'Birdof paradise' If you are a resident of 1 country i.e. Spain and then try and purchase travel insurance from another country i.e. U.K. you will most likely find that the company will not pay out ANYTHING as you made a false statement on the proposal. Most companies ask you to sign that you are a resident of the company that you want the policy to start from. There are a few specialist companies that do offer ex-pat insurance but sometimes their premiums are higher than they charge for U.K. residents. Also if you need to be medically brought 'home' it will be to UK not Spain. Also they will ask to see your 'tickets' to confirm that you have not exceeded your maximum number of days. The bottom line is don't try and cheat an insurance company because they can and do refuse any claim if you have tried to mislead them.
Here is a warning from YahooUK/DAily Telegraph about comparing policy wording as well as price.
Almost 60 million trips abroad are made by British travellers every year. And millions of those trips are made by holidaymakers who happily believe their travel insurer will ride to the rescue if anything goes wrong.
Beware. This popular form of insurance is riddled with exclusions, many of which travellers know nothing about. And you should never make the mistake of thinking that one policy is like another.
Research conducted for The Telegraph by the British Insurance Brokers' Association (Biba) has found wide variation in cover, from horse riding to cancellation rules. Biba examined 15 leading single trip travel insurance policies to compare the level of cover available.
Graeme Trudgill, Biba's executive director, said: "There is a massive variation of policy cover and wording through the many competitive travel insurance policies. Cover will be available for your needs, but don't just focus on price alone, make sure that you have the right levels of protection and if you are in doubt, speak to a broker or call the provider to check."
One policy that Biba was not able to provide a clear comparison for was cruise exclusion, which covers the cost of getting medical treatment to a traveller on a cruise, or getting them to shore. If this is not covered, a traveller who has to be airlifted to hospital, for example, could be landed with a steep bill.
Biba experts examined the 15 single-trip policies for their cruise exclusions, but found that in many it was not mentioned. Some providers even have separate cruise policies, making it more important to check what is covered before you travel.
Caroline Lloyd, travel insurance spokesman at Gocompare.com, said: "Travel insurance policy wording can be baffling, even for seasoned travellers, but it's important to familiarise yourself with your insurer's cover levels, exclusions and claims process before you go on holiday.
"If you're none the wiser after reading your policy document, give your insurer a call to make sure that you understand what's covered, what isn't, and how to go about making a claim should you need to."
Here are 10 key areas to watch out for.
Trekking
Insurers have different rules on the height above sea level of treks that they will cover as standard. Admiral, for example, covers hiking as standard below 4,000m, but you need to pay a premium of £6 on their standard seven-day policy to climb higher so you'll have to fork out before attempting Mount Kilimanjaro. Asda's policy covers up to 1,000m with no guide or ropes, while PJ Hayman's policy covers treks up to 3,000m as standard, as long as it is an organised activity. Asda's policy also only covers climbing and trekking activities if they are not the main focus of the holiday.
Alcohol
Alcohol exclusions are surprisingly common in travel insurance policies and a major cause of complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service when insurers refuse to pay. All the policies reviewed had some form of alcohol exclusion, but there were different definitions. Admiral specifies a blood/alcohol reading level, Asda has a general clause relating to the "misuse" of alcohol, and LV's exclusions refer to being "under the influence".
The ombudsman says insurers cannot simply assume that certain injuries are alcohol-related, and must provide CCTV footage or witness evidence if hospital blood tests are not available.
Missed departure
Missed departure is often featured on a policy's summary document but it does not necessarily cover both outbound and inbound journeys. The Telegraph has reported cases where customers were left hundreds of pounds out of pocket after missing their flight home through no fault of their own and were held liable for the cost.
Biba found that Admiral and Rias did not cover inbound journeys at all, while others had strict rules on the amount of time customers had to allow to reach the airport and what reasons for missing the flight would be covered.
Horse riding
Most of the policies reviewed cover horse riding as standard. However, LV only covers this activity under its Premier policy and if customers wear a riding helmet, while Saga provides cover only if the activity is professionally organised and supervised.
Scuba diving
Scuba diving coverage varies depending on how deep you dive. Aviva will insure you down to 15m, while Esure covers customers down to 30m if they are accompanied by a qualified instructor. PJ Hayman offers cover down to 30m as long as people have a diving qualification and are not diving alone. There may also be other requirements to check Tokio Marine states that customers must not fly within 24 hours of their last dive, for example.
Medical conditional for 'close' family members
A key risk covered by travel insurance is the possibility that the trip will have to be cancelled or cut short if a relative at home falls ill or even dies. All 15 travel policies provided cancellation or curtailment cover for this scenario, although the level of cover varied, said Biba.
It is worth checking cover for close business colleagues if your holiday depends on a colleague covering for you at work. Biba found 11 policies included cancellation and curtailment cover related to close business colleagues, but Admiral, Direct Line, More Than and RIAS did not.
Excesses
The excess is the amount you have to pay towards any claim but it is not straightforward. Some policies apply one excess fee per claim, but others will demand an excess payment for every relevant section of the policy. If a handbag gets stolen, for example, insurers such as Tokio Marine will charge one excess, while others, including Admiral and Direct Travel, could charge more a £150 fee for a lost bag and another £150 for lost money, for example.
EHIC
The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is free and entitles you to free or discounted medical care in state-run hospitals and medical clinics across the EU as well as in Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Since this helps reduce your medical costs abroad, 12 of the 15 insurers will either reduce or waive their excess.
Delay
If sitting waiting at an airport for a delayed flight becomes too much and you decide to cancel your trip check how long you have waited first. Aviva and Asda insurance require 24 hours' delay before covering cancellation costs, but RIAS and Esure will cover them after 12 hours.
Valuables
If you are taking an iPad, Kindle or laptop away with you or any other expensive item make sure you check your valuables limit (assuming the items are not covered by your home insurance). Biba found that single article limits started at just £50 up to a maximum of around £500. Admiral has a single-item limit of £200, but the excess is £150 although you can pay an excess waiver of £8.10. The overall valuables limits ranged from £1,500 to £2,000.
The policies reviewed were: More Than Travel Insurance; Admiral Travel Insurance; Tokio Marine; Rias Personal Travel Insurance; PJ Hayman Travel Plus; Saga Travel Insurance; LV Travel Insurance; Thomas Cook Traveller and Traveller Policy; Post Office Your Travel Insurance Policy; Aviva; Asda; Esure Travel Insurance; Direct Line single trip travel policy; Easyjet; and Direct Travel.
[Don’t get caught out on holiday – compare travel insurance policies]
Biba.org.uk