Where to buy Travel Insurance for two single mums and their DCs

[GeetTallBird]

Going to Spain soon, 2 adults and 3 children under 8, no pre existing medical conditions.
We can't be classed as a "family" as we don't live together!
We have paid £150 for AXA all singing dancing cover, with no excess payable on anything. I think it's a bit expensive, do you have any ideas where else to look?

There's advice on how to buy travel insurance on moneysavingexpert.com, the headline is use comparethemarket.com i think (check!). We normally pay about £35 for an annual policy for a family of four, it would be much less for a one-holiday policy. Its worth remembering that you are not covered for cancellation unless you book your policy from tomorrow though, ie not just the duration of the holiday, but from now till the end of the hol iyswim

I always look at excesses and medical cover -we never take so much stuff that we would get much back if our bags were stolen, and we travel by train/budget airline and cancellation cover is per person per leg, so we probably wouldn't get much back in that instance either, so to me medical cover is most important (and you usually don't pay an excess if you have an ehic card, as the card covers it, so get one if you haven't already!).

Oh yeah, you'll need a policy per family, but i think you knew that.

We too pay £35 with nationwide, for a family of 4, for a year, with medical conditions.
Plus for Spain, don't you just apply online for ehic card, the old e111 form?

We always get ours from Insure & Go. They have lots of options available. Good price AND paid out on the policy for slme pricey tickets to Australia when we couldn't go due to illness!

post office ?

Oblomov - yes you're right, you need the medical reciprocation card but I was just thinking of baggage and cancellation cover. It was booked in a travel agents, there's a cooling off period though.
Gybegirl - will look at Insure and Go, thanks and Janek I was kinda hoping there might be a "group" policy I could look into! But yes it appears that we will have to do it as two families.
Best get googling!

Oblomov - NO. This is seriously wrong.

you do need the EHIC card but it is not a substitute for travel insurance. It gets you the treatment the locals get. It does not get you repatriated if you have serious medical problems. It also doesn't get you baggage or cancellation cover but those problems never bankrupted anyone.

there are people languishing in EU hospitals unable to get home and racking up huge medical bills because they thought as you do. No-one should ever cross their border without travel insurance.

end of rant.

OP - try the online insurers as that policy is hugely expensive, as are all travel agent ones.

Yep - been quoted £47 for an online insurer with no excess, thats a two thirds less - that would pay for airport parking and a huge gin in departures

Just wanted to confirm what specialsubject said - an ehic is necessary as it gets you emergency care. It does not cover repatriation of a sick person (or a dead one), additional accommodation expenses incurred due to one of the party being in hospital, nor their hospital stay. Therefore get insurance. And i speak as someone who didn't know this for many years, so often travelled without, and now i feel a fool!

you weren't alone in this belief:

www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2011/10/22/no-travel-insurance-for-20-of-bristish-holidaymakers/

what you also proved is that most holidays are trouble free. This is good - but doesn't negate the need for insurance!

OP, that quote of £47 sounds about right. Enjoy the trip! (oh, and remember that EHIC cards are free, and you need one for everybody)

The travel agent is not happy we want to cancel it though!

A How long ago did you take out the insurance?

Every policy has a 14 day cooling off period where as long as you have not claimed, you are within your rights to cancel just because you want to.

I can also recommend Insure and Go. They seem to be quite human and realise one size does not fit all. I have used them a few times now.

Bet they're not , they get commission !

As someone else mentioned, you should have a 14 day cooling off period when you should be able to get a full refund.

How long are you going for? That seems very very high even for a travel agent. Which one was it?

Meant to say, I'm a travel agent that uses Insure and Go so would highly recommend them.

Just a week in June, but i think they were determined that as they'd matched the online Thomson price we had to pay for something. I've said i want to cancel and they say I have to put it in writing with my reasons for it, authorise my mate to get a refund and also authorise them to cancel it and sign a disclaimer saying I'm no longer insured. Sigh!

We have an (inexpensive) annual policy from the Post Office.

You do need EHIC as well.

Well here's a thing. AXA online was £38 after declaring pre existing conditions & paying a small extra premium.
Exact same policy, at the travel agents (without declaring pre existing medical conditions) is £150. That's some commission that, mind!