If holidaymakers heading abroad were in any doubt of the need to have their trips fully financially protected, then the collapse of London-based Kiss Flights should have convinced them. Fortunately for the thousands already away on Kiss Flights-arranged trips and the thousands more with forward bookings, the company’s operations were covered. This financial protection came in the form of the Atol (Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing) system which is run by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Under the Atol scheme, the CAA is able to arrange for Kiss Flights’ customers to carry on with their foreign holidays and be flown home while offering compensation to those with forward bookings.

Normally, if people buy a package holiday which involves air travel they will be covered in the event of a company collapse. The difficulty comes when a trip is not Atol-protected. For instance, some flight-only and some accommodation-only holidays will not be covered by the Atol scheme. To make things even more complicated for confused consumers, their payment method may determine whether they are financially protected. If people, say, book a flight-only trip and pay for it using a debit card then it is unlikely they will be covered should their airline cease trading. However, if they have used a Visa debit card they will be covered, as they will if they use most credit cards.

Some travel insurance policies provide protection but you need to search around.  Known as Dynamic Packaging Protection, these policies will pay out up to a specified amount for costs not covered by schemes such as ABTA and ATOL and is well worth having.  Travelandinsure.com offers such protection on its Gold policies.

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With around 25% of people travelling abroad without travel insurance, it is worth asking why?   One reason is a view that the EHIC, short for European Health Insurance Card, will provide cover in case of needing medical treatment abroad.   Yes, up to a point, so do you actually need to take out travel insurance?   Well, simply put, you need both if you are planning to travel abroad.   One does not replace the other.

First of all what is EHIC?  The EHIC has replaced the old E111 form which is no longer valid.   Do make sure you get your EHIC before you travel.   Application forms are readily available from Post Offices and you can also apply online through the Department of Health website.   EHIC is valid throughout the EU and a number of other countries, namely Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechenstein.   Should you be suddenly taken ill or have an accident in any of these countries, then the EHIC will entitle you, in most cases, to free, or at a reduced cost, necessary medical treatment.

Do remember, however, that an EHIC does not cover you for all the medical costs that you can incur or for your repatriation; it is not an alternative to medical insurance and to go abroad without appropriate medical cover, as provided by most travel insurance policies, is probably as close to playing ‘Russian Roulette’ as you can get.

Furthermore, an EHIC does not cover you outside the areas described and although the UK has mutual agreements with many countries, these arrangements don’t cover all expenses you can incur.   You may have to pay thousands of pounds in medical costs, a prime example is the USA and Canada where medical treatment is expensive and, increasingly, there are many other countries that fall into this category.   So we do recommend that before you travel that you always arrange travel insurance with health cover that is adequate for your destination.

The Foreign Office advises that the level of cover should be at least £1 million for Europe or £2 million for the rest of the world but most travel insurance policies now offer cover beyond these figures and £5 million is becoming quite standard and even higher figures are commonplace.   As with all insurances where health cover is required, there may be restrictions because of a particular medical condition for example, which may result in a higher premium to be paid.   At the end of the day though, what you are paying for is ‘peace of mind’ and that is why it is so important to make sure you get cover before you go.

This article is brought to you by Travelandinsure.com – specilaist in ethical travel insurance.

Planning a gap year? Then here are a few useful tips to make sure you get the cover you need.

Tip 1.  Emergency Medical Expenses covers emergency treatment and to get you back home if necessary. Make sure you have this cover, if nothing else.

Tip 2.  If you have a medical condition(s), do tell the Insurance Company as they may decline any claim if you don’t.

Tip 3.  Check the amount insured for cancellation is enough. Some Gap Year trips can cost a lot more than the insurance cover provided.

Tip 4.  Check you have cover for an Airline going bust and if the Foreign Commonwealth Office warn travellers to not go to a country you are planning to visit.

Tip 5.  Get a policy that provides Personal Liability cover, just in case you accidentally harm someone or something and make sure it does not exclude harming a travelling companion under the Personal liability section and also that it does cover damage to accommodation.

Tip 6.  Get Gap Year insurance that covers working/volunteering and watch the small print as some will cover working but not if being paid, and some cover work but exclude many types of job.

Tip 7.  Pick the highest grouping of the sports or activity you think you might do or choose a Gap Year Policy that covers all unplanned sports and activities.

