Q. Question?

A. Best Answer: There is no insurance for annual travel but to specific locations to which you are traveling. You can get them. RBC is a good source for this.

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Q. Question? I live in the UK and travel to Europe mostly but do go to other places and need a yearly cover for just me (no sports, medical conditions, age 30 fit & healthy )

I want a decent cover for all aspects - as my last insurance would not cover me for a 36hour delay - so I want to make sure I am adequately covered next time.

A. Best Answer: Check with your bank. Some bank accounts offer multi-trip travel insurance and some offer usage of first class lounges. They're quite a generic policy so would fit in with your decent cover request, plus you obviously have a reputable company to deal with should something go wrong.

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Q. Question? My boyfriend and I are going to Europe (to do voluntary and paid work) from September til at least April 2011.
I was gonna get annual travel insurance but it only seem to cover you for individual trips of no more than 30 days at a time.
So I'm wondering if I need to get backpackers-type insurance but not sure whether this would apply to us..? I think before you get it you have to show you've got an outward and return ticket.
We are driving and will have an outbound ferry ticket to get to France, would that count?
But we're not planning to get a return ticket as we don't know when we are returning..
Anyone know what kind of insurance we need to get? The cheaper the better!!!!!
the spammers love the insurance section don't they!
I've got a EHIC for health cover whilst in Europe.

A. Best Answer: You just need a travel medical insurance policy. It won't cover you in your home country (for the most part) and you don't have to prove anything.

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Q. Question? I am Indian citizen. I am working in UK (for past 3 months) and am planning a holiday in Canada. I don't have multi-trip annual travel insurance. I can't buy from Indian insurers (as I am not in India) nor I can buy any from here (as I not a permanent resident here). How do I get a travel insurance then?
Is travel insurance compulsory?

A. Best Answer: Travel insurance is not compulsory as far as I know. What with the volcano, you might have a travel disruption on your way to Canada. You must have insurance through some company. So I would call them and ask what they have or can recommend. No matter your age, things can happen. It's peace of mind to have this.

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Q. Question? My boyfriend and I are going to Australia for 4 weeks in January next year. Three weeks of this will be spent travelling in a motor home, which we already have the highest level of insurance for. Just wondered what is the best kind of travel insurance for us to get. We have already paid a lot of money up front so would like to be covered from now even though we don't go till January 2011. Should we purchase an annual multi-trip insurance, or I have seen insurance policies for long stay holidays? Can anyone advise me on the best option, and also recommend any companies? Thanks

A. Best Answer: Travel Agent and Tour Operators have a reputation for selling overpriced insurance, however they may be able to provide advice within the range of policies they offer.

>>We have already paid a lot of money up front so would like to be covered from now even though we don't go till January 2011<<

I presume you booked with an ATOL/ABTA bonded company, in which case your flight (and other bookings?) will be covered anyway so I'm not sure of your insurance requirements. If you are likely to be travelling elsewhere during the year then a multi trip/ worldtravel policy may be more viable.

Price comparison sites may help, but I don't like them for anything more than basic or ski travel policies (plus they require you to register, it is often difficult to find how to state you do not wish to be contacted, and as in my experience a few months ago I was still contacted for car insurance).

I suggest you google for travel insurance, look and see if they have a policy that may suit and if so download the policy details for a closer check (any decent site will have these available for download) and google reviews of the Insurance Company if its one you do not know.

Different insurance companies have different inclusions/exclusions, and multi trip can vary widely e.g. max period of 31 days as many times you like, or total of 90 days 3 trips. See my short article on travel insurance pitfalls.

Hope this helps

Andy

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Q. Question? I will have several trips (worldwide, include USA) in the next couple of months, I am thinking to buy travel insurance, probably annual. Do you know a better one?

A. Best Answer: Sounds like it would probably be an annual (multi trip) policy, but they tend to have restrictions on number of trips and days; one may restrict you to 3 trips and max of 90 days total in year, another may allow as many trips as you like with a max length of 31 days each.

You also need to check exactly what is excluded and included in the policy. Some exclude certain countries or regions and activities, or do not cover you if you are working etc. You can download policy details from most insurance companies online online to check if they meet your needs.

I've summarised the above from http://inblighty.com/trekbooks/trekinsurance.html

Andy (inblighty.com)

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Q. Question? My boyfriend and I are going to Western Europe in September for at least 8 months (to travel about whilst doing paid and voluntary work) and we are thinking about taking my car.
I'm just wondering what I need to do to prepare for this?

