Swine Flu Insurance Procedures

What actions to take between contracting swine flu and making a travel insurance claim.

Firstly, ensure that the chosen travel insurance policy does not have a pandemic exclusion clause, because this would not cover swine flu. Thankfully most insurance providers no longer use this clause, meaning that redeemable costs incurred from swine flu (H1N1) are now just as applicable as any other form of illness.

Government travel advice (e.g. From the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in the UK, or the US Department of State in America) typically invokes an automatic refund for package holidays booked through tour operators when advice is issued against travel to a stated country.

However, if searching for cheaper deals by purchasing flights, hotels and travel arrangements independently, then without any travel agent or tour operator affiliation with ATOL or equivalent industry body, unfortunately these purchases are treated as individual products, meaning that government travel advice will not result in a direct refund. To recover these sums it is necessary to make a claim through a travel insurance provider.

Swine flu will most commonly be catered for in a travel insurance policy under the cancellation clause. It does not matter which member of the group travelling together catches it, as long as they are included in the policy.

To validate the authenticity of the cancelled trip, it is important to get written confirmation from a doctor. But beware that many surgeries will refuse patients with this condition and instead refer them to a telephone based service in order to reduce the spread of H1N1 to medical staff.

If an airline refuses to allow a passenger to board a flight because suspected flu symptoms; they should get written confirmation of this decision from the airline immediately. This documentation will be key to later proving the actual events, otherwise, it could be assumed the flight was missed due to lateness or personal disorganisation.

Technorati tags; travel insurance, pandemic exclusion clause, swine flu.

Advice on Stomach Problems Abroad

Health issues are least welcome during a holiday experience, but thankfully medical travel insurance can cover the financial expenditure involved. Knowledge and advice regarding frequently occurring illnesses can help too.

Indiscriminate health problems which can strike anyone on holiday are common diarrhoea and stomach-bug type illnesses. These can so often wreck travel plans, for example, a case of food poisoning preventing day trip excursions which have already been paid for: Travel insurance would cover such a loss.


Holiday illnesses may not be restricted to just a dose of bad luck for the occasional traveller. For example, over 1,000 holidaymakers were affected by infected food and water supplies throughout an entire resort in the Dominican Republic, which subsequently led to a significant legal compensation claim by the ill and hospitalised tourists.


Below we explore the different types of common infection and their properties:

• Cryptosporidiosis is caused by a water-borne parasite which is strongly resistant to chlorine treatment. It is found world wide and can be contracted from contaminated bathing water or drinking water.

• Gastroenteritis causes intestinal and stomach problems including abdominal pains, vomiting, and dehydration. This infection is common and bacteria may be caught from infected food.

• Norovirus is a highly contagious virus which can be spread from person to person, or even from coming in to contact with unhygienic surfaces. It is also caught from infected water and food sources resulting in stomach disorders. Due to the proximity of passengers at sea, cruise ships are particularly monitored for Noroviruses.

Travel insurance for medical issues experienced at sea, on land, during a holiday or business trip, provides the reassurance necessary when the above illnesses strike.

Not having to worry about the repayment of medical fees might also reduce stress and aid the immune system's recovery time!


Technorati tags; ;Cruise ships, holiday health, medical travel insurance, food poisoning.

How They Lost My Luggage!

Is it a fair assumption that luggage entrusted to an airline at one end of a journey will be returned at the other end?

Well, it seems we are too demanding. As recently reported, 6 million items of lost luggage and delayed baggage occur every year in Europe alone! With the technology available it is jaw dropping how this figure can be so astronomical!

But who is to blame? The mechanical systems currently in use or the human element of the process?

Let's take a look at the mechanical system. Largely a maze of conveyors, luggage is scanned by 360 degree bar code readers which update the baggage system with the destination for each item of luggage. The accuracy rate of this automated procedure is 90%. The remaining 10% have to be scanned manually to determine where they are headed.

Another facet of the mechanical baggage system at modern international airports, is the destination-coded vehicle (DCV). This in essence is an internal airport railway of carrying tubs which transport luggage quickly over large distances to a combination of gates, terminal hubs and baggage carousels. Each DCV is identifiable by a unique radio identifier which tracks the tub's progress.

Further reliability is generated by using magnetic propulsion to move the luggage, thereby requiring less moving parts. Flexibility occurs by virtue of a complex network of tracks which can allow baggage to be re-routed should the need arise.

Where in The Process Does Luggage Get Lost?

