Worldwide Insure

And how to find out more about airport delays!

With the Easter holidays firmly behind us, so is the potential of long travel delays and missed flights at airports. This doesn’t mean that travellers should become complacent though – as summer, believe it or not is only just around the corner – and the fun of getting to the airport or to your hotel on time begins all over again.

The fact is that despite the many deals out there – holidays are not cheap, so if you miss a flight or a night at a hotel through travel delays, it can make a holiday even more costly; and stressful – for everyone. That is one of the reasons that travel insurance was invented – to actually save you money if things do not go as planned.

There is no specific travel insurance for missed flights, but regular travel insurance should cover the cost of hotels and flights if the worst happens – BUT ALWAYS CHECK WITH YOUR POLICY PROVIDER FIRST! And do not be fooled when it comes to airline companies offering compensation for disrupted flights – the whole process is not as cut and dry as you think it should be, and often, they are not obliged to pay any compensation at all for flights, let alone hotels!

To find out whether there may be disruptions to your flight – we recommend checking out http://www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/air and to find out how clear the journey ahead is to the airport, the Highways Agency offers up to the minute information for the whole of England http://www.highways.gov.uk/traffic/traffic.aspx

Travellers heading to Asia should be aware that there have been reports that a drug-resistant form of Malaria is spreading across Thailand, and therefore it is of paramount importance that they have the correct travel health insurance.

According to a report in New Scientist, malaria parasites in west Thailand are becoming resistant to the most effective antimalarial drugs, with response time to treatment doubling in some cases. This appears to be the latest news instalment from a problem that was first identified in Cambodia as far back as 2006.

The greatest concern in the scientific community is firstly that the problem will continue to spread to Africa, where the highest number of deaths from Malaria occur; and secondly, that the enhanced genetic resistance of parasites in Cambodia will render the use of current drugs futile.

In the meantime however, travellers need to know how best to deal with the risk whilst travelling in Thailand. Firstly, make sure that you have taken the right antimalarial medicines, and that you have taken them correctly, secondly, ensure that you have the right travel insurance for your journey, as in the event that the medication does not work well enough, immediate medical attention is essential – in fact, it is potentially lifesaving.

Symptoms of Malaria are similar to that of flu including:

• Fever or high temperature
• Muscle pain
• Headache
• Diarrhoea
• Sweats and chills
• Generally feeling unwell

According to UK studies most UK Travellers that catch Malaria (around 1,500 per year) do so either because they have not taken the right medication for the part of the world they are visiting, or they have not taken Malaria medication at all. For more information about Malaria, visit the NHS advice page: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Malaria/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

And do I need travel insurance if I have one?

A European Health Insurance Card, also known as an EHIC entitles the holder to medical treatment abroad at the same cost a resident of that country would be expected to pay – in the event of an accident or injury. While the card alone can save the bearer a huge amount of money in medical bills – it does have its limitations.

These limitations, in relation to the types of injuries or ailments that can be treated for free or very little, vary from country to country. For example in France visitors are expected to pay £17 to see a GP, but hospital treatment is free; however – if you need an ambulance it must be paid for.

But the real limitations occur when facing the knock on effects of an accident or illness abroad, which can have a huge impact on a bank balance. Whilst medical bills may be covered, being flown back to the UK because you have missed your flight is not.

For this reason, the Government recommends that travellers take out private travel insurance as well as registering for a free European Health Insurance Card. For more information about what a European Health Insurance Card covers please visit the NHS EHIC advice page.

If you have an illness, or have been unwell in the past, you may find that your pre-existing medical condition pushes your travel insurance premium up, and in some cases, prevents you getting cover at all; but this is only if you want a pre-existing problem covered by your travel insurance. It is up to you whether you want to get cover for that condition or not, but you must be aware that if the pre-existing illness requires treatment on holiday or  means that you have to cut your holiday short – your insurance will not cover the costs as your condition will be considered excluded from the policy. If you require medical assistance or have an injury that is not connected with the pre-existing condition, your normal travel insurance will provide cover.

The other option is to purchase special travel insurance that provides cover for pre-existing medical conditions. Whilst Travel insurance for pre-existing medical conditions is more costly, it does mean that if you are at risk of suffering from a pre-existing condition, you will be covered for all eventualities.