The short answer to the question of what is excess in travel insurance is: The amount of money you agree to pay to insurance company if something happens and you need to make a claim. To make it even more simple, you have to pay to buy the insurance policy regardless if you use it or not. But in the case that you do need to use it, you will also have to pay an excess amount. The excess can be anywhere from $50 to $1000+ depending on your insurance policy.
You’re booking your family holiday deal, and the last thing on your mind is making sure you have insurance, but do stop and think about it. Travel insurance is the most important thing to have if you are in a crisis situation and can help fix a lot of issues from medical care to paying for flights that you have to cancel, legal expenses or even loss or damage to you or your personal possessions.
Medical Care
If you get ill you need to be covered for your medical expenses. Most insurances will pay for transporting you to a decent medical establishment and even evacuating you out of the country if your condition can’t be treated well there. Be careful that existing conditions you or your family have are still covered for when you take out the insurance.
Cancellation & Curtailment
If you have to come home early because your home got damaged in a flood, or you had to cancel your trip due to illness of yourself or a family member this would cover your costs.
Personal Liability & Legal Expenses
Its rare we hurt someone or damage something on purpose, but if it happened that you did damage someone or something by mistake this would cover your personal liability costs and also any legal fees for resolving the issues.
Personal Accident
No one wants to think of themselves or their kids being hurt, but if you were, then you would be entitled to some money to compensate you.
Personal Possessions, Money, Passports & Luggage
If your camera, bag, mobile phone or jewellery was stolen, or if a bag went missing on the aeroplane this makes sure you can replace it. There are usually limits on the value of things covered however so check what they are and that everything you wish
to take will be insured.
All policies including family travel insurance can be different and will vary in terms of the level of cover they provide. Check the fine print and make sure that what you will be doing while away (extreme sports or skiing for example) will be covered.
There are two main types of policy – single trip insurance or annual insurance. If you’re going on just one holiday in a year then single trip insurance is likely to work out best for you, while if you’re taking 4 or more then annual will generally offer the best price. If you’re likely to take 2 or 3 then check out both options as what offers you the best value for money may vary.
