Don’t forget to take out travel insurance

The information below has come through to us from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) – we would advise all expats (regardless of whether you are British citizens or not!) to make sure that you have adequate insurance cover prior to travelling. The below is provided to give you a good idea of what you should consider.

How to protect yourself financially if your holiday goes wrong.

Your credit card accident cover, home insurance, European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or private health cover is not always sufficient. An emergency abroad can be extremely expensive. If you need to be returned to the UK (or your place of residence) it could cost you thousands of pounds, unless you are adequately insured:

  • £35-45,000 – air ambulance from USA’s East coast
  • £12-16,000 – air ambulance from the Canary Islands
  • £15-20,000 – scheduled flight, stretcher and doctor escort from Australia (figures supplied by FirstAssist Services Ltd)

Remember: the British Embassy or High Commission will not pay for this.

What your travel insurance policy should cover:

  • Medical and health cover for an injury or sudden illness abroad
  • 24-hour emergency service and assistance
  • Personal liability cover in case you’re sued for causing injury or damaging property
  • Lost and stolen possessions cover
  • Cancellation and curtailment (cutting short your trip) cover
  • Extra cover for activities that are commonly excluded from standard policies, such as jet skiing

The policy should cover the whole time that you’re away. Multi-trip policies may specify a maximum number of concurrent days’ travel.

Please check out this website for more information: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-insurance

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