With the Summer holiday period rapidly approaching, a trip to a foreign holiday destination booked, sun tan lotion and appropriate new clothing have been bought and packed, currency converted, travellers cheques received, and the cat or dog booked into boarding kennels, everything seems to be arranged. However what would happen if something were to go wrong. Theft, food poisoning, accidents, short notice cancellation of a flight, these are all ever present dangers.

Although it is not a legal requirement, the best way to obtain protection from these problems is to take out holiday travel insurance, but be careful and shop around rather than simply taking out the one recommended by the tour operator or travel agent. Check out all the policies available to ensure the level of cover provided meets with requirements before agreeing to any policy. Using a financial aggregator site like Moneynet travel insurance, which compares the insurance product market for consumers, can make the task much quicker and easier. It is important to remember that legally a tour operator cannot discriminate by way of price, discount or surcharge provision, against a traveller who does not take their insurance. This leaves it open to consumers to ensure that any package represents good value for money and that the policy offers the best level of cover.

Because of the complicated nature of choosing insurance, some of the major insurance providers such as Barclays insurance, have brought out travel insurance tips and guides to help travellers in their choices and to prevent them encountering potential problems.

Basic cover requirements that should be seen as essential for any policy include:

Travel cancellation, delay or missed connections
Sickness
Personal and third party accident liability
Loss or theft of belongings

Always read through the policy, to check exactly what is, and what in not, covered, and what action needs to be taken in the event of a claim, such as the production of receipts for belongings or medical treatments, police incident reporting, or obtaining consent from the insurer prior to enforced flight rearrangements.

Additional cover may be required for certain activities which could be considered as potentially hazardous, so it is essential that any plans are disclosed to the insurer in advance to prevent voiding the policy.

It is also a good idea to always keep a copy of the policy and the insurers contact details when travelling, in case a claim or amendment needs to be made.

If a claim is made, and this claim is unfortunately rejected or the claim value is reduced, then it is important to note that it is still possible to appeal against the decision. At this stage it is essential to produce any supporting evidence, such as receipts, photographs, copies of police or medical reports, etc, and providing any further information as required, to assist the insurer in making a more favourable decision. If the appeal fails, then the final resort is contacting the Financial Ombudsman Service which may lead to an independent appraisal of the case to decide on the ultimate outcome of the claim.

Disclaimer: All information contained in this article, is for general information purposes only and should not be construed as advice under the Financial Services Act 1986. You are strongly advised to take appropriate professional and legal advice before entering into any binding contracts.