Be careful what you buy...
There are few products that you actively buy hoping never to use but travel insurance is definitely one of them. However, whilst many people are aware of many of the most important elements of a travel policy such as medical assistance and repatriation, there are some areas that are often overlooked.
The first is "activities": It is important to ask yourself the question "Does our policy cover all the activities that we plan to be participating in?" For adventurous expeditions, perhaps involving trekking at altitude, a standard insurance policy is unlikely to provide cover. Nor will it cover activities such as white water rafting, camel trekking or community work, to name but a few. If you are using the services of a tour operator to arrange your itinerary, then their insurance policy is likely to cover all the activities that they are providing, but it is worth double checking.
Perhaps the most overlooked part of travel policies is that of liability insurance. Many policies do not automatically include cover for this, and yet it is a vital part of covering your financial risk. Liability insurance covers you and your pupils' liability for other people's property and possessions whilst you are travelling. Take the following true story as an example:
A woman travelled to Florence on a business trip and stayed in a recently restored 4 star regency hotel. Her room was on the 5th floor and one night, distracted by a phone call, she forgot that she had started to run a bath... The resulting damage to the hotel from her over-flowing bath was valued at over £750,000 - all due to a moment of forgetfulness that any of us would be capable of.
Whilst a 4 star hotel is unlikely to feature on a school trip, the need to protect our liability is relevant to all. In the above example, the lady in question did have liability insurance as part of her travel insurance cover and the insurers concerned picked up the tab for the redecoration of the hotel!
For an instant on-line quite on travel insurance, visit our dedicated page.