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Daily Record

Lifestyle

Linda Howard

Essential guide to travel insurance when planning a staycation anywhere in the UK this year

A new Aviva study has found that more than half of UK adults (53%) plan to take a holiday in the UK over the next 12 months.

According to the insurer’s latest ‘How We Live’ report, plans for camping and caravan trips are back up to pre-pandemic levels with 13 per cent of UK residents planning one in the next year, while self-catering cottages are climbing in popularity (16%).

While travel insurance is generally associated with holidays overseas, there are benefits to taking out cover when staying on home turf.

Aviva has put together essential information for people thinking about holidaying in the UK.

As lockdown eases more Scots are thinking about making travel plans (Getty Images)

Cover for cancellations unrelated to Covid, such as injury, jury service and redundancy

While many holiday companies and accommodation providers are offering flexibility in the event of future lockdowns, travel cover can provide extra protection for other unforeseen situations.

Travel insurance is designed to help customers in the case of an unexpected emergency. This could mean something that occurs on holiday or an incident that happens beforehand which disrupts travel plans.

Many policies enable people to claim if they need to cancel a trip for the following reasons:

A customer, their travelling companion or a close family member falls ill or is injured
A customer is called to serve on a jury when they were meant to be on holiday
A customer is made redundant
A customer’s home is made uninhabitable by fire or flood

Research by Aviva discovered only 12 per cent of holidaymakers believed they would be covered in the event of being made redundant, so it’s worth checking policy documentation.

Minimum stays and pre-booking may be required in order to claim for UK breaks

Travel insurance can be used to protect UK-based travel plans, but insurance providers will usually require that holiday accommodation is pre-booked and there may be a minimum stay, such as two consecutive nights.

Trips where customers are staying with family and friends will normally not be covered and when camping or staying at a caravan park, the accommodation will usually need to be a commercially-run site and booked in advance.

Cover for baggage

When it comes to travel insurance, it’s important not to assume that baggage is covered as standard. Some providers may offer luggage insurance as an optional add-on. However, customers may already have cover elsewhere so it’s worth checking that they aren’t doubling up.

Cover for personal belongings

This is often an optional add-on under home insurance and can provide cover for personal items anywhere in the world.

This can include cover for money and credit cards and even tents, although there may be exclusions for some items such as sports equipment.

There will probably be a single item limit (typically around £2,000) and any items above this limit should be listed separately on the policy.

Pedal cycle insurance

Cycling has soared in popularity in the last year and pedal cycles have become an integral part of UK breaks for many holidaymakers. While home insurance will usually cover bicycles in the home, extra insurance may be required to provide protection when bikes are out and about.

Many home insurance policies offer a pedal cycle add-on to provide cover in the UK and overseas, while some specialist providers such as Ripe, provide stand-alone cover.

Most insurance providers will state that bikes can only be covered if locked in a building or fixed to an object which can’t be moved, such as a railing, bike rack or even attached to a car rack, so a sturdy lock is an important partner for a pedal cycle.

The advantage of a staycation is that every member of the family can go (Getty Images)

Cover should be taken out as soon as a break is booked

Insurers advise that people should purchase cover as soon as they have booked a holiday, in case an event occurs which means they need to cancel their plans.

If someone doesn’t have cover in place and their situation changes before the holiday, meaning they’re unable to travel, unfortunately they won’t be able to make a claim. This could mean losing a deposit, or even the full cost of the holiday.

Essential to disclose medical history

A person’s medical history is incredibly important when taking out travel insurance, as are any health changes that occur between them purchasing cover and travelling.

This allows the insurer to appropriately assess the medical risks each customer poses, along with any other risks, in order to provide cover at a fair price.

For those who have travel insurance through their bank or as an annual policy which renews automatically, it’s crucial that they check their cover at renewal and inform their insurance provider if anything has changed or before they book a holiday.

If in any doubt about what to disclose, it’s best for customers to check with their insurance provider.