Children on travel insurance policies

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Many travel insurance policies, if designed and taken out as a family policy, will cover each member of the family. This is obviously the case with a normal family holiday, but remember that if your children are older and they head off on holiday with their friends, they may still be covered by your family policy if it is still valid. Even if they are not travelling with the lead policyholder, they can be covered. It therefore can be seen that one way to cut costs at a time when money is tight for most of us is to consider whether you need an annual travel insurance policy or just a single trip policy.

If you are only likely to take one break – say the customary two week holiday in Spain – you might be better with a single trip insurance policy. However there is contrary logic to this statement because often annual insurance could work out cheaper than single trip insurance: if you are travelling long haul, an annual policy is probably wiser as it will work out cheaper than getting a single trip policy – with the added advantage that if you do travel abroad or even within the UK, you are covered. This is especially the case if your children are likely to go off travelling by themselves without you.

Both single and annual travel insurance policies cover you for roughly the same thing – theft of personal belongings, medical repatriation (although check the terms and conditions as some policies differ in what they allow), cancellation and unexpected change of arrangements especially if this is brought about by the holiday travel company. EU legislation only entitles you to a fixed sum if the flight is delayed beyond a certain time, and you may need to arrange overnight accommodation, which in an airport can work out rather expensive to say the least.

The advice can sound contradictory and confusing; and there are so many different choices, options and so on to be made. The best course of action depends on your individual circumstances, and if in doubt, speak to the insurer directly, as they are best placed to advise on matters, particularly with regard to whether independent children are covered. Alternatively, a good source of impartial advice is a local Independent Financial Adviser, because any information they give is not designed to favour any one product or company over another. For a competitive quote on travel insurance, try a reputable firm, Go Travel Insurance.

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