Travel insurance offers financial protection for unforeseen events whilst travelling or while on holiday. Having financial protection in place will give you peace of mind that many expenses arising from these events will be covered by your travel insurance policy.

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Table of Content

What is travel insurance?

Travel insurance offers financial protection if you require medical assistance while on holiday. It will cover emergency medical treatment abroad. It will also offer cover if you need medical evacuation to a local healthcare facility or repatriation home in a medical emergency.

Disruption to your travel arrangements is also covered, in varying degrees,by travel insurance.  Additional expenses due to cancelled flights, delays, or lost baggage should be covered. If you need to cancel your holiday due to illness of a close family member, for example, travel insurance will offer financial protection.

Personal liability cover is generally included in travel insurance ie. if you cause an accident or injure another person while on holiday.

Travel insurance offers financial protection if you require medical assistance while on holiday

Who offers travel insurance in Ireland?

When choosing a travel insurance provider in Ireland you should consider the following providers.

AIG - Home Insurance
An Post - Home Insurance
AA - Home Insurance
Allianz - Home Insurance
Aviva - Home Insurance
laya

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There is a huge range of protection offered by the travel insurance providers and the types of cover and extent of cover can also be different between insurers.

A number of non-traditional insurance companies such as An Post have entered the market in recent years.

AIG Travel Insurance

AIG - Home Insurance

AIG offers a wide range of policies to cover single trip, multi trip, long stay, winter sports, family holiday, backpacker, and golf insurance policies available.

They also offer car hire excess policies.

AIG’s premier plus level policies offer unlimited medical expenses cover, giving you complete peace of mind.

An Post Travel Insurance

An Post - Home Insurance

An Post offers single or multi trip cover for families, couples, or individuals.  

They offer good cover for families with up to seven children under 18 covered on one policy, as well as young adults aged 18-22 who are in full time education.

An Post gives an up to 30% discount if you purchase travel insurance online.

AA Travel Insurance

AA - Home Insurance

AA travel insurance offers single, multitrip, backpackers, and winter sports travel insurance.

Access to an English speaking GP 24/7 is included in all policies which could provide reassurance if you need to get medical advice.

Blue Insurance Travel Insurance

Blue insurance offers single, multitrip, and backpackers travel insurance.You can also include winter sports cover as an additional option.

Blue insurance also offers car hire excess and gadget insurance so it might be worth getting additional cover from the same provider if you wish to purchase additional cover for car hire, or gadgets etc.

Multitrip.com Travel Insurance

Multitrip.com offers cover for single, multitrip, backpacker, family and skiing holidays.  

Multi trip.com also offers specialised cover for weddings, cruises, over 70’s, and business travel.

Over 70’s travel insurance is available to those with pre-existing medical conditions and offers this age group up to €20 million in medical expenses cover.

Insureandgo.ie Travel Insurance

Insureandgo.ie offers single and multi trip cover for individuals, couples, or families.

Their long stay travel insurance offers protection for trips of up to 12 months duration for business or personal travellers.

Cornmarket Travel Insurance

Cornmarket travel insurance offers protection at three levels – Silver, Gold or Platinum.  

Cornmarket offers free winter sport cover for 50 sports as standard in all their policies.

Allianz Travel Insurance

Allianz - Home Insurance

Allianz offers a comprehensive range of travel insurance products with cover at Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels.

Allianz offers insurance specifically for business travellers with additional protection such as cover for business equipment and gadgets, as well as assistance towards travel for a business associate to complete your trip should you have to come home early.  

Aviva Travel Insurance

Aviva - Home Insurance

Aviva offers travel or holiday insurance at two levels – Holiday and Holiday Plus, as well as Backpacker insurance.Winter sports cover and car hire excess cover are available as  optional extras. 

Aviva offers unlimited Chubb assistance in association with Chubb European Group which offers emergency medical assistance, evacuation, and repatriation when needed as well as interpreter services and legal advice abroad.

Laya Travel Insurance

laya

Laya offers travel insurance for single trip, multitrip, backpackers cover, and car hire excess.   

Laya’s cover offers additional extra protection for Winter Sports, Golf Travel. Weddings, and Natural Catastrophe Cover.

How to compare travel insurance?

Having paid for that expensive trip or holiday, nobody wants to have to fork out a lot for travel insurance on top but travel insurance will more than pay for itself if something goes wrong.

It is important to consider other factors as well as price also so that you get the best cover for you:

Comparing travel insurance policies on price is important, especially, if you are purchasing, for example, a simple insurance policy such as a single trip policy to Europe and you have health insurance.  

However, it is also important to ensure that the cover you are offered is appropriate for the trip you are taking and that it is the best cover for your circumstances, rather than comparing on price alone.

The medical expenses limit varies widely between policies and it is important to pay attention to the upper limit, especially if you are travelling to the US, for example, where healthcare is extremely expensive.  

Medical evacuation and repatriation cover can also vary between policies and it is important when comparing policies to check what you are paying for.

Emergency medical treatment, medical evacuation, and repatriation are a key point of comparison between travel insurance policies as the levels of protection offered vary substantially between policies and the expenses involved are substantial.

The financial protection offered towards having to cancel or curtail your trip can vary between policies.Ensure that the amount offered in your policy is enough to compensate you for the cost of your holiday, should you be forced to cancel.

