How to Select Your Travel Insurance Provider
When you are a UK citizen traveling abroad, it is vital that you purchase a travel insurance policy. Accidents can and do happen, and they are extremely costly. One example for instance is that if you were to become ill and suffer an infection while travelling in USA, a hospital treatment could cost upwards of £100,000. So travel insurance should be part of your travel planning arrangements. It is also important to note that if you suffer an accident or medical emergency when abroad, the British Embassy will not pay for your medical treatments and any additional travel related expenses. Your credit card and home insurance policy may also not cover costs sufficiently.
It is incredibly important that you select the right insurance policy and the right insurance provider in order to ensure that you ate fully covered in case of an accident or injury. Different travel insurance providers offer different services and cater for different needs, so it is important that you find the right one for you.
Below are 3 UK based travel insurance providers that offer travel insurance policies.
Bupa Travel Insurance
Bupa offer several travel insurance packages that include: multi trip; single trip; backpacker and winter sports holiday travel insurance. Their range of policies cover medical expenses, any repatriation costs, personal belongings and any expenses incurred due to delayed flights. They also operate a 24 hour medical emergency helpline as well as a 24 hour talking nurse service. They do not cover undisclosed pre-existing medical conditions that include cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, psychological conditions and if you take regular medication. Instead, consumers have to opt for their slightly more expensive pre-existing medical condition insurance option. They do provide travel insurance for people aged up to 89 on single trip insurance on this option, but for other types of insurance plan, people are insured up to the age of 79. However between the ages of 66 and 79 there is a travel restriction of 31 days and this only includes European travel. They operate a simple system in helping consumers to make an insurance claim.
Freedom Insurance Services
Freedom Insurance Services offer three insurance travel packages. Their single trip travel insurance considers all medical conditions and covers ages up to 85 years of age for 31 days of travel. Their annual multi trip insurance option, again considers all medical conditions and covers ages up to 75 years of age for 31 days of travel, but for a total of 183 days per year. This option also includes a discount for families. Their Freedom travel insurance package is offered for those individuals who have pre-existing medical conditions and which are disclosed to the company. This covers costs of up to £200 for lost medications and up to £15,000 in case of personal accidents. An AXA emergency helpline number is provided if you need to make a claim while abroad.
Globelink Travel Insurance
Globelink travel insurance offers several great travel insurance options to people living in all European Union countries. The range of policies meet almost any travel style that include: single travel, multi-trip annual travel, backpacker and long stay travel, winter sports travel and travel for older ages whether you are over 65’s or even 80! They also cover UK expats living abroad and even Australian, South African and New Zealand passport holders living in the UK. Globelink policies cover services such as 24-hour emergency assistance when necessary with a 24/7 hotline. If necessary, Globelink will assist you with the arrangement of hospital admission, home return, authorization of medical payments, and even direct pay to the hospital. They also offer cover for many adventure activity and hazardous pursuits (4 different categories) while on holiday, as well as covering some legal expenses when and if needed.
When it comes to pre-existing medical conditions, they offer a medical screening specialist to add pre-existing medical conditions to a policy. If you have forgotten to obtain your travel insurance before departing or decided to change the provider, keep in mind that Globelink can issue a policy for you while you travel which is amazing. Last but not list, which is not less important, Globelink also makes claiming an easy process with information provided on their website that is clear and user friendly.
There are many travel insurance providers out there, so it is important that you do your research and find out which is the best one to meet your specific needs to your travel style, age, rates, and coverage.
