Is Your Cheap Travel Insurance Legal?
Posted on | December 22, 2009 | 9 Comments
At this time of year, New Year’s resolutions are a long forgotten memory. The diet you pledged to stick to has been replaced by chocolate, and the strict exercise regime has gone out the window. On the plus side, you can still look forward to your summer holiday. However, travel insurance has gone through some changes in 2009 and, unlike the rest of us, the companies who sell cheap travel insurance stick to their resolutions. So before you take your well earned break, it’s worth checking your policy.
As of 1 January 2009, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) took it upon itself to regulate the sale of all cheap travel insurance from all travel agents and tour operators. A lot of tour operators signed up in advance to get FSA approval, but not all operators and travel agents have been FSA approved. It’s easy to be confused by acronyms, as a lot of travel agents are members of ATOL or ABTA which gives the impression that they are certified and approved to sell cheap travel insurance.
For clarity, ATOL is the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing which is a part of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). ATOL helps to protect travellers abroad by making sure that the tour operator or travel agent they book their holiday with has the financial reserves to compensate their customers, should anything go wrong. If an ATOL approved company goes bust, holidaymakers are guaranteed to get their money back and a flight home should the company collapse whilst a customer is on holiday.
ABTA is the Association of British Travel Agents and is a representative body of 5,300 travel agents and almost 1,000 tour operators. ABTA are a representative body which acts on behalf of its members to ensure high standards of trading practice among travel agents. However, whilst ABTA membership does mean customers will get “choice, value and high levels of service” there is no requirement for ABTA members to provide cheap travel insurance.
In essence, what this means is that whilst carrying the ATOL or ABTA badge might help you source a good travel agent, in reality this has no bearing on their ability to provide you with cheap travel insurance. If you are going to buy a policy, make sure it’s from a reputable vendor that has approval from the FSA. Without it, you could be in severe trouble should you have an accident abroad.
Related posts:
- Why Travel Insurance is a Must
- Cheap Travel Insurance Is Better Than No Travel Insurance Coverage
- Cheap Travel Insurance: How to Find It
- 5 Ways to Deal Travel Insurance
- Fsa’s New Regime for Travel Insurance
- Cheap Annual Travel Insurance: Get Insured Within Your Budget
- Buying Travel Insurance
- Cheap Travel Insurance: Why You Need to Be Covered When You Travel
- Travel Insurance For Peace Of Mind During Your Travels
- Why it Pays to Shop Around for Travel Insurance
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9 Responses to “Is Your Cheap Travel Insurance Legal?”
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December 22nd, 2009 @ 10:41 am
Try this site for a quick quote on travel medical insurance. TravelEx allows for pre-existing conditions. —> http://www.travelex-insurance.com/index.asp?location=07-0018
December 22nd, 2009 @ 10:53 am
I think that you will find a great deal on Moneysupermarket.com thats where I got my travel insurance, and they actually had to pay out on my policy as I ended up in a French hospital.
My insurance was about 40pounds, and it was for annual insurance! I think from memory you could go away for up to 94 days at a time, or 17days at a time if you included winter sports.
Hope this helps – just remember to read the small print about how many consecutive days away from the UK you are covered for! Happy Travels!
December 23rd, 2009 @ 3:47 am
healthquotes.awardspace.info – here is my health insurance plan. As I remember they can provide such a service.
December 23rd, 2009 @ 5:05 am
Here are some links-
I had a similar situation- I was living in the Caymans Islands, no longer a Canadian resident, and wanted to travel for the summer. But every policy required that Canadian citizens be insured in their home privince, which I no longer have as non-resident. IMG was the only one I found, but as you DO have Canadian insurance, this will be easy for you. There are lots of short-term plans.
https://www.imglobal.com/travelinsurance/index.cfm?show=&&CFID=1718830&CFTOKEN=d9392e2d0226f2d2-EC75C061-1143-EBE5-76B31862584AA777
http://www.internationalsos.com,
http://www.travelexinsurance.com,
http://www.ijet.com,
http://www.travelassistance.com,
http://www.wallach.com,
http://www.travelguard.com,
http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/article.cfm?AID=48&category=8,
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/insurance.htm.
December 23rd, 2009 @ 6:55 am
It could very well be true. Although they are different countries to where you are, we are in the UK and when we book to go to Ireland the company we book with insists on having our insurance details. Besides, as the first answerer says…they would be daft to travel without it as the cost of treatment is far more than the cost of the insurance. Accidents do happen…believe me, I broke an elbow last year, and a few weeks after that was healed I broke my foot…if I had been abroad I would have been in sh*t street without insurance!
December 24th, 2009 @ 12:11 am
December 24th, 2009 @ 5:57 pm
Checkout their theft rider, and the link for a free quote. http://www.travelex-insurance.com/index.asp?location=07-0018
December 24th, 2009 @ 10:02 pm
There are some good travel insurance companies. Get ones that pay your expenses or pay you in cash. Dont get ones that make you take another trip or give you a voucher to travel again with them.
I only buy insurance if the trip is WAY more than I can afford to lose.
Read the fine print of the policies before you purchase.
December 25th, 2009 @ 2:04 am
You can get a refund if your insurance covers illness as a reason for cancellation. Different policies cover different contingencies. The way you would prove illness is by a note from your physician.
InsureMyTrip.com is one site that has comparisons among policies. I'm sure there are others.