What's the deal with holiday insurance?:Not only is travel insurance almost certainly the dullest thing on any summer holiday check list, it is also considered by many to be a complete waste of money, thanks to some unscrupulous tour operators who zealously flog over-priced policies to unwitting holidaymakers, writes Conor Pope
But once you look beyond the boredom and the sharks, it probably should be the first thing in your suitcase. If something goes wrong while you're on holidays this year and you're one of the 40 per cent of Irish people who don't have insurance, the oversight could end up costing you an arm and a leg.
With all manner of terrible things - including cancelled flights, lost bags, theft, illness, wars, earthquakes or worse - just waiting to happen, it is remarkable that nearly half of us blithely disregard the gods and take our holidays without bothering to take out any insurance at all.
While the number of Irish people travelling overseas has grown significantly - in the first three months of this year 1.5 million trips abroad were taken at a cost of €1.1 billion - the take-up of travel insurance is not increasing so fast. According to a study published by the VHI earlier this month, only 57 per cent of Irish people who travelled abroad for leisure purposes last year had insurance.
"Two out of every five people are travelling abroad with no travel insurance. They need to consider the risks," says Declan Moran of VHI Healthcare.
And there are risks. According to the VHI, 2,338 of its members needed emergency treatment while abroad last year at a total cost of €8,712,239 - an average of €3,726 per head. The total cost of bringing the VHI's sick and injured home following emergency medical treatment abroad was €1,505,147.
While travel insurance can be cheap, the costs associated with things going wrong are anything but. If you break a leg in the US, for instance, the medical expenses alone will set you back €15,000. If you are unlucky enough to need an air ambulance to take you home from a trip to Ibiza, there will be little change out of €10,000.
The VHI was publishing its research to draw attention to its annual, multi-trip travel insurance policy available to members for €49 - not much more than some tour operators charge for a fortnight's cover in a nearby resort.
The high charges applied by some tour operators annoy many travellers. One reader contacted us to complain that the price of travel insurance he was quoted from one tour operator was five times the quote he got through a different company. It is not just tour operators who inflate premium prices - prices vary widely from company to company.
It is worth bearing in mind that many companies also offer substantial discounts to people with health insurance policies, while multi-trip policies can be considerably better value as long as you plan to take more than two trips abroad each year or visit the US at least once.
The high cost of medical treatment in the US is reflected in significantly higher premiums covering trips there, so if you're not planning to go Stateside, make sure to choose a policy offering Europe-only cover. This always works out significantly cheaper than any worldwide packages on offer so don't be talked into the more expensive options if you don't think you will need them - you can always upgrade at a later date should a trip to Vegas suddenly appear on the horizon.
With travel insurance, the cheapest option is not always the best one and what is of far greater importance is an understanding of the terms and conditions which govern the policy. These terms and conditions can extend to more than 25 pages of densely written prose which most people don't bother with.
A study published last week in the UK showed that more than three-quarters of holidaymakers had no idea whether their travel insurance gave them the right protection. Of 2,000 people questioned by Go Travel Insurance, 78 per cent said they had not read the terms and conditions on their policies and did not know the details of their cover, including exclusions and the level of protection offered. There is little reason to imagine that Irish holidaymakers are any better informed.
You should also be wary of any travel insurance offered with your credit card no matter how attractive the issuer makes it seem. Often when you study the terms and conditions you're only being offered fairly limited accident insurance covering incidents which occur while you are on a train, bus, plane or rented car which has been paid for on the card - not much use when you find you've been bitten by a Portuguese man-of-war while diving in the Caribbean.
Prices at a glance
AIB Single trip €41 Multi-trip €81
Bank of Ireland Single Trip €50 Multi-trip €107
www.123.ie Single Trip €35 Multi-trip €76
AA Single trip €28 (members) €35 (non-members) Multi-trip €115 (members) €145 (non-members)
VHI Single trip N/A Multi-trip €49 (available to members only)
ACE Single trip €18 Multi-trip €49
GetCover Single Trip €45 Multi-trip €69
All prices are for worldwide travel insurance for one person; the single trip polices are for up to 17 days and the multi-trip policies are for up to one year
Safe and warm dos and don'ts for a happy holiday
Do arrange your travel insurance well in advance. Some 65 per cent of all claims are for cancellations due to changing circumstances or family bereavements.
Do read the terms and conditions. Yes it is tiresome and you sometimes need a microscope to read the fine print but there's no point in buying a policy only to find it invalidated because of that white water rafting incident.
Do bring all emergency contact details with you even if you're going on a package holiday. Unless you have taken a policy out directly with a tour operator, the reps won't have a breeze what you need to do to make an emergency claim.
Do keep all your receipts - if you incur any expenses because of lost baggage, crime or illness, your claim will not be entertained unless you can prove you bought that Picasso etching.
Don't forget to contact the local police in the event of a theft overseas. In the absence of a
police report, a claim will be difficult or impossible.
Don't forget to sign up for a European Health Insurance Card if you are travelling within the EU.
It is not a replacement for travel insurance and won't cover repatriation costs or lost money, baggage or cancellation, but is useful all the same.
Forms can be downloaded from www.ehic.ie/onlineapp.htm
Don't just download the form - fill it in before going holiday.
