Focus on Travel Insurance

Travel insurance gives extra protection if your holiday doesn’t go as planned. It protects you if:

• You have a medical emergency abroad
• Your personal items such as money and passports are lost or stolen,
• Your trip is cut short for reasons beyond your control

If you don’t have travel insurance you will have to pay out of your own pocket to deal with a problem while you’re away. Or you may lose money if you have to cancel a trip and can’t get your money back. Travel insurance is widely available from organisations such as insurance companies, banks, travel agents, online comparison websites and retailers. Choose a policy that suits your circumstances: age, destination, frequency of travel, whether you are travelling alone, if it’s a package holiday and any sporting activities you are engaging in such as skiing or scuba diving.

What Policy?

You can check the different policies on offer and how much they cost by using an online comparison website, however, these usually only offer general cover. If you have particular needs, it may be better to find an insurer that offers specialist cover. If an insurer or broker can’t offer you insurance because of your age, most of them will refer you to an alternative insurer or give details of a signposting service such as the British Insurance Brokers’ Association’s (BIBA’s) ‘Find a Broker’ service. You can use this service to find specialist insurers who offer cover based on factors such as age and medical condition – contact them on 0870 950 1790 or www.biba.org.uk.

For more advice on travel insurance, go to: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/insurance/types-of-insurance/travel-insurance1/travel-insurance/

If you would like to speak to an adviser, please call the Citizens Advice Basingstoke free Adviceline on 0808 278 7829, Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm. Citizens Advice Basingstoke is an independent charity, helping local people to resolve their problems. We are here to help.

National Citizens advice website www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Registered charity no 900116.

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