Understand The Fine Print On Family Travel Insurance Policies

Understand the Fine Print on Family Travel Insurance Policies

by

patrick chong

A family travel insurance policy may, at times, exclude certain countries, regions and activities from its standard provisions. The logic behind it is usually obvious, but it might indicate that research is required sometimes before setting your heart on a specific holiday destination or type.

A question of risk

Providing insurance is largely the business of trying to assess the risks involved in a given situation and working out a price to cover the financial aspects of that for the policyholder concerned. As a principle, it certainly applies to family travel insurance, but in some circumstances an insurance provider may decide the risks are too great and decline to offer appropriate cover. In other cases they may agree to do so but only under certain special conditions and with the payment of additional premiums.

Here are a few examples of where such circumstances may arise.

Dangerous countries or areas of countries

Some destinations may be considered too dangerous for normal family travel insurance including situations where the country or region is officially designated as a war zone; there is extensive civil strife; local law enforcement is unreliable and general crime is at very high levels; a high degree of political instability exists which may degenerate into conflict; there is a high and well-documented risk of kidnapping; or where the country is currently subject to a serious and widespread outbreak of infectious disease.

Broadly speaking, before choosing a holiday destination outside of what might be termed to be familiar overseas destinations , it might be highly advisable to consult the Foreign Office s site in order to obtain travel advisory information. In some situations, similar advice might be obtained through the World Health Organisation or the embassy of the country concerned.

Dangerous activities

In some circumstances, your insurance provider may consider that certain activities are, by their nature, too dangerous to cover on a standard policy. Interpretations of what is, or is not, a dangerous sport or related activity vary tremendously. The only way to be sure as to what the situation is with a given policy is to read it thoroughly.

Nevertheless, you may find that certain sports and pastimes are often excluded, including skydiving; parachuting; hang-gliding; micro-light piloting and perhaps other forms of general aviation activity; bungee jumping; scuba diving or any participation in activities that might involve the use of submersibles; mountaineering and rock climbing;

motor sports; some types of boating, particularly if high-speed power boats are involved.

Of course, this list isn t inclusive and some of the above activities may, in reality, be covered by your standard policy. However, in the context of a claim is not best time to find out that they are not! So, if you have any doubts at all, it might only make common sense to check with your provider of your family travel insurance well in advance of your departure.

Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of Insuremore. We provide low cost travel insurance and offer a range of policies including

family travel insurance

, annual, multi-trip and single-trip insurance. For all your travel insurance needs, Insuremore can help you in the quickest and most cost-efficient way.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com