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Travel Insurance For Children: What To Look Out
For by Patrick Chong
Ask any parent and they'll tell you that their
child's safety is their number one priority, and
the majority of parent's find they spend a great
deal of time worrying over what their kids are
up to. As their lives are the parent's
responsibilities this is of course, a good
thing, but when travelling abroad, the children
become just one concern of many. It's strange,
but often the family holiday, a break from the
stresses of everyday life, is actually more
stressful than the life they're trying to escape
from!
Having worked in the industry for some time, I
like to think I know a thing or two about
children's travel insurance. So here are some
things to look out for:
Children go free?
Quite a few companies are now offering free
child travel insurance when buying a policy for
accompanying adults. There's no reason to be
suspicious of offers like that (we have such a
policy at Insuremore), but it is important to
see if the small print matches your
requirements. For example, how many additional
children are covered by an adult policy? If it
covers 2, and you have a family with 3 children
you need to contact the company about getting
additional cover. Likewise, some companies'
family policies have very tight definitions of
who would be covered. If you have foster
children, or are the legal guardians, make a
quick check to ensure you're covered.
How old can a 'child' be?
This is an interesting one, because some
companies' definitions of 'child' are pushing it
a bit. The majority of companies will provide
children's travel insurance for sons and
daughters up to the age of 18, but it's not
unheard of for 21, or even 23, to be the age gap
if the relation is in full time education. Of
course, by that age, they may not be enamoured
by the idea of a family holiday with the folks,
but if for some reason they are, then it's a
great little saving if you can find a provider
who have such an 'interesting' idea of the word
'child'.
Independent Child's Travel Insurance
One thing to look out for is annual children's
travel insurance, as some of these offer
children the opportunity to travel independently
of their parents or guardians, and still be
covered. These usually cost an additional
premium, but if your child is likely to be
needing to travel on their own regularly (for
school trips, for example), then this is a great
solution. If independent trips are likely to be
few and far between, it may be worth paying for
one-off single trip child travel insurance.
Check the Small Print
It should go without saying, but all child
travel insurance policies are not born equal.
Compare a few policies and ensure that your kid
is covered for whatever you may plan on getting
up to on holiday - for example, if it's a skiing
holiday, you'll very likely have to pay an
additional fee to ensure that your child is
completely covered for the trip.
Of course on top of this, there's the usual
advice of being vigilant. Children can be
unpredictable, and while travel insurance should
rightly provide you some peace of mind, it does
not mean you can completely relax. The usual
care for children's safety should be observed
even with the child's travel insurance
protection: plenty of suncream, all the right
vaccinations, a wrist band on toddlers with
contact information in case they get lost - that
sort of thing.
When travelling, there are hundreds of things
that can go wrong, but with the usual vigilance
you would observe for your kid at home and some
quality child's travel insurance, you can avoid
the majority of problems that could arise and
enjoy some quality rest and relaxation in your
holiday paradise of choice.
About the Author
Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of
Journey's Travel. Their commercial travel
insurance website, Insuremore, offer cheap
child's travel insurance with free cover against
acts of terrorism and a quick and easy online
claims feature. |
