Travel Insurance Unravelled - Are You an Expert or Novice?

Despite most good insurance companies best efforts to make policy wordings clear and user friendly for their customers, you will be forgiven if you sometimes struggle to understand some travel insurance terminology.

If you can answer more than 3 of the questions below correctly, you can consider yourself a travel insurance expert among your fellow travel insurance purchasers.

We reviewed some of the customer queries we receive at Globelink about travel insurance and have listed a few of them below. Take a look and see how you fare:

Is Annual Multi Trip or Single Trip cover best?

The answer is simple – it depends on your travel habits. A Single Trip policy does exactly that; it covers one single trip. An Annual Multi Trip policy allows you to travel several times on one yearly renewable policy.

To get your choice right, just consider whether you might take two or more trips outside your home country in one year. If you answer ‘yes’, then an annual policy will probably be most cost effective for you. When deciding don’t forget weekends away and Winter breaks you might take.

Trip duration

Seems obvious doesn’t it? It’s the length of each trip that you will take, but this is one to watch out for so you don’t fall foul of your policy terms. Many Annual Multi Trip policies (not Globelink’s!) place a maximum number of days permitted abroad per annum on your policy, so even if you are happy with the individual trip duration you have selected, check the small print for any unhelpful maximum travel days allowed in the year. Globelink’s Annual Multi Trip policies have no upper limit on the number of trips you take, or days abroad. Just select the policy with the right trip duration to suit you (up to 120 days per trip for under 65’s - and kids go free on all Annual policies).

What is the excess on travel insurance?

If you make a claim on your travel insurance policy, the excess is the sum that will be deducted from your final claim settlement, so ensure you are happy with the amount before you buy. Beware of companies offering cheap policies with a high excess. You may live to regret opting for a high excess if you need to claim. Most companies offer the option to pay a bit more to buy so you can reduce the excess to zero with an Excess Waiver – including Globelink.

What is a pre-existing medical condition?

This is a really important one to get right. The exact definition varies for each travel insurance company. As a general guide, this includes any medical condition that you currently have or have had in the past – e.g.: something for which you have received surgery, treatment or investigations in a hospital or clinic, or for which you are on a waiting list for. If in doubt, ask. It’s critical that you understand the definition and answer any medical declaration questions correctly and fully before you buy – or might not be covered.

Read also: How to Obtain Travel Insurance if You Have an Existing Medical Condition?

What is EHIC?

EHIC is often referenced in travel insurance policies and stands for the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). You can apply if you live in the UK (other countries have their own equivalents) and it entitles you to receive state-provided medically necessary healthcare while in an EU country, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. It’s easy and free, but it does not replace travel insurance. State healthcare quality varies throughout Europe and you won’t be covered for private medical expenses, repatriation costs, or extra accommodation or travel costs you may need.

What’s the difference between adventure activities and hazardous pursuits?

Most travel insurance policies, including Globelink, will cover you while you are participating in certain activities while you are away. These are usually called adventure activities or hazardous pursuits. Each travel insurance company will have its own list of activities that they cover as standard and they can vary from cross country walking, cycling, banana boating, scuba diving, paragliding and so on. If you are participating in any activities while away, always check these are included in your standard cover. You may be able to get more adventurous activities covered for an additional premium. Globelink offer 4 levels of cover and include canyoning, skydiving and scuba diving to 50 metres in Category 4.

What is Post Departure cover?

The vast majority of travel insurance companies insist that you take out travel insurance cover before you leave home. Some specialist providers, including Globelink offer Post Departure cover. This is cover for if you have already travelled and forgotten to purchase travel insurance before leaving, or if your policy has expired and you have already started your trip. Certain conditions will apply – like you can take out cover if you already have a claim pending!

So how did you score? Whether you are a travel insurance expert of novice, at Globelink we always aim to provide information to our customers that is as clear as possible.

If you have a question after checking Globelink's website, please don’t hesitate to give our team a call (UK) +44 (0) 1353 699082 and chat it through over the phone. We’ve got 20 years’ experience to rely on.

Read also: How Does Age Affect Travel Insurance Rates?