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Hi,
Any ideas on where I could get insurance for my DIY holiday? Flights booked through Expedia. Staying in Disney 1st week and staying in a villa 2nd week. Where can I insurance to cover me should something like the volcano ash cloud happen again?
Thanks,
Claire
Just put 'Travel insurance to USA' into your favorite search engine.
You should get a list of all the travel comparison site.
You just need to check the small print to see if they are offering what you want.
Dave
I think most insurance company will do travel insurance. Post Office, Tesco, Direct Line, Aviva, etc Depends on what sort of insurance you are looking for, one trip insurance or an annual family policy.. Most of the insurance companies will show there cheapest cover which will be for Europe, you need to make sure you have Worldwide cover so that America is covered.
As to there exclusions etc, most companies are all the same, with regards to act of war and god etc.
Claire there are only a few insurance companies that cover events such as the ash cloud and you will need to make sure you read the small print very carefully. For peace of mind if you google travel insurance make sure you ask for worldwide policies with ash cover
I think what Claire is after here is help with insurance to cover all aspects of DIY booking.
When booking a package through a travel agent / tour operator you "usually" (I've put that in quotes as I know there will be exceptions) are covered for most aspects of your holiday for knock on effects.
When you go DIY and book flights, accommodation, car hire, park tickets etc all separately and a delay of some kind hits and you become a no-show and your accommodation is let to another or your car hire company has written you off.
Or if you are lucky enough to get the flights extended which means you need an extra day or two added on to your accommodation / car hire.
Also you have got there on schedule but your return is delayed and you need more time in your accommodation etc,
What happens then? How can you cover for these occurrences?
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by DLB-GOUROCK
I think what Claire is after here is help with insurance to cover all aspects of DIY booking.
When booking a package through a travel agent / tour operator you "usually" (I've put that in quotes as I know there will be exceptions) are covered for most aspects of your holiday for knock on effects.
When you go DIY and book flights, accommodation, car hire, park tickets etc all separately and a delay of some kind hits and you become a no-show and your accommodation is let to another or your car hire company has written you off.
Or if you are lucky enough to get the flights extended which means you need an extra day or two added on to your accommodation / car hire.
Also you have got there on schedule but your return is delayed and you need more time in your accommodation etc,
What happens then? How can you cover for these occurrences?
[/quote]
That's exactly what I need help with!![msnsmile]
Hi Claire
We have had an annual worlwide policy now for several years with Direct Travel (0845 605 2500 www.direct-travel.co.uk) which costs approx £70 for our family of 4.
They paid up on the whole of our claim for a DIY trip we had to cancel last Xmas when my father-in-law was rushed into intensive care 24 hours before we were due to travel. We got balance of flights refunded (BA refunded the tax/fees portion), car hire, Sea World and ICE tickets. We were staying in our own villa so no accommodation claim. We had to provide receipts and a medical certificate completed by my FIL's doctor. They paid up in full and very quickly, no quibble. I also did not notice any increase in our premium when it came up for renewal.
They also sent us a letter during the Iceland volcano saga to say that they were one of very few companies who were giving consideration to claims arising from the ash cloud disruption. We were lucky enough only to have been stranded in Scotland and just incurred a £35 charge to drive our hire car back home - not even worth bothering putting in a claim for.
I would definitely recommend them.
Sandra
Thanks Sandra, Direct Travel is who I've always used before.
I am just worried in case something like the ash cloud happened again and I couldn't travel if the insurance company would pay out on the cost of my hotel and villa. Or if we got stuck out in Florida would they pay for our accommodation.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by SandraBulmer
Hi Claire
We have had an annual worlwide policy now for several years with Direct Travel (0845 605 2500 www.direct-travel.co.uk) which costs approx £70 for our family of 4.
They paid up on the whole of our claim for a DIY trip we had to cancel last Xmas when my father-in-law was rushed into intensive care 24 hours before we were due to travel. We got balance of flights refunded (BA refunded the tax/fees portion), car hire, Sea World and ICE tickets. We were staying in our own villa so no accommodation claim. We had to provide receipts and a medical certificate completed by my FIL's doctor. They paid up in full and very quickly, no quibble. I also did not notice any increase in our premium when it came up for renewal.
They sound good, will make note for future reference. Not bad price either
They also sent us a letter during the Iceland volcano saga to say that they were one of very few companies who were giving consideration to claims arising from the ash cloud disruption. We were lucky enough only to have been stranded in Scotland and just incurred a £35 charge to drive our hire car back home - not even worth bothering putting in a claim for.
I would definitely recommend them.
Sandra
[/quote]
They sound good, will make note for future reference. Not bad price either
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by DLB-GOUROCK
I think what Claire is after here is help with insurance to cover all aspects of DIY booking.
When booking a package through a travel agent / tour operator you "usually" (I've put that in quotes as I know there will be exceptions) are covered for most aspects of your holiday for knock on effects.
