No traveler can leave their home country without travel health insurance; being injured abroad is an event that no traveler wants to face.
Facing a severe injury abroad without the support net of travel insurance makes an already bad situation worse.
Holiday Extras is a UK-based company that has been serving the travel community for over 25 years.
They arrange travel insurance, airport parking, and other related services for over 5 million travelers annually.
They offer complete coverage for single trips as well as annual policies for frequent travelers.
For example, a one week holiday in the Caribbean, including full health insurance, cancellation insurance, and protection against lost or stolen luggage, is only £33.
On average, Holiday Extras offers more comprehensive coverage than its leading competitors.
For instance, in the above example, Holiday Extras is both cheaper and offers more coverage than World Nomads.
Also, Holiday Extras offers £5,000,000 in emergency medical insurance, while World Nomads only offers £3,000,000.
Holidays Extras exceeded my expectations when it came to understanding their policies; not only do they provide a standard legal document detailing your policy, but they also provide a document describing the key points of your policy so you don't have to sift through complicated legalese.
Policies are available for all ages under 86, though children and senior citizens may be subject to reduced coverage.
Holiday Extras does not cover any claim relating to excessive alcohol intake, and as a result, they may not be the best choice for wild backpackers; however, they are an excellent choice for families traveling abroad as those under 18 are covered free of charge.
One part of Holiday Extras' policies that I do find troubling is the exemption from cancellation insurance.
If a relative who is not on the trip becomes ill, you are not covered if they required treatment or prescribed medicine in the 90 days before departure.
Many, if not most of us, have relatives who would fall into this category.
Depending on your situation, this may be a point of concern.
Coverage is only available to those whose primary residence is within the UK. Still, for those eligible, Holiday Extras is an excellent option for not just holiday insurance, but cancellation and theft insurance as well.
In particular, families should seriously consider their policies as the potential cost savings are considerable.
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This story was brought to you in partnership with Holiday Extras.
Matthew is a backpacker with a sense of adventure who will always be looking for the next story to share with his fellow travelers. When he isn't on the road or scheming to get away from it all he enjoys a odd mix of the outdoors, and technology.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/backpackermatt
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mfalk/
Planning a trip? Go Backpacking recommends:
- G Adventures for small group tours.
- World Nomads for travel insurance.
- Hostelworld for booking hostels.
- Rail Europe for train passes.
Jhanella
Wednesday 10th of November 2010
Great. I agree that travel insurance is very important for every travelers. Travel insurance is something that should be appreciated by most travelers considering the benefits derived from it. But too bad most travelers think about it as burden. Through information such as this article, little by little people will learn to embrace the importance of it.
Krystian Siek
Sunday 3rd of October 2010
holiday extras was shit when we had islandic vulcano, i stuck in thailand for 10 days extra, they were useless, not pay for extra hotel, extra food, flight or anything.
avoid it!!!
Dave
Monday 4th of October 2010
Hey Krystian, thanks for sharing your experience.
CletusShirley
Saturday 21st of August 2010
Insurance should be the first thing we take care of before planning our holiday outside the country. I'm happy someone here mentioned Lonely Planet as their site is indeed a place where one can get all the info they need from people who visited the places and had the experiences. When I travel I prefer to let the agency deal with all these things, including insurance, and I just want to lay back and enjoy the ride. This year I found Cunard Cruise to offer complete services for a smaller price than last year. I don't think the insurance cost went down but I do think that this economical crisis we all feel and loath has finally did something beneficial for me. Cheaper vacations. Who ever thought that was possible?