With the recent spate of flight cancellations and disruptions due to the volcanic ash cloud, a lot of prospective travellers who would previously never have given a thought to travel insurance are now beginning to consider its merits.
Travel Insurance and the ash cloud
If you are worried about your flight being delayed/cancelled and are considering purchasing travel insurance purely for that reason, it probably isn’t necessary. The airline that you are flying with is responsible for getting you home and looking after you while you are stranded, so any reasonable expenses that you incur should be reimbursed by the airline (just be sure to hold onto all of your receipts). See Conor Pope’s excellent guide of what travellers are entitled to when stranded by the ash cloud.
Single trip or multi-trip cover?
If you’re planning on going on a two week holiday this year and are considering getting insurance for yourself, you’re probably better off going for annual or multi-trip cover, as there often isn’t a huge amount of difference in cost between insuring yourself for a single holiday and insuring yourself for the year. Even if you aren’t planning a second holiday, for a few extra euro you’ll be covered if you do decide to take a city break over the next twelve months. However, if you’re buying travel insurance for a family holiday, single trip cover is probably the better option, as annual cover for a family can cost significantly more.
Buying travel insurance
There are a large number of companies that offer travel insurance operating in the Irish market so, for the purposes of making a comparison, SaveAFewBob decided to get quotes from four of the leading companies. The quotes below are for a family of four who have separate health insurance, and cover travel within Europe only. These rates do not include winter sport cover.
| Insurer | Single Trip | Multi-Trip |
| Multitrip.com | €26.97 | €87.96 |
| Ace.ie | €24.00 | €59.00 |
| Chill.ie (Axa Grade 1) | €29.88 | €60.63 |
| 123.ie | €29.65 | €76.93 |
Do you really need travel insurance?
If your flights are disrupted by the ash cloud, your airline is obliged to sustain you and keep a roof over your head. If you have private health insurance, most policies will cover you while you’re on holidays (check with your insurer). And even if you don’t have health insurance, if you’re travelling within the EU or Switzerland you will be covered for treatment on the public healthcare system if you have your European Health Insurance Card (the new E111). If you don’t have this card, you will still be able to receive treatment: you’ll just make things a bit more complicated, so make sure to get yours before travelling to Europe.
That’s not to say that there’s no point in travel insurance: if you miss your flight, your baggage is stolen or the piste is closed for the duration of your skiing holiday, you’ll be happy that you decided to pay the extra for the security of insurance, particularly if you’re travelling with children in tow.
Links:
Tags: finance tips, travel savings
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
