11 common travel insurance pitfalls to avoid

It's not the most glamorous part of planning your trip, but it could be the most essential. Here's how to sidestep the top 11 travel insurance mistakes...

Recent figures from the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) revealed that 10 million of us jetted abroad in 2017 without appropriate insurance cover. A staggering 22% of people confessed to not having any insurance at all, while 27% admitted they had risked potentially having a claim refused by not declaring pre-existing medical conditions or taking part in activities not covered by their policy. 

Here we take you through our list of the most common travel insurance-related mistakes so you don't trip up while you travel.

1. Not buying insurance until it's too late 

The biggest travel insurance-related mistake is of course deciding to skip it altogether. More spending money won't seem like a good idea when you're faced with a huge medical bill. 

The second biggest mistake? Not buying your travel insurance as soon as you book your holiday. If you're taken ill, made redundant or your holiday is cancelled, buy a policy at the time of booking should mean you're covered and you'll get your money back. 

If you've bought an annual insurance policy, set an email reminder to alert you two weeks before it expires, so you don't get caught short. 

2. Assuming that travel insurance covers anything and everything

Most standard packages won’t cover you for that jet-ski session, moped ride (especially if you’re not wearing a helmet) and most surprisingly even trekking above 2,000 metres. In practice, that means a wander up many mountains, such as Mount Pico in the Azores (2,351m), pictured below, won't be covered.  

It’s also worth noting that your insurance might only cover you for leisure trips, not work ones. In other words, if you’ve got annual insurance, don’t assume it will cover you for your company’s Christmas knees-up in Berlin or that business trip to New York. 

Benjamin van der Spek/Shutterstock

3. Not declaring pre-existing conditions

Fresh from a triple heart bypass? Recently diagnosed with diabetes? Don’t expect your insurer to cough up for medical expenses connected with your recently-diagnosed ailment. If you purchased your travel insurance prior to your diagnosis or you’ve got annual insurance, inform your insurers asap before your holiday begins, ideally by email, which allows you to prove you notified the right people.

It's not always about the most serious conditions either. Most insurers will ask about what GP appointments you've attended in the past two years and if you've been to A&E too. 

Don't forget to declare any ongoing conditions such as asthma, underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), high cholesterol and depression and anxiety. It might mean your premium is a little higher initially, but better that than a refusal to pay out later down the road. 

James Coleman/Unsplash

4. Flouting the rules

Remember that even if you do sign up for extra protection, the duty is on you to take reasonable precautions whether it’s making sure you’re wearing a helmet on motorbikes and not having alcohol in your system before a scuba dive. In a nutshell, the onus is on you to travel responsibly. For example some policies won't cover you if you're involved in any incidents and have a blood alcohol reading of more than 150mg per 100ml, three times the current drink-drive limit in Scotland. 

That steaming geyser in Yellowstone National Park, might well look like the perfect selfie spot, but venture beyond the designated boardwalk and your insurer is unlikely to pay out when you suffer third-degree burns after stepping into the boiling bubbles.

Hrvoje Grubisic/Unsplash

5. Getting your details wrong

Entering the wrong date of birth or missing out your middle name might not seem like a major blunder,  insurers will use any excuse not to cough up, and even the tiniest of mistakes could result in you being accused of falsifying information.

READ MORE: 10 ways you can travel responsibly

When buying a single trip insurance policy check, and check again, that your flight dates are correct, too, ensuring your policy actually covers your inbound and outbound journeys.

6. Not reading the small print

Most of us would rather stick pins in our eyes than plough through the pages of the boring legal jargon which comes with our insurance certificate, but setting aside 10 minutes to read it could easily save you serious amounts of cash in the long run.

If you realise your policy doesn’t cover you for a certain type of activity or for a certain destination before your holiday, you’ll still be able to request add-on cover, but many insurers will refuse to allow amendments once you’ve left the country.

Chang Duong/Unsplash

7. Allowing it to auto-renew

If you’ve got annual travel insurance, it’s highly likely that it will auto-renew one year after the date of purchase, albeit at a slightly higher rate. Shop around to find the best-priced policy using price comparison websites, or by simply contacting your current insurer, pointing out you’re a loyal customer and asking for their best possible price. One member of the LoveEXPLORING team saved £20 by doing just that. 

Josue Isai Ramos Figueroa/Unsplash

8. Not checking you’re covered for the country you’re heading to

Don’t think that selecting a travel insurance policy for a certain region covers you for all the countries in that area. For example, some European policies don’t include Spain. But just to confuse things, many standard European policies will often cover a handful of non-European countries, Morocco and Tunisia being common examples.

9. You’ll never be covered for visits to countries regarded as dangerous by the Foreign Office

It should hardly come as a surprise that if you break a leg on an ill-advised city break in Mogadishu, your insurer isn’t obliged to pay up, but a surprising number of countries are regarded as no-go zones by the Foreign Office at any one time.

If your destination has experienced recent political unrest or a major natural disaster, it’s worth checking the Foreign Office’s travel advice website to see if it regards the country as safe to visit. If it doesn’t, or you visit a specific area (within an otherwise safe country) regarded as a no-go zone, it’s highly likely your insurer will refuse to pay out if the worst happens.

It's worth noting that the FCO has two levels of travel warnings that are significant to insurers: 'advice against all but essential travel' (amber zones on their maps) and 'advice against all travel' (red on FCO maps). However your insurer will usually cover you if the FCO advice changes to one of these after the purchase of your policy or booking. 

Inspired by Maps/Shutterstock

10. Assuming your policy covers you for treatment at any hospital

If you get ill or injured while abroad and need medical treatment which requires a hospital stay, unless it’s a life-or-death situation, it’s worth checking your insurer will cover costs incurred by treatment at the hospital or medical centre you’re heading to. For example, most insurers won’t cover treatment at private hospitals, even if the hospital in question is the closest one.

11. Assuming you’re not covered when you are

A frightening number of travellers don’t file compensation claims for situations when they’re perfectly entitled to a payout.  For example, if you lose your passport while abroad, many insurance companies will reimburse costs associated with obtaining an emergency replacement and booking a seat on a later flight.

It’s also worth checking if your bank or credit card provides travel insurance, and if so, exactly what’s covered – you might get a pleasant surprise.

Main image: rawpixel/Unsplash

Enough of the sensible stuff, though. To prove we’re not above a little risk-taking, we’ve put together a guide to the world’s most dangerous attractions.