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Buying travel insurance

Watch our video featuring expert advice on buying travel insurance.

Reader's tip

"Be prepared! Don't leave getting your currency 'til the last minute as you won't get the best deal and it'll be another thing to stress you out on the day you travel."
Marianne Breeze, Tynemouth

Great value travel insurance to match your needs - kids go FREE

95% of pre-existing medical conditions can be covered, with prices from just £5 per person. Book travel insurance with a name you can trust.

Richard Cohen
Financial planner, NSure

Richard Cohen is a Chartered Financial Planner at Nsure in Worthing, West Sussex, handling the money of private individuals throughout the UK.

Expert advice
for holiday money

A qualified IFA, he also holds an Advanced Financial Planning Certificate and is recognised publicly by the Chartered Insurance Institute as the youngest ever Associate of the Personal Finance Society.

Do you have a question for our expert?

Recently posted comments

  • I take my mobile phone with me everywhere and feel so lost without it. I’ve planned to go on holiday with my mates and they’re all leaving their mobile phones at home because calls cost so much abroad. I know they are right, but what if there is an emerg
    Question posted 21/09/09
    • If you do not need to be in permanent contact with home then just use a payphone as and when required. Remember to make a note of the numbers you are likely to want to call and keep plenty of change in your pocket.
      If you do want to use your mobile, speak to your mobile network to see if they have any kind of package for calling overseas. There may be an additional cost for this but sometimes they will add it for free, you just have to ask.
      If you are going away for a longer period of time, consider buying a local or international sim card, which often offer lower charges. Obviously this means you will have a different number which you will need to give out and you need to make sure your phone is “unlocked” to take other SIMs.
      If you will be travelling within the EU there is now a cap on mobile call charges (38p per minute to make calls 19p to receive them), so it should not be too expensive anyway.
  • I’ve been invited to a Hen party at a Spa in the Country for the weekend. Lots of my friends have already planned to have as many treatments as humanly possible, and as much as I’d love to do that, I simply can’t afford it. What is the best way to have a
    Question posted 21/09/09
    • Explain to your friends that you cannot afford to spend much and just stick to treatments you can. Contact the spa beforehand and ask for a full price list so you can maximise your budget by picking the most treatments for your money. You could also ask if they would be able to offer shorter treatments for a lower price, like a 10 minute massage, or ask for a group discount – if lots of you are going, they may well budge on the prices. Its always worth asking.
  • My son is going on holiday on his own for the first time. What is the best way to stay contact with him without it costing a small fortune?
    Question posted 21/09/09
    • Schedule in a few specific times and arrange to chat via VOIP like Skype which is free to download and easy to access from a laptop or internet cafe. Of course email and instant messaging are also cheap and easy to do with internet cafes everywhere in the main resorts.
      If you want to stay in touch via phone, make sure you check the network roaming charges and rates before your daughter goes away so you don’t run up an unexpectedly huge phone bill.
  • Is it better to buy Euros here or will I get a better exchange rate in Cyprus if I take sterling?
    Question posted 25/08/09
    • Assuming you are changing cash it varies and I’m afraid there’s no simple answer to this one. If you want to shop around for the best rate, personally I would rather do it here than waste precious holiday time wandering round looking for the Bureau de Change. Also, if you are going to wait until you are there bear in mind the worst rates are usually in the hotels and airports.
      Better still, if you are happy to use plastic, explore the Nationwide Flex Account or Santander Zero card, which may leave you better off.
  • What is the best way to take money to Spain, Euro travellers cheques, sterling travellers cheques or a prepayment card?
    Question posted 25/08/09
    • Out of the options you’ve listed I would use a prepayment card, but they usually have application fees, withdrawal fees or offer a lower rate than you could get elsewhere. For example FairFX (who are often considered to have offer best exchange rate) charge €1.50 or $2 per withdrawal.
      A better option could be to put your spending money in a Nationwide Flex Account and withdraw it using your debit card while you are there, as Nationwide don’t charge fees for foreign cash withdrawals though their debit card and give you close to the wholesale rate.
      If you are going to be using the card for spending in shops, the other alternative is to use a Santander Zero card (provided your credit history is good). They make no charges for spending in foreign currency in shops. Be careful though, although they advertise no fees for foreign cash withdrawals, they do charge interest from the date of the withdrawal at 27.9%, so do not get tricked into using it for cash withdrawals.
      If you are offered to be charged in sterling rather than the local currency, always say no. The rate you get from the local bank, shop, restaurant, hotel etc, will almost always be worse than either of the above card providers.
  • My bank is currently promoting travel insurance with my current account -- what should I be looking out for to make sure I have the best cover?
    Question posted 04/06/09
    • Check the excess and read the policy document to assess exactly what it does and doesn’t cover you for, i.e. is it medical only, does it cover lost baggage etc.
  • Do E11D forms still exist? If not, what should I do to insure myself on holiday/do I need to?
    Question posted 04/06/09
    • No they don’t, they have been replaced by the European Health Card. However, the health card, or its predecessor, is not a replacement for travel insurance. It only entitles you to the same level of free care as a citizen of that country would receive if you are ill or injured. This is often considerably less than you could expect in the UK. Furthermore, it doesn’t cover you for repatriation to the UK. Looking at a worst case scenario, if you fell seriously ill and needed flying back to the UK at short notice on a stretcher (occupying 6-10 ordinary seats) accompanied by a doctor the trip could run to tens of thousands of pounds, something the health card would not cover you for but decent travel insurance would. Looking at a less extreme scenario, even breaking your leg may mean you require extra space, at short notice and could cost several hundreds of pounds as well as a charge for the treatment in some countries.
      In short, you need to arrange travel insurance.
fashion expert

Read Richard's tips on buying travel insurance.

