Is your Family Travel Insurance policy leaving your children stranded?

11-Jun-2010

If you are planning on travelling as a family this summer, or if your children are heading off alone, make sure that you double-check the terms on your family travel insurance policy carefully to avoid nasty surprises.  

Independent financial research company Defaqto has found that of the 423 policies that they recently surveyed, 28% will not cover children who normally live with an ex-partner rather than with the main policyholder, 28% will not cover step-children who do not live with the main policyholder and 49% of policies do not cover children who travel independently.

Many people will assume that if their family situation changes, their travel insurance will remain the same.  The above figures show that this is not the case. If you are separated from a partner and planning to take your kids away, or if you are taking out cover for a trip with your partner and step-children (and the children normally live with their other parent), you will need to change policies, or in some cases, providers.  

Also, if your child is planning a trip abroad alone or with friends, do not assume that they will be included on your policy simply because they still technically count as a financial dependent of yours.  Brian Brown, author of the report and Head of Research at Defaqto said: "Many travel insurers will insure your children and step-children as long as they live with you. But if you take children on holiday with you and they normally live with an ex-partner they might not be covered. Insurers only consider them as family if they permanently live at your address."

Mr Brown continued: "It's imperative that parents check the detail of their travel insurance policies to ensure that they have the cover they need before travelling.  In particular, couples who are not married, or have children from a previous relationship need to make sure that children are covered when travelling with them."   The first step should be to check the terms and conditions of your current travel insurance policy.  If you do not have the right level of cover for your family's needs, call up your provider and find out whether it is possible to upgrade or change the policy.  If you do not already have a policy but will require cover this year, make a list of the trips that you and your family members are making, together and separately, and speak to an adviser at the travel insurance company to ensure that these trips are all covered.  Also double-check your cover if your children or step-children do not usually live with you.  Being abroad with cancelled flights or lost baggage is not the time to find out that your family travel insurance is not sufficient.   Click here to start your travel insurance search.