Travel Insurance For Holidays At Home – Worth Considering?
Most cheap travel insurance
bought in the UK is aimed at people resident in the UK and indeed, will
require customers to indicate that they have lived in the UK for a
period of six months. It is also a fact that most people buy travel insurance
for trips and holidays abroad but insurers do offer policies for travel
just within the UK. It is not uncommon to find that Ireland will be
included in this definition.
The big advantage of UK only cover is that the premiums can be
ridiculously low – well below £5 for a 3 day break is very common
place. But is it worth taking out in the first place? The answer really
depends on the type of holiday planned, the length of stay and whether
you want to accept the risk of not being covered if something does go
wrong. It is also worth remembering that UK travel insurance
cover is generally included if you take out the more expensive Europe
of Worldwide cover, though do check the small print rather than
assuming that this is always the case. A Europe or Worldwide annual multi-trip travel insurance
policy will be more expensive as an initial payment up front but will
cover you for an unlimited number of trips abroad, and in the UK,
throughout the year, provided the length of stay of each trip does not
exceed the policy limit, normally around 31 days away per trip.
So is a UK travel insurance policy worth
considering? Probably yes if only one or two short breaks a year are
planned and it will be very inexpensive to purchase for the cover
provided. This can be very useful should you subsequently cancel a
trip, say for illness, as your holiday costs will be reimbursed subject
to any excesses to pay. Your personal effects will probably be covered
too which is an important point to consider as theft and loss is not
just confined to holidays on the 'Costas' – these things happen at home
too. What you will almost certainly not be covered for will be for
medical emergencies and expenses as insurers argue that the NHS is
available for such instances and will point out that travel insurance is not a substitute for private medical insurance. The lack of medical cover in UK only travel insurance policies is the main reason why insurers can offer these policies for the very low prices on offer.
On balance, travel insurance for UK holidays and
short breaks is probably a good buy for those holidaymakers who tend to
stay at home for their breaks away and there is an increasing number of
people who are doing this. One final word of warning though is do check
the small print as many, if not most, insurers do require you to have
proof of booked accommodation for a minimum stay of normally 2 nights
away for the policy to be in force so the Sunday 'trip out' is
definitely outside this definition!
About the Author
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