He is a general practitioner with a preference for investment planning, with an industry recognised qualification in Investment Portfolio Planning. He also holds the newly introduced Certificate in Equity Release, enabling him to advise clients on the specialist subject of Lifetime Mortgages.

Do you have a question for our expert?

Recently posted comments

  • I take my mobile phone with me everywhere and feel so lost without it. I’ve planned to go on holiday with my mates and they’re all leaving their mobile phones at home because calls cost so much abroad. I know they are right, but what if there is an emerg
    Question posted 21/09/09
    • If you do not need to be in permanent contact with home then just use a payphone as and when required. Remember to make a note of the numbers you are likely to want to call and keep plenty of change in your pocket.
      If you do want to use your mobile, speak to your mobile network to see if they have any kind of package for calling overseas. There may be an additional cost for this but sometimes they will add it for free, you just have to ask.
      If you are going away for a longer period of time, consider buying a local or international sim card, which often offer lower charges. Obviously this means you will have a different number which you will need to give out and you need to make sure your phone is “unlocked” to take other SIMs.
      If you will be travelling within the EU there is now a cap on mobile call charges (38p per minute to make calls 19p to receive them), so it should not be too expensive anyway.
  • I’ve been invited to a Hen party at a Spa in the Country for the weekend. Lots of my friends have already planned to have as many treatments as humanly possible, and as much as I’d love to do that, I simply can’t afford it. What is the best way to have a
    Question posted 21/09/09
    • Explain to your friends that you cannot afford to spend much and just stick to treatments you can. Contact the spa beforehand and ask for a full price list so you can maximise your budget by picking the most treatments for your money. You could also ask if they would be able to offer shorter treatments for a lower price, like a 10 minute massage, or ask for a group discount – if lots of you are going, they may well budge on the prices. Its always worth asking.
  • My son is going on holiday on his own for the first time. What is the best way to stay contact with him without it costing a small fortune?
    Question posted 21/09/09
    • Schedule in a few specific times and arrange to chat via VOIP like Skype which is free to download and easy to access from a laptop or internet cafe. Of course email and instant messaging are also cheap and easy to do with internet cafes everywhere in the main resorts.
      If you want to stay in touch via phone, make sure you check the network roaming charges and rates before your daughter goes away so you don’t run up an unexpectedly huge phone bill.
  • Is it better to buy Euros here or will I get a better exchange rate in Cyprus if I take sterling?
    Question posted 25/08/09
    • Assuming you are changing cash it varies and I’m afraid there’s no simple answer to this one. If you want to shop around for the best rate, personally I would rather do it here than waste precious holiday time wandering round looking for the Bureau de Change. Also, if you are going to wait until you are there bear in mind the worst rates are usually in the hotels and airports.
      Better still, if you are happy to use plastic, explore the Nationwide Flex Account or Santander Zero card, which may leave you better off.
  • What is the best way to take money to Spain, Euro travellers cheques, sterling travellers cheques or a prepayment card?
    Question posted 25/08/09
    • Out of the options you’ve listed I would use a prepayment card, but they usually have application fees, withdrawal fees or offer a lower rate than you could get elsewhere. For example FairFX (who are often considered to have offer best exchange rate) charge €1.50 or $2 per withdrawal.
      A better option could be to put your spending money in a Nationwide Flex Account and withdraw it using your debit card while you are there, as Nationwide don’t charge fees for foreign cash withdrawals though their debit card and give you close to the wholesale rate.
      If you are going to be using the card for spending in shops, the other alternative is to use a Santander Zero card (provided your credit history is good). They make no charges for spending in foreign currency in shops. Be careful though, although they advertise no fees for foreign cash withdrawals, they do charge interest from the date of the withdrawal at 27.9%, so do not get tricked into using it for cash withdrawals.
      If you are offered to be charged in sterling rather than the local currency, always say no. The rate you get from the local bank, shop, restaurant, hotel etc, will almost always be worse than either of the above card providers.
  • My bank is currently promoting travel insurance with my current account -- what should I be looking out for to make sure I have the best cover?
    Question posted 04/06/09
    • Check the excess and read the policy document to assess exactly what it does and doesn’t cover you for, i.e. is it medical only, does it cover lost baggage etc.
  • Do E11D forms still exist? If not, what should I do to insure myself on holiday/do I need to?
    Question posted 04/06/09
    • No they don’t, they have been replaced by the European Health Card. However, the health card, or its predecessor, is not a replacement for travel insurance. It only entitles you to the same level of free care as a citizen of that country would receive if you are ill or injured. This is often considerably less than you could expect in the UK. Furthermore, it doesn’t cover you for repatriation to the UK. Looking at a worst case scenario, if you fell seriously ill and needed flying back to the UK at short notice on a stretcher (occupying 6-10 ordinary seats) accompanied by a doctor the trip could run to tens of thousands of pounds, something the health card would not cover you for but decent travel insurance would. Looking at a less extreme scenario, even breaking your leg may mean you require extra space, at short notice and could cost several hundreds of pounds as well as a charge for the treatment in some countries.
      In short, you need to arrange travel insurance.