Avoid These 6 Travel Insurance Mistakes
Travel insurance can often be one of the last jobs to tick off from your holiday to-do list
. But the potential consequences of getting it wrong and making assumptions about what you're covered for could make your trip memorable for all the wrong reasons.Here's six mistakes to avoid which might invalidate your policy.
Get Drunk
It's something of a myth that all travel policies are invalidated if you consume alcohol. Many will tolerate some "social drinking" even if this is not formally confirmed in the policy wording. So many insurers are unlikely to penalise you if you have a drink and are injured in an accident unrelated to your alcohol consumption.
That said, if it can be proved that alcohol contributed to the reason for a claim, the insurance company could either limit the pay out or reject it alltogether.
If you intend on driving or motorcycling on holiday, it's usually safest to avoid any form of alcohol on the same day as any hint that you were driving under the influence is likely be mean a quick end to any claim.
Use Illegal Drugs
Unlike alcohol, this is almost certain to invalidate your policy immediately. In some cases it may even mean a double invalidation if your policy bars both drug taking and illegal behavior. You may also need to check your policy to see if it excludes taking drugs that are illegal in the UK but legal in the country you are visiting. And remember that in some countries, particular drugs may be decriminalized rather than legal: that means you won't be arrested, but you could invalidate your policy.
Keep quiet about a medical condition
As a general rule, travel insurance doesn't cover situations related to undisclosed pre-existing conditions. Such medical conditions are usually only covered if you disclose them which is likely to result in higher premiums or the need to take out special medical travel insurance.
How this is applied depends upon the policy and insurance company involved. If you are aware of a medical condition it should be declared. If you've suffered symptoms as the condition developed, but the condition hadn't been diagnosed, it usually comes down to a subjective assessment of whether you should reasonably have believed you could be suffering from the condition.
Take Part in Extreme Sports
This is another area where it really does vary from policy to policy. In the small print you'll often find a list of prohibited activities, which is well worth checking. Typical policy exclusions are water based sports, climbing or any activity that requires your feet to leave the ground at any time! One exception that often catches people out is using a motorbike or even a moped.
Extend Your Holiday Without Notifying Your Insurer
Single-trip policies are only valid for the designated dates, and not a day longer. The good news is that an insurer will usually agree to cover an extension to your holiday so long as you give them sufficient notice. However, if you make a claim for an incident that happened after your policy expired, you'll be out of lucking if you are expecting some sort of grace period.
Take A Day Trip Across The Border
Should you take out a true worldwide cover policy, it's likely that you will be insured in any country other than those on the current FCO advisory list. However, if your policy contains geographical restrictions, take care not to stray as you are unlikely to be covered if you do. For example, if you go to Southern Spain with a European only policy, you take that ferry to Morrocco at your own risk. If you do have a specific European policy, check carefully to see how it defines the restriction: for example, a "European Union only" policy won't cover some countries on the continent.
Being aware of the exclusions and limitations of your travel policy can help you avoid further stress should you need to claim or give you the chance to secure wider cover. So be sure to know what cover you do need and read the small print before you buy, and you reduce the chances of falling victim to small print exclusions.
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