discharging her against the advice of the doctors, we had to leave. She recovered in the end back in the hotel, thank God. I wouldn’t recommend you book with anyone who uses AXA. The hospital receptionist said Mundial insurance normally look after you the best.
 
Ulsterbank insurance - NOT GOOD

A world of advice re Ulsterbank travel insurance - avoid it. After having bought a travel insurance from them all I can say is that I haven't dealt with such a incompetent and irresponsible bunch in a long time.

Here is my story. A month ago I got a standard travel insurance from them for a 1 week holiday under the sun. It is bad enough that they don't give you the details of the policy cover until you buy it (I had asked), but at least you'd expect to receive the documents soon after you pay. Not the case.

10 days and no documents in sight, so I called them and the girl said "oh, there was a glitch in the system but I will send everything ASAP".

A week later - still no documents. Another call - "I don't know why they were not sent. Some glitch in the system. Your policy is fine and I will send everything today".

A week later - still nothing. Another call - "my system just crashed. I will call you within 5 minutes". I left my number, but no one called.

Now I am running out of time before my holidays. So another call. The guy says "Your policy have not been validated for some reason. Don't know why. But I will validate it and send everything today". I take his name and his extension and mention that I want to talk to the supervisor, so he takes it seriously and FINALLY I get my documents in post a couple of days later.

So.. first lesson - with Ulsterbank Insurance it takes a month and 5 calls to get the policy documents. A lot of work for your own money.

But yet another call was needed because the policy document says that we are going to Europe even though we are going to Northern Africa. The brochure vaguely mentions that their "Europe" seem to cover "bordering Mediterranean countries", but I am calling them to confirm this. What a surprise - they guy on the phone is adamant that I need a Worldwide cover and not a European cover that they put me on. I am asking how this is possible, after I told them where I go on at least 3 occasions, and refer to the brochure and ask him to double-check. So he goes away and finally confrims that yes, their "Europe" also covers "Northern Africa".

If that's what it takes to get insurance from them, I can only imagine what it is like to make a claim with them..

P.S. Ulsterbank Insurance is quite separate from Ulsterbank Banking. I am not bashing the Banking - I've been quite happy with it for a very long time.
 
Can anyone point the direction for good value travel insurance for an 80 year old relative? Looking for single trip cover on a cruise. Any advice very much appreciated.
 
I've been taking travel insurance with ace ( [broken link removed]) for the last good few yrs. Find the website crystal clear, and the price competitive. I did have a small claim a few yrs back ( lost glasses) they paid up, no quibble at all. You get a text with your policy number, and online doc's which you can print off. What particularly matters to me is that they cover pre-existing medical conditions subject to certain conditons ( see online policy FAQ) without having to go thro medical reports.
 
Might be a silly question: if you put in a claim and it is rejected, does it count as a claim when you are buying new insurance i.e. do you have to declare it?

Thanks.
 
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