When you go DIY and book flights, accommodation, car hire, park tickets etc all separately and a delay of some kind hits and you become a no-show and your accommodation is let to another or your car hire company has written you off.
Or if you are lucky enough to get the flights extended which means you need an extra day or two added on to your accommodation / car hire.
Also you have got there on schedule but your return is delayed and you need more time in your accommodation etc,
What happens then? How can you cover for these occurrences?
[/quote]
If you book a package holiday as opposed to a DIY holiday your insurance covers for EXACTLY the same things. The only difference is with a package holiday you are noramlly covered by ABTA.
There is a misconception that there are different insurances for package holidays and DIY ones, in the vast majority of cases they are excactly the same.
I have beeing doing DIY holidays to Orlando for the past 11 years and my insurance covers me for everything.
Paul,
This is exactly where I was going.
When you have a package deal the tour operator carries the risk. But when you DIY it you have to carry the risk and need to insure against the unforeseen happening.
I think what has brought this into focus is the impact the Ash cloud had last year and how folks were "stranded" on holiday with their accommodation expired and no indication of when the airlines would get clearance to fly again.
So you need to make sure that when you DIY it you have contingencies in place to cover "living" expenses until the airline gets your return flight re-scheduled.
We were on a package holiday when the ash cloud happened. Got nothing back from insurance. Ended up paing for our own flight back, TC couldn't get us home for another 2 weeks. We were moved from AI to BB couldn't claim anything for extra expenses, and only had 2 beds for 3 people. So you are no better off with a package deal when an act of God occurs.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:If you book a package holiday as opposed to a DIY holiday your insurance covers for EXACTLY the same things. The only difference is with a package holiday you are noramlly covered by ABTA.
There is a misconception that there are different insurances for package holidays and DIY ones, in the vast majority of cases they are excactly the same.
I have beeing doing DIY holidays to Orlando for the past 11 years and my insurance covers me for everything.
[/quote]
Paul,
Which insurance company do you use that covers you for everything?
Claire
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by clairemca
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:If you book a package holiday as opposed to a DIY holiday your insurance covers for EXACTLY the same things. The only difference is with a package holiday you are noramlly covered by ABTA.
There is a misconception that there are different insurances for package holidays and DIY ones, in the vast majority of cases they are excactly the same.
I have beeing doing DIY holidays to Orlando for the past 11 years and my insurance covers me for everything.
[/quote]
Paul,
Which insurance company do you use that covers you for everything?
Claire
[/quote]
I was going to ask that too, we are renewing ours and would love to find one that covers everything.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by DLB-GOUROCK
Paul,
This is exactly where I was going.
When you have a package deal the tour operator carries the risk. But when you DIY it you have to carry the risk and need to insure against the unforeseen happening.[/quote]I don't think this is so at all. In both scenarios your insurance company takes the risk, that's what you pay them for.
What you do need to do is to make sure that your travel insurance covers everything that you want it to cover. Lots of them don't cover acts of God or similar conditions. It's up to you to make it clear that whatever risk you want covering your travel insurance does. Having said that, I don't think there's any one company (and probably not a cheapo one - as in everything else in life, you get what you pay for) that does cover everything.
Flight problem? Claim on your travel insurance
Accommodation problem? Claim on your travel insurance
Lose something? Claim on your travel insurance
Someone ill? Claim on your travel insurance
Something else go wrong? Claim on your travel insurance - they'll soon tell you if you're not covered for it!
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by FraserLynn
I was going to ask that too, we are renewing ours and would love to find one that covers everything.
[/quote]
I don't know about "everything" Fraser but I've had outstanding cover from my Amex Platinum charge card and it covers all the family even when they aren't travelling with me. I'd say for frequent travellers it is very hard to match. Lots of other benefits like hotel and car rental discounts/upgrades and Executive Lounge access all over the world.
I stupidly left my iPhone and Bose headphones in the seat pocket of a flight from San Francisco to Dallas recently. I rang Amex and they told me to buy replacements. When I got home the money was already in my bank account.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Katys Grandad
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by FraserLynn
I was going to ask that too, we are renewing ours and would love to find one that covers everything.
[/quote]
I don't know about "everything" Fraser but I've had outstanding cover from my Amex Platinum charge card and it covers all the family even when they aren't travelling with me. I'd say for frequent travellers it is very hard to match. Lots of other benefits like hotel and car rental discounts/upgrades and Executive Lounge access all over the world.
I stupidly left my iPhone and Bose headphones in the seat pocket of a flight from San Francisco to Dallas recently. I rang Amex and they told me to buy replacements. When I got home the money was already in my bank account.
[/quote]
Sound good Phil, you're post made me think though and I checked my HSBC premier account as I recall it had insurance with it, turns out it is really good cover, so no need to buy extra anyway. Thanks, without your post I wouldn't have thought about that.
Flexicover, I need insurance for 90+ days and the companies that do that are few and far between.