Travel insurance

The policy conditions make this clear, but the cover is often wider than just the countries of the European Union. In particular, the non-European countries on the Mediterranean are often simply included in the European cover too. The same goes, for example, for the Azores or the Canary Islands, which are not in Europe. On the other hand, some areas that do belong to the continent of Europe are often not covered. This applies, for example, to the Faroe Islands.

A lot of travel insurance only covers holidays and not business trips, volunteering, internships or studying abroad. If it does, the period covered is often limited to 45 or 60 days. In any case, it is advisable to take out travel insurance that covers the entire period and does not contain an exclusion for such trips.

Travel insurance pays the new value of belongings when they are less than one year old. For a smartphone that is six months old, the insured person simply gets the value of a new smartphone. Once belongings are at least one year old, the insurer pays the current value. The belongings are then depreciated because they are older and have been subject to wear. Using such a depreciation table, belongings can quickly lose a lot of value, especially if a laptop or smartphone is already a few years old.

That is not always the case. With many insurers, additional cover can be included for this. The insurer then also pays unforeseen, necessary costs for the pet, for example when a dog falls ill. What is or is not covered again varies greatly. Often, for example, it only concerns medical costs and not the costs of searching for pets.

This cover can be useful, but be very critical. The conditions are often very unfavourable and cash is usually only covered to a limited extent, while the effect on the premium is greater. It is a better idea to simply take less cash with you and use a credit card abroad.

Accident insurance is certainly useful at a younger age. An amount is then paid out in the event of permanent disability due to an accident while travelling. Especially if certain risks are taken, for example during treks in the mountains, accident insurance is quite useful. As the insured person gets older, accident insurance becomes somewhat less important. Here too, it is important to pay attention to the limitations and exclusions of the cover. With motorcycle accidents, for example, a limitation often applies, especially if the victim was not wearing a helmet (even if this is not compulsory abroad).

Often not. The risk that a car runs into problems abroad is real, but the costs are often limited and perfectly affordable to bear yourself. Moreover, the cover often only starts if the vehicle has not been repaired after two days, and maximum amounts apply. This cover is only advisable if the damage cannot be borne financially.

That does indeed sound tempting, but read the conditions carefully. Some insurers do not provide cover for old cars. What counts as an old car differs from insurer to insurer. With some insurers, an exclusion applies to cars that are ten years old or older, while other insurers even use lower thresholds of eight years.

Travel insurance covers trips in the Netherlands when there is an overnight stay. You must be able to show proof of this. A day trip to the zoo, for example, is not covered, not even with more expensive travel insurance.

For small and cheap trips, it is only worth it when there is a risk, for example because a close family member has had health problems for some time. Otherwise, cancellation cover is mainly worth it for expensive, long-distance trips that can easily cost a month's salary. It then becomes more difficult to bear the loss yourself.

Cover for medical costs abroad is a must when this is not already covered by your health insurance. In addition, extra cover for winter or underwater sports is advisable if you actually do these sports, and replacement transport cover is worth it on a car holiday. A number of other types of cover, such as accident cover, cash cover, legal assistance cover and transport and accommodation cover, are often less worthwhile.

Cheap travel insurance often turns out to be very expensive in the end, because it does not really cover much. For example, there are travel insurance policies where the cover already stops before the return journey, while a lot can still happen on the way back. There are also travel insurance policies that only cover certain parts, for example the plane ticket but not the hotel costs in the event of a cancellation. Relatively speaking, such travel insurance is anything but cheap.

The cost of travel insurance depends on various factors. Annual travel insurance with European cover costs on average €4 for a single person, €7 for a couple and €9 for a couple with children. With worldwide cover, the averages are around €5.50, €9.50 and €12. Cancellation insurance costs on average around 5% of the total cost of the trip. Of course, these averages say nothing about the exact cover of the travel insurance.

No. Sometimes it is also possible to have the cover in your current policy adjusted. Additional cover can be added or certain types of cover can be dropped. It is advisable, though, to compare travel insurance first with every change. Sometimes it is more attractive to switch, and sometimes it is more attractive to simply have the policy adjusted. It can sometimes be better not to adjust the travel insurance but to arrange one-off short-term travel insurance, for example when the annual travel insurance has European cover but the next trip goes to Pitcairn.

This is worth checking. When fewer trips are made, it can be more attractive to stop the annual travel insurance completely and insure each trip individually. This is particularly the case when you go on holiday for less than 3 to 4 weeks a year. On the other hand, when more than two long trips a year are planned, annual travel insurance is often more attractive.

No. In essence, every travel insurance policy is identical, and it can then be extended with a number of additional types of cover. The basic cover is always included, however. So it is not possible to shop around at different insurers. Standard policies can often be tailored, though.

It is often possible to take out travel insurance until just before the trip. There are a number of exceptions to this, though. In some cases, for example, there is a waiting period and the annual travel insurance will not provide cover straight away. Cancellation cover, too, can often only be taken out shortly after booking or sufficiently long before the trip. This way, the insurer prevents an insured person from wanting to be insured for an already known fact that would cause the cancellation.

Here, it is at least advisable to compare travel insurance. Families with young children often travel differently than before. Backpacking in Thailand becomes a week of drinking cocktails by a Spanish swimming pool. Or the plane is replaced by a car full of children's things. It is often useful to have the annual travel insurance adjusted. This can suddenly make a different travel insurer more advantageous.

Yes. The maximum period you are allowed to travel varies from insurer to insurer. Some insurers allow trips of up to a maximum of six weeks, but there are also insurers that allow trips of up to a maximum of six months. When annual travel insurance does not provide cover, it is often possible to extend the maximum travel period for an extra charge.

No. When luggage is lost, the insurer will pay the purchase value for a certain time. After that, the insurer pays the current value or the new value minus depreciation. Every insurer uses different depreciation lists. As a result, the same laptop may have a higher current value for one insurer than for another. These depreciation lists can be found on the travel insurer's website and can be included in the comparison.

No. European cover is often wider than just the European continent. Often, for example, the countries on the Mediterranean are also included in the European cover, as is Jordan. Some overseas territories or well-known island groups are also often included in the European cover. This is the case, for example, for the Canary Islands or the Azores. For a number of other overseas islands, such as Mayotte, worldwide cover may be necessary.

Most insurers have more or less similar exclusions, for example for damage caused by a nuclear attack or a civil war. These are often situations in which the Travel Calamity Fund (Calamiteitenfonds) provides relief. Still, there are also subtle differences. This became clear, for example, with cancellation cover at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, when not all insurers provided cover.

No. The travel insurance offered by the travel agency is of very good quality and offers good protection. However, they only offer the most comprehensive package, and that is often unnecessarily expensive. It is a better idea to compare travel insurance.

No. Travel insurance is often at least limited in duration, while a study trip can easily last longer than sixty days. With some insurers, it is possible to add extra cover and have longer trips insured for an extra charge.

Luggage insurance only covers damage to luggage, for example because it is lost or damaged. Travel insurance can include luggage insurance, but first and foremost it provides travel assistance and focuses on medical costs abroad.

Almost all travel insurers also offer cancellation cover. With some (annual) travel insurance policies, cancellation is even included in the price.

Often not. We often see that the conditions of such insurance are very restrictive. For example, there are versions where only a death, an accident or a serious illness are grounds for cancelling the trip. That is of course not enough. The included insurance is often very meagre. If that is not the case, the costs of the credit card are often very high, and a separate travel insurance policy would probably have been more attractive.