Tip 8.  Check how much kit you’ve got, and then check the cover provided under personal effects. Many items could be excluded, especially electrical items e.g. laptops, camera’s, etc.

Tip 9.  Buy Gap Year and Backpacker Insurance when you book your flight/trip so you are immediately covered if you have to cancel due to illness.

Tip 10.  Take two copies of your insurance documents. Leave one at home, take one with you and maybe scan into an internet document safe.

Tip Plus one!  For parents, a family annual multi-trip policy is for short trips, usually holidays and generally under 31 days for each trip and so is not suitable for extended period away or gap year durations.

This article is brought to you by Travelandinsure.com – specialist in ethical travel insurance.

The latest figures released  by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show that travel insurance fraud has quadrupled since 2005. According to the ABI, in 2005 British holidaymakers made fraudulent claims totalling £1.42 million, a figure that had risen to £5.1 million in 2009.

Claims handling companies have become more fraud aware and are now primed to spot “telltale signs” of false claims, sometimes using voice monitoring equipment when dealing with individual claimants, to limit the widespread travel claim abuse. But insurance fraud is on the rise with many customers pretending that possessions, such as expensive cameras and iPods, have been stolen overseas, while others are upping the value of what has been stolen in the case of genuine theft.

 As the losses are abroad and police overseas are often not interested in investigating, people can claim possessions have gone missing. Some travellers who realise that they cannot afford holidays booked earlier in the year are believed to be cancelling trips, after feigning illness and tricking doctors into issuing certificates stating that they are unwell. Most travel insurance policies offer cancellation refunds when a traveller falls ill before a trip.

Sadly, if someone commits fraud, it’s honest customers who end up paying in the form of higher premiums.

This article is brought you by Travelandinsure.com – specialist in ethical travel insurance

British tour operator, Goldtrail, has collapsed leaving thousands of holidaymakers abroad and many more facing the prospect of cancelled summer holidays. Goldtrail, trading as Goldtrail Travel and Sunmar, operated flights and holiday packages from many UK airports to Turkey and Greece. It sold mainly through travel agents.

The Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that Goldtrail had gone into administration with an estimated 16,000 of its customers at overseas destinations. The CAA said it was making arrangements to fly customers home at the end of their holiday under its ATOL (Air Travel Organiser’s Licensing) scheme.

What is ATOL? This stands for Air Travel Organiser’s licensing and is a protection scheme for flights and air holidays, managed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and protects the customer from losing money or being stranded abroad when a tour operator goes bust. All licensed firms have to lodge bonds with the CAA so that, if they go out of business, the CAA can give refunds to people who can’t travel and arrange for people abroad to finish their holidays and fly home.

Customers who have paid over £100 of the total invoice price by credit (i.e. not debit) card may be in a better position to recover some of monies paid to Goldtrail, otherwise customers will be subject to the administration process and could well wait some two years or more for a partial or full payment under travel industry bonding arrangements.

With the economic downturn likely to claim more victims, it is doubly important to get some protection. Some insurers offer Passenger Protection Insurance, often termed Dynamic Packaging Protection, sold separately or part of a travel insurance policy but always check the small print if this is offered as these are quite often restrictive in their cover.

This article is brought to you by Travelandinsure.com- specialist in ethical travel insurance.

Looking for Gap Year insurance?  Here are some common pitfalls to be aware of when choosing your Gap Year travel insurance policy. Firstly don’t buy the wrong policy!  It’s easily done.  For instance, a cheap tourist policy is unlikely to cover working abroad, and it would be unwise to rely on your parent’s annual family travel insurance to cover you as this may not cover you at all.  So the advice here is to buy a good quality, specialist Gap Year Travel Insurance policy.

Secondly, beware of exemptions. All policies have them, and there are huge variations.  So you really do need to read and understand the small print to ensure that the cover is sufficient for your circumstances. Check it covers the sports and activities you may want to do, and remember that many of the more risky activities that travellers undertake are ’spur of the moment’ decisions.  Check that you are covered to work, whether paid or voluntary.

Thirdly, you may need to cancel your trip. You should buy your insurance as soon as you book your trip to ensure that you are covered to cancel should you or a close relative become ill or have an accident. Sadly, it is not uncommon for a traveller to suffer a family bereavement during their time away.  Some specialist providers offer cover for the cost of travelling home and back in the event of an unexpected loss of a family member.