I don't currently have any breakdown cover but plan to get Europe cover before I go.
What about my other normal insurance? Will I need to change it or pay more? It's up for renewal in November too.
Do I need to continue paying UK road tax? (current disc expires in October). And/or do I have to pay the local road tax??
My MOT's due in November. Is it possible to get it done over there? Is it a legal requirement when I'm not in UK?
Also planning to get travel insurance (probably an annual policy) - would this cover anything to do with the car?
Is there anything else I need to consider??
I know I should just call my insurance company about some of these questions but I want to know about tax etc too and am just wondering if anyone has taken their car abroad for a long period of time before and knows what the crack is. Thanks!

A. Best Answer: All UK car insurance policies provide the MINIMUM level of cover that is needed by law to drive in all of mainland Europe (3rd party cover). No matter where you are going in Europe, you will be covered - including non-EC countries such as Switzerland and Norway. But you need to check that your car will be insured for fire/theft etc.

You should get a new MOT before you go. When you need to tax the car, you can do it online and it will be delivered to the registered keepers address, so you could then ask someone to forward it to you. You can also renew your insurance online too when needed.

Don't forget a GB sticker/magnet (unless you have GB on the side of your numberplate) and headlight deflectors/adapters so you won't blind oncoming vehicles (as you will be driving on the other side of the road).

For more info about driving abroad, check out this link... http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/countrybycountry.html

Enjoy your trip ;)

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Q. Question? I fly to Washington DC on Friday. Next Tuesday 18th May I am due to return, but BA have announced a strike from 18-22 May. So I may end up stranded in the US for several days. This would not be the end of the world -- my company has an office in New York so I could travel up there and work out of there for the rest of the week before travelling home. However, that could be costly. Will my travel insurance pick up any of the costs?

In actual fact, my travel insurance is due to expire on the 14th, i.e. Friday, the date of my departure. So I need to buy new insurance anyway. So if there are specific insurers/policies that would be more advantageous, that would be really helpful to know. Or indeed, would it be more advantageous to renew the existing policy, even though that is a more expensive option, in order to ensure continuity? My policy at the moment is an annual multi-trip with Direct Travel, called "Essentials" (purchased through Moneysupermarket.com I think).

A. Best Answer: BA has a 'duty of care' that will cover BASIC accommodation & meals for those who turn up at the Airport and find their flight canceled and BA unable to put them on an alternative flight.

Unless you agree with them in advance, they will NOT cover people who decide to stay in their Hotel (because they know their flight is canceled).

They will not cover your traveling costs (except to/from the BA chosen accommodation or from a 'diverted' Airport to the Airport you were due to land at), nor any 'consequential' costs (like, for example, the extra cost of 2 or 3 days car parking when you get back to pick up your car from a UK Airport Car Park).

Your private Travel Insurance MAY provide some compensation for a 'delayed' or 'canceled' flight - read the details, especially the 'exclusion clauses' (many exclude 'Acts of God' = Icelandic Volcanoes, and 'Industrial Action' = strikes.....

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Q. Question? I have 'free' annual travel insurance with my bank account at Lloyds but have to pay a shed-load of money every year to cover our pre existing conditions, also, say the renewal is due in August and we don't travel between then and say April, when we re apply they backdate it eight months so we have to pay in full for the full year each time.

As we usually only travel in the EU I asked if we could have the basic travel insurance for stuff like delays, lost luggage broken leg etc and exclude any preexisting conditions and get single trip cover if we decide to venture further, but was told it was all or nothing. Can this be true? I think we're getting royally ripped off, and this 'free' insurance is far from being free at all, also I hate going into details of my conditions every year, it's really depressing.

Has anyone else got this problem? and have they managed to get just the basic insurance?
Lloyds have a number of conditions that have to be disclosed but don't attract additional charges - I can only assume they make up on those that do.

A. Best Answer: From your questions it would seem that either a) you are not taking advantage of the other account benefits or b) should not have this type of account.

Lloyds TSB Added Value accounts can include (depending on your monthly charge):

-Mobile Phone Insurance
-Interest Free Overdraft
-Home Emergency Cover
-ID Theft Protect
-Card Protection
-Travel Insurance
-more besides......

If you are not taking advantage of any of your benefits, then you may be better downgrading your account to a non fee-bearing account and using the savings (circa £120 per year) to speak to a Travel Insurance broker to find the best Travel Insurance policy from a RANGE of insurers, rather than just one.

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