Protecting yourself on Holiday: checking your travel insurance provision

Holidays should and can be a time of relaxation. However, taking some time out from the challenges of normal life does not entirely remove you from all its possibilities. While the majority of holiday locations such as the Bay of Lagos are largely crime free, there is always the statistical chance that you could become a victim of crime. The best way to reduce the chances of this happening is through a little forward planning and a pinch of common sense. Here we look at one of the necessary if rather dull pre-holiday preparations, securing adequate travel insurance (such as Santander travel insurance), which can ensure your holiday is not ruined should misadventure occur.

While it is possible to purchase travel insurance form a wide variety of sources these days, a short cut to getting a decent travel insurance policy can be to stick with high profile travel insurance providers like Santander. While this route may not provide the outright cheapest travel insurance on the market, travel cover is the same as pretty much everything else you can purchase in the modern world – you get what you pay for.

Rather than looking at the headline price of the cover, there are several key elements to look at - or indeed for - in the travel insurance policy. In terms of protecting yourself on holiday, these centre round the conditions under which you can claim on the policy in the event that you are the victim of theft.

The bottom line is of course that if you are unlucky enough to have some belongings stolen, claiming on the policy needs to be as pain-free as possible. Make sure that you will not be required to obtain an official police report as a precursor to claiming, as this can be very tricky to get a hold of in many locations around the world, especially at the height of the tourist season. ‘Petty’ theft from tourists can rank fairly low down the priorities of many overstretched police forces, and so make sure you need only rely on your insurance company to claim.

The simple mechanics of contacting your insurer are also important. Look for a travel insurance provider that offers a 24 hour help line for claims. If you lose a significant portion of your luggage, for example, you will likely want to start the ball rolling with the claim immediately. Given the time zone difference in many holiday locations, a contact number that is only available during office hours back home can be of little use.

The next bit really does fall under the banner of ‘dull preparation’, but is vital. Check the definition of your ‘duty of reasonable care’ in the travel insurance policy, and make sure that it is, well, reasonable. If the policy will not cover the loss of your items if the theft occurs on the beach, for example, then the effectiveness of the cover is really pretty limited.