And then there is the situation, increasingly common these days, of the airline you are booked to travel on going bust or the FCO issues a warning against all but essential travel as they did when Swine Flu struck Mexico. Remember that it may not be you cancelling the trip. Do check that you are covered if an airline goes bust and what cover is provided should there be a travel warning for a country that you are due to visit.

Finally ‘it’s not the cost that matters but the cover that counts.’ So long as you plan your trip well and take measures to ensure your safety, you are certain to enjoy the wonderful adventure that Gap Year travel offers.

This article is brought to you by Travelandinsure.com – specialist in ethical travel insurance.

With over 25% of holiday makers not taking out any travel insurance, then one reason often quoted is why do I need it when I already have a European Health Insurance Card, better known as EHIC? Simply put, you need both if you are planning to travel abroad. One does not replace the other. First of all what is EHIC? The EHIC replaced the old E111 form in 2006 which is no longer valid. Do make sure you get your EHIC before you travel. Application forms are readily available from Post Offices and you can also apply online through the NHS website.

EHIC is valid throughout the EU and a number of other countries, namely Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechenstein. Should you be suddenly taken ill or have an accident in any of these countries, then the EHIC will entitle you, in most cases, to free, or at a reduced cost, necessary medical treatment. Do remember, however, that an EHIC does not cover you for all the medical costs that you can incur or for your repatriation. It is not an alternative to medical insurance and to go abroad without appropriate medical cover, as provided by most travel insurance policies, is probably as close to playing ‘Russian Roulette’ as you can get. As the NHS website points out, “the EHIC is NOT an alternative to travel insurance. It will not cover any private medical healthcare or the cost of things such as mountain rescue in ski resorts, repatriation to the UK or lost or stolen property”.

Furthermore, an EHIC does not cover you outside the areas described and, although the UK has mutual agreements with many countries, these arrangements don’t cover all expenses you can incur. You may have to pay thousands of pounds in medical costs, a prime example is the USA and Canada where medical treatment is expensive and, increasingly, there are many other countries that fall into this category. So we do recommend that before you travel that you always arrange travel insurance with health cover that is adequate for your destination.

The FCO advises that the level of cover should be at least £1million for Europe or £2million for the rest of the world but most travel insurance policies now offer cover beyond these figures and £5million is becoming quite standard and even higher figures are common. As with all insurances, where health cover is required, there may be restrictions because of a particular medical condition for example, which may result in a higher premium to be paid. At the end of the day though, what you are paying for is ‘peace of mind’ and that is why it is so important to make sure you get cover before you go.

This article is brought to you by Travelandinsure.com – specialist in ethical travel insurance.

With the Summer holidays now upon us, more of us have decided to take our break in the UK again this year. Not surprising when financial concerns are still uppermost in people’s minds and thinking twice about spending hard-earned wages on expensive overseas holidays. But those opting to stay at home face the same risks as they would abroad.

A domestic flight can be as easily cancelled or delayed as an international flight, and UK holidaymakers are similarly vulnerable to theft or damage to belongings. According to claims data from insurer AXA, cancellation, baggage and cutting short a holiday once started are the most common claims made on domestic holidays. Cancellation accounts for half of all AXA’s claims, with the average amount claimed close to £400.

But there could be other issues. Anyone travelling to the Channel Islands, for example, will not be covered for medical treatment by their European Heath Insurance Card (EHIC) nor the NHS as there is no longer a reciprocal agreement in place between mainland UK and the Channel Islands, so falling ill could be costly without medical cover.

So the message here is that the 12 million Britons hoping to cut costs by holidaying at home this summer could find themselves out of pocket if they haven’t taken out the right travel cover. Therefore it could be well worth taking out travel insurance this summer as accidents do happen and bags go missing, just as they do abroad.

This article is brought to you by Travelandinsure.com– specialist in ethical travel insurance.

British Airways cabin crew are to stage a series of five-day strikes in their bitter row over jobs, pay and conditions, threatening travel chaos in the run-up to the summer holidays. What does this mean to you?

Which flights are likely to be affected?

Cabin crew have announced that they plan to walk out on May 18-22, May 24-28, May 30-June 3 and June 5-9 (all dates are inclusive) which will cover the Spring Bank Holiday and school half-term holidays. The number of flights which have to be cancelled will depend on how the strike is organised and how many cabin crew take part. Previous experience suggests that British Airways will try to operate as many long-haul flights as possible and sacrifice shorter flights, which tend to be more frequent and easier to merge.

