“Family” redefined by travel insurers

by Gill Montia

Story link: “Family” redefined by travel insurers

Defaqto is calling into question whether insurance policy definitions of “family” are up to date, and urging parents to check their travel insurance policies to ensure children have adequate cover.

According to the firm’s head of research, Brian Brown, many travel insurers will insure children and step-children as long as they live with the policyholder, while children who normally live with an ex-partner may be excluded.

Of the 423 annual travel insurance policies covered by the research, 27.9% did not cover dependant children who are not normally resident with the main policyholder.

In addition, 48.5% excluded children who live with the policyholder but travel independently.

Mr Brown comments: “It’s imperative that parents check the detail of their travel insurance policies to ensure that they have the cover they need.”

Adding: “In particular, couples who are not married, or have children from a previous relationship, need to make sure that children are covered when travelling with them.”

Earlier this week, Defaqto reported that demand for overseas travel has declined in the UK as a result of the state of the economy, rising unemployment and a fall in the value of sterling.

However, the number of travel insurance policies available in the market has increased by 9.5% during the past year, to 1,018.

Meanwhile, the fall in the value of sterling has increased the cost of claims that insurers have to pay overseas, and the financial research firm is predicting a “bumpy ride” for travel insurers over the next couple of years.