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How to find family travel insurance

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Suitcases packed. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Suitcases packed. Copyright Gretta Schifano

If you’re travelling abroad with your family then it’s really important to make sure you have decent travel insurance. It doesn’t really cost very much but the cost of not having it could be huge. 48% of people don’t realise that without travel insurance they’re liable to pay for their own medical bills abroad. Such bills can be huge –  an air ambulance from the Canary Islands to the UK can cost between £12,000 to £16,000.

Repatriation

I’ve actually been flown back from Italy twice by my holiday insurers and really appreciate the help they gave me. Both times were life-or-death family emergencies which meant we had to fly home immediately. Both times were horrendous but without insurance would have been so much worse. I hope that nothing like this ever happens to you but if it does then I hope that you’re insured.

Family travel insurance

Here are my tips to help you find the best family travel insurance policy:

  • Take out travel insurance as soon as you book a trip just in case you have to cancel your plans.
  • If you’re a UK resident travelling to Europe make sure everyone in the family has their own European Health Insurance Card, also known as an EHIC. This card entitles you to free or reduced cost public healthcare in Europe. An EHIC is free and you shouldn’t pay anything for it so make sure you apply for this card on the official government website because there are some unofficial EHIC websites which charge a fee. ((N.b. post-Brexit, when your EHIC expires you can apply for a free GHIC Global Health Insurance Card to replace it).
  • You still need travel insurance as well as an EHIC because the EHIC scheme doesn’t cover things like repatriation.
  • When you’re applying for travel insurance make sure you answer the questions fully and accurately, otherwise your policy may be invalid. Give full details of any medical conditions or medical treatment up front.
  • When choosing between European or Worldwide cover be careful to choose the right area – Turkey, for example, isn’t included as a European destination.
  • If you’ll be skiing, snowboarding, white water rafting or taking part in any other potentially dangerous activities make sure you mention this to the insurers as you probably won’t be covered for these in a standard policy. You may have to pay an extra charge.
  • The cheapest policy may not be the best and may be inadequate. Look at the cover provided by the policy and make sure it’s enough for you. For example, the cancellation cover must meet the cost of your holiday and the insurer should provide 24 hour emergency service and assistance. Work out the value of your possessions and make sure that they’ll be covered by the policy if they’re lost or stolen.
  • Multi-trip policies can work really well if you travel more than once a year. These cover you for a whole year for whichever geographical area you choose and can be very cost-effective. They also save you time and hassle as you don’t have to find travel insurance every time you book a trip.
  • Make a copy of your insurance and other documents and leave them with a friend or relative at home.
  • Take your insurance documents with you on your trip and make sure you know what the emergency contact number is in case you need it.

It's vital to have the right travel insurance in place before you set off on a trip, especially if you're travelling with your family. Hopefully you'll never need it, but just in case you do, click through for helpful advice on how to find the right travel insurance for you.

I think that’s everything! Do you have any tips to add to the list?

About Gretta Schifano

I'm a freelance journalist and blogger specialising in family travel with teenagers, trips when parents manage to travel without their kids, and 50+ travel. I also write about vegetarian travel, parenting teenagers, adoption, SEN, ADHD and anxiety. My work's been published by the Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, National Geographic Traveller, Lonely Planet and others. I've lived and worked in Italy and Spain and am now based in rural south-east England with my husband, adoptive and birth kids and our dog. I previously worked as a social action radio producer for the BBC.

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Comments

  1. Catherine says

    We always buy family travel insurance, and this year had to claim after our eldest broke his arm rather badly a week before we were due to go away and we were advised to cancel.

    My tip would be to check the excess: I hadn’t appreciated that on our policy it was per person, rather than per party. We actually only claimed for a single Eurotunnel crossing and one campsite stay, so £300 in total…but had to pay £250 excess, since our policy was £50 each. Apparently not all policies do this, so I will definitely check in future.
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  5. Lori says

    I have never really thought about travel insurance until I was stung with a bill in February in France. Thankfully it wasn’t too much but I wouldn’t travel without it now. Great post. x
    Lori recently posted…12/52My Profile

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  9. model mummy says

    Really great post and i have no tips to add as looks like you’ve covered everything!
    I have a health card but have not yet gotten around to getting one for my toddler yet so i have book marked the page and off to get her one now! Thank you!
    model mummy recently posted…Blog your heart outMy Profile

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  15. Louisa says

    Some really useful information thank you. We are wondering about travelling abroad and to be honest hadn’t even factored insurance into the overall cost.
    Louisa recently posted…ConfidenceMy Profile

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  18. Michelle says

    Thanks for all the great advice. We always buy travel insurance, wouldn’t dare travel overseas without it. When you think of the cost of things like medical bills, emergency flights etc the small cost of insurance is worth it for peace of mind should the worst happen.
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  23. lisa prince says

    i have been on a few holidays away a few years back but not with my family . I would think it be most improtnt thing to do , to be insured , hopefully you wont need to use it again hun x

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  25. Nicola Baird says

    A very useful post. The EHIC card lasts a long time too, which is a blessing. I recommend honesty on the documents (ie, fill in fully). I have one daughter who has to have medicine to keep her asthma under control. When she was 10 our family took a 4 month trip (involving homeschooling) so we could travel to the very humid (and gorgeous) Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. I was v nervous about putting down asthma on that travel insurance form, but it only cost £10 extra for her cover, and the peace of mind it gave me was astonishing. Never under-estimate peace of mind!

    By the way have just written a piece on ways to rent out a spare room, or your home to help make travel more affordable at
    http://islingtonfacesblog.com/2014/03/19/sponsored-rachel-zatz-traveller-airbnb-host/
    Nicola
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  28. mellissa williams says

    I have travel insurance with my credit card. I get charged £5 a month and it’s a really good deal, a brilliant card as they don’t charge you any transaction fees for using your credit card abroad.

    Recently I went to Rome and almost forgot about the EHIC card, I rang the day before and they covered us straight away over the phone. Even if your card hasn’t arrived you can still be covered.

    Thanks for these great tips 🙂
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This is a personal blog written and edited by me, Gretta Schifano. Sometimes I’m given products or sent on trips to review, but I always make this clear and give my honest opinion. See my About page for full details.