Again, ensure that the protection offered for missed flights and connection is high enough to cover the expense of making alternative travel arrangements.

If you need to curtail your trip, cover can vary between insurers. Ensure that the protection offered is enough to cover this unforeseen expense.

The excess is the amount you pay out of pocket before you receive any benefit from your insurance policy. The excess can vary between policies. 

It is important to check how much the excess on the policy is as you will be faced with this expense if you need to make a claim.

Travelling is stressful and things can easily go wrong. Being covered for the unexpected can make your travelling experience less stressful.

At a minimum it is important to go with an insurer who offers phone support 24/7.  

Some insurers offer medical advice from a nurse or a GP and some policies provide for an interpreter. The last thing you need in an emergency is to be unable to access support.

From a lost passport, to mislaid baggage, to a broken phone or being pickpocketed. All of these events can curtail our holiday. It is important to check what you are covered for and to ensure that the limits in your travel insurance policy are enough to cover the cost of replacing your possessions.

If you have pre existing medical conditions, it is important to ensure that you understand what is included in your policy and that the cover is appropriate for you rather than just purchasing the cheapest policy. 

If you are travelling with children, or with older relatives, it is essential to ensure that the travel insurance you purchase is suitable for their needs. It is essential that your travel insurance is sufficient that they can get care if they need it while on holiday.

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What do all travel insurance policies cover?

Below are some features that are common to almost all travel insurance. When comparing travel insurance, it is a good idea to look at these features of the policy first as they are the things that often go wrong when you are travelling.

All Insurers offer support to their customers while on holiday. Insurers may offer a helpline to offer you advice or support or some offer medical information while you are abroad.

If you are unable to go on holiday due to death or serious illness of a close family member, your travel insurance will compensate you. Likewise, if you are forced to cut your holiday short, you are protected.

If your baggage is delayed or lost in transit, travel insurance will offer you protection.There may be time limits where you can only claim if your baggage is delayed or lost past a certain time period.

If you lose your passport, possessions, or lose money or are pickpocketed, travel insurance offers protection. There may also be cover for lost or damaged electronics or if you have gadget insurance your electronics may be protected by this.

This is a key protection offered by travel insurance.Emergency medical treatment, as well as medical evacuation, and repatriation home are all covered, to varying degrees, by travel insurance. 

The differences in cover here are a key point of comparison when choosing travel insurance. 

Trying to save money by choosing a policy without generous cover for a medical emergency may be a false economy.

Most, but not all, travel insurance policies offer cover if you have an accident whilst on your holiday.Check to see what cover you are being offered.

If you are responsible for an accident, or if you damage someone’s property while abroad, you will be protected by personal liability cover.

Limits of indemnity vary between policies.

If your flights are cancelled, delayed, or you miss connecting flights, your travel insurance offers financial compensation.

This cover is becoming more essential due to post Covid travel disruption.

What do all travel insurance policies cover

Travel insurance add ons

It is important to tailor your cover to the trip you intend to undertake as you may need more specific protection. Here are some of the types of additional cover available with travel insurance.

This is not so much an add- on as a specific type of travel insurance offered to over 70’s with preexisting health conditions who may struggle to get cover elsewhere.

Winter Sports cover offers protection specifically for those who enjoy active holidays. 

This cover is available as standard on some policies but is usually an additional option.

Wedding  travel is tailored to those who travel for their wedding and offers additional cover for personal possessions associated with weddings.

This type of cover can be included with travel disruption cover or purchased separately.

Travel Disruption insurance offers additional protection for travel disruption such as flight and airport delays.

EU Law provides protection for cancellations and rescheduled flights within certain limits but travel cover is much more extensive in this regard.

Natural disaster or civic unrest cover offers additional protection and support where there are climate or political factors disrupting travel arrangements. 

It should be noted, however, that travel insurance never covers areas that are not considered safe to travel to by the Irish DFA so you must always check with the DFA website for the latest travel advisories.

insurance add ons

What factors affect the price of travel insurance?

It is a good idea to be aware of the different factors that affect the price of travel insurance policies so you will be able to compare between them.

Whether single trip, multi trip or backpacker’s travel insurance, the nature of your travel will affect the price you pay.

If you are heading off for a year backpacking make sure you check with the DFA website for travel advisories.

These locations will not be covered by your policy.

Travel insurance cover in Europe is usually cheaper than travel to the USA or Canada. 

Political or climate reasons in your destination may make your trip more expensive to cover. 

Designated travel advisories locations are not covered by insurance and you always need to check with the DFA for the latest updates.

Having existing private health insurance with international in cover in place will lower the price of any travel insurance you purchase. 

Many private health insurance policies offer some level of cover for travel but if you are spending more than 3 months abroad you will likely need to take out an additional policy.

Family travel or travel insurance for over 70’s tends to be more expensive. Travel insurance with preexisting medical conditions is usually more expensive burt can be purchased as a specific product.

Cover for such add-ons for sports, cruise travel, wedding travel etc.will increase the price you pay for travel insurance. Some of these are included in travel policies but most need to be purchased separately.
factors that affect the price of travel insurance

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Holiday time is precious and you want to get away with the minimum of stress and hassle but things can go wrong and expenses can mount up quickly when they do!

Get in touch today and find the best travel insurance for your trip to give you peace of mind so you can relax and enjoy your time away.

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