Can I cancel my flight before they do?

You could, but unless it is a flexible, or refundable ticket, then you will lose your money.

Am I entitled to a refund if BA cancels my flight?

Yes. EU regulations require that the airline offers you either a full refund of the unused parts of your tickets (to be paid within seven days), or the soonest available flight, or flights, to your final destination. If your flight is cancelled you are entitled to a full refund.

What are the other options?

BA has not announced what it will do yet, but it is likely that passengers on cancelled flights will, instead of accepting a refund, be able to rebook for a later date. It is also possible that BA will arrange for flights on other airlines.

What if I am stranded abroad, or at an airport in the UK as a result of the cancellation?

BA is liable to pay for: meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time; two free telephone calls, emails, telexes or faxes; overnight hotel accommodation and transfers as necessary.

I have booked a package holiday and my flight has been cancelled, what do I do?

Speak to your tour operator. It is responsible to trying to make alternative arrangements, or cancelling, refunding or rebooking your holiday.
I have booked other arrangements, such as accommodation or car hire or hotels, and I now won’t be able to use them.

Can I claim compensation for this?

BA isn’t responsible for this sort of “consequential loss”. If the car hire company or the hotel won’t refund your deposit, and you can’t find another way of travelling to your destination, you will lose out, unless you can claim through your travel insurance.

What about travel insurance?

This is complicated and, as always with insurance, depends on the individual circumstances and the policy you have bought. Generally, you can claim abandonment of your holiday and the consequential loss, if you can prove that you have been delayed by 12 hours or more. But your insurer will need a letter from the airline confirming that the cancellation involves such a delay, and it is likely only to consider cancellations which have been made at short notice. And obviously, it will only apply if you bought the insurance (and the travel arrangements) before you knew about the strikes.

Am I entitled to compensation as well as a refund if my flight is cancelled?

EU regulations suggest that you should be entitled to compensation if you flight is cancelled within 14 days of departure (or delayed). However, according to the Air Transport Users Council (AUC), a provision in the regulation which excludes “strikes that affect the operation of an operating air carrier” has been used by airlines to avoid paying compensation. It is untested in law, but your chances look slim.

Where can I get more help and advice?

For full details of your air travel rights, and its telephone advice line, see the AUC website (www.auc.org.uk).

This article is brought to you by Travelandinsure.com – specialist in ethical travel insurance.

The Foreign Office has extended a travel warning to all of Thailand, saying Britons should avoid all but essential travel to the country as violence spread to popular seaside resorts. ”The situation is volatile and we recommend that British nationals in Thailand or planning to travel to the country check the travel advice on the embassy website regularly for details of further developments.”

The Foreign Office had previously warned only to avoid the Thai capital, Bangkok, but it has now extended the caution to the entire country given the risk “that violence could break out without warning”. This advice reflects the increasing tension in Thailand and the concern that violent incidents of an unpredictable nature are occurring in many parts of Thailand.

However, some Britons are still pressing ahead with trips to Thailand despite Foreign Office advice to avoid all but essential travel to the country.  This has led to travel organisation, ABTA, to warn that travel insurance would not cover those who had gone to Thailand aware of the FO advice. Issuing a statement, ABTA emphasize that travellers “should realise that should they decide to go, get caught up in an incident and get injured and have travelled knowing the Foreign Office advice, they will not be covered by insurance.”

Should you become caught up in what is neatly termed, civil commotion or civil unrest, you need to be aware that most travel insurance providers include this as a general exclusion in their policies. The impact of this is that you may not be as well insured as you think you are. If in doubt, do check with your travel insurance company before you travel and look at your policy wording.

Generally, medical expenses and medical repatriation will be included but if you want to be covered for all eventualities then you will have to pay an increased premium for this. Thankfully the chances of being caught up in these types of incidents are still very slight, and even when they do strike, they tend to be away from the main tourist destinations.

So if you do plan to visit Thailand, do check with your tour operator beforehand who may be able to offer alternative destinations away from the troubled areas. For the independent traveller, be wise and avoid those areas where a heightened tension exists.

This article is brought to you by Travelandinsure.com – specialist in Ethical Travel Insurance.