Jobs exist because the existing technology is not totally refined: So far, a method of automatic loading from the conveyors directly in to the plane has not yet been invented. This element is done by hand, and it could be argued is where the trouble arises. Bags are loaded and unloaded by airport operatives several times, on and off tugs, plus on and off the aircraft. You tube is littered with evidence of careless actions by these operatives, and that takes place in the areas passengers can see! Who knows what happens behind the scenes?

Which leads us on to the rarely discussed third aspect of delayed luggage; security. Most are aware that common processes will involve x-ray scanning of baggage before loading on to aircraft, but that does not cause delays. Perhaps a much unspoken element of lost luggage which is latter “recovered”, could simply be the security services digging through personal items in a suspicious attempt to uncover an alternative motive for each journey.

With the global total of 32 million bags delayed, can it always be blamed on the baggage handlers? How often does indiscriminate bag searching by airport security cause the delays?

Further Reading

1. Baggage handling explained - The steps at which luggage can get delayed.
   
   
2. SITA global baggage report - statistics on lost luggage from around the world.

Technorati tags; delayed baggage, lost luggage.

Travel Insurance for Over 65's

Retirement beckons and the decades of toiling for a wage come to a close, life is great and it is all downhill from here so why not enjoy the now? The holiday is booked to that dream escape which filled childhood curiosities but here comes the crux; travel insurance 65 years on is not so cheap!

Frequently pensioners are choosing a lifestyle which reflects their revised combination of time and money as age 70 approaches and passes.
Cruises, golfing holidays, coach tours, safaris, and others leisure pursuits form the range of travel options favoured by a large number of over 65 travel insurance consumers.

However, when it comes to buying that travel insurance policy, elder holidaymakers are penalised automatically because of their age. In the UK, the Association of British Insurers claims that up to one third of pensionable insurance customers are point-blank refused any cover.

Companies which do serve this growing demographic present a host of reasons to justify the 200% additional travel insurance cost which many endure. Some are understandable, such as the higher incidence of pre-existing medical conditions, but some seem unfairly biased; the claim that over 65's have more accidents: Where is the evidence for that assertion?

Insurers apply a converse logic to policy pricing for old versus young, particularly for annual cover. The logic goes like this; pensioners able to take multiple trips abroad each year must be sitting on a mountain of financial security in order to do so, therefor insurers see this as a very lucrative market.

If the same logic were applied to financially stretched twenty-somethings, the effect would not be an increase in profits, it would be a drop in sales since the youngsters may risk flying without travel insurance, given their robust health record and absence of medical issues.

What Should Be Included?

1. Expect to see medical expenses cover for several millions in value, plus cancellation cover if the trip were to be cancelled for some reason. Check the value of this sum and ensure it is greater than the total trip cost.
   
   
2. Special price increases are often demanded for trips to the USA, this is primarily due to the high medical costs in America.
   
   
3. Repatriation costs are also a standard inclusion if such a flight needed to be arranged.
   
   
4. Review the small print for the precise sums which can be claimed for lost or stolen items, and bear in mind the insurer's excess fees which may apply.

Over 65 Policy Providers

It seems like every major retailer provides for senior citizens now, but many have no specific interest or heritage of serving this demographic and are simply attracted by the potential profit. This criticism is most definitely applicable to the large global brands and household names in finance.

A wiser decision would be to consider companies which have a more genuine rationale for making travel insurance more affordable and accessible for seniors. See below for a list of insurers covering over 65's:

• Intune Group - In association with help the aged, offers travel insurance with no age limit.
  
  
• Insure For All - Caters specifically to the over 65 age group and has no maximum age imposed.
  
  
• Karma Insurance - Selling a variety of conventional policies available to those aged 69 and under. Plus, retails a 70+ product with no upper age restriction.
  
  
• Essential Travel - Supplying mainstream insurance and over 74 travel insurance with cover available for single trips for seniors up to age 89.
  
  
• Club Direct - Has a range of conventional products which extends in to travel insurance for those aged 65 to 99.
  
  
• SAGA travel insurance - A brand associated with senior citizens but not necessarily the best value.
  

An Important Point

While it is established that the link between medical issues and higher policy premiums is known, it is a false economy to skimp on information to get the cheapest travel insurance quote.

Especially pertinent for over 65 year old travellers is to declare all known medical issues when purchasing a quote, because insurers will seize upon any such communication failures as grounds to not pay out, when subsequently making a claim.



Technorati tags; over 65, travel insurance, seniors insurance.