Going away on holiday can sometimes be quite a stressful experience. For example, there are all the things you need to sort out before going away such as putting cats and dogs into a cattery or kennels; organising transport to the airport; making sure that you have remembered to bring all the relevant clothing; and of course actually being able to catch the flight.
It therefore makes sense to have everything organised and ready for when you leave, and that includes travel insurance. While it is often seen as unnecessary and a grudging expense, it really can pay for itself in so many ways ? top of the list being peace of mind.
Remember that while you might be able to buy single trip travel insurance from as little as ?5, the cheapest policies are more often than not terribly good in terms of what they actually cover. For people looking to gain extra assurance that if for example their flights are cancelled at short notice or even that the holiday company fails, they might not be able to reclaim any money through such a basic policy.
Similarly, the majority of insurance policies of whatever form ? travel, house and car ? have an 'excess' amount that has to be paid in the event you need to make a claim. For such a cheap policy as the one for only ?5, this might be as much as ?200 which may not even make it worth claiming on. Going for a more expensive policy means that the excess is reduced to say ?50.
Some policies will cover you for the little extras that might not readily spring to mind. For example, if as above you have put your cat or dog into appropriate care during the holiday, and you are delayed in your return due to cancellations and so on, the policy will pay out to cover the extra cattery or kennel fees. Something useful and worth thinking about.
Other good features of a travel insurance policy to look out for are 'holiday guard' type cover. This basically means that should you need to claim on your home or car insurance while away ? you suffer burst pipes or the car is actually stolen, the policy will pay up to a certain level excess due on that policy.
Aside from these matters, travel insurance should naturally cover you for any unexpected medical and accident expenses. In a foreign country, you may not be eligible for free healthcare under their system ? the European Health Insurance Card only gives you certain benefits equivalent to basic care ? and if you do fall ill abroad the last thing you want is to worry about how your medical bills will be paid.
Being covered by a good policy is worth more than the money you pay for it. This is because that money does not necessarily have to mean everything in life and being covered for the unexpected certainly is more a peace of mind thing than anything else.
