TRAVEL: Holidaymakers pay for travel insurance to give them peace of mind while they are abroad and during transit but, unfortunately, most people don't take the trouble to read the policy until they need to claim.

Two cases handled by the Insurance Ombudsman of Ireland provide lessons for those who expect too much from their travel insurance.

In the first case, a sum of money and personal belongings were stolen from the tourist's holiday apartment. The insurance company declined the element of the subsequent claim relating to the stolen sum of money on the grounds that the money had been left unattended at the time of the burglary.

The terms of the policy document clearly indicated that the insurance company would not be liable for the loss or theft of "unattended money except when left in hotel security, safety deposit or safe".

The unattended money exclusion is a clause often found in travel insurance policies and is almost always accompanied by a reasonable care condition. In the circumstances of this particular case, the money in question was deemed unattended and the complaint to the Ombudsman was not upheld.

The office of the Ombudsman regularly receives cases where unattended money or valuables have been stolen from a hotel room, apartment or beach and a subsequent claim has been declined by the insurance company.

For such a claim to succeed, the insured must demonstrate that the money or valuables were carried on the insured's person, or placed in a safety deposit box or other similar receptacle at the time of the loss.

The Ombudsman warns that policyholders should also bear in mind that successful claims for lost money and valuables will be settled in accordance with the maximum limits under the terms of the insurance policy. This is generally €315 in the case of money and €1,576 in the case of valuables.

The second travel insurance case relates to damage to luggage and loss of personal items in transit.

Upon arrival in Dublin airport, the insured discovered that two of his suitcases had been damaged on the journey. As he was tired, he did not report the damage to anyone at the airport at that time.

When he arrived home that night he also discovered that items were missing from his luggage. Approximately six weeks later he submitted a claim form to his insurance company.

The policy document specifically excluded claims for personal baggage unless a written police report was obtained within 24 hours of the discovery of loss and a Property Irregularity Report obtained from the airline. The company declined the claim on the grounds that he had failed to comply with these two important conditions under his policy. The man's complaint to the Ombudsman's office was not upheld.