Does my booking with HL Holidays include Travel Insurance?
In short, no – and it is not offered as an extra as part of the Booking Process.
Many will automatically hold Travel Insurance with credit cards (but check if you need to pay for the holiday by card to make it operational) and it is also fairly common to include Travel Insurance with a domestic insurance policy.
The person making the booking must declare that Travel Insurance covering all party members is in place before the booking is confirmed.
When should I put the Insurance in place?
You should have cancellation insurance at least in place from the point of booking: If you have to cancel for any reason, deposits are normally not refundable, and once the final payment is made 8 weeks before the booking is due to start this is also not normally refundable unless the property can be re-let.
What Insurance should I put in place?
We recommend that all policies include the following:
- Medical Insurance – £1million for EU citizens, £2million for non EU citizens
- Repatriation – Cost of ambulance travel to your home should you be injured or taken ill when away
- Cancellation – To cover the cost of the rental and any travel you may have booked. This should include illness or death of near relatives that may force travel plans to be altered.
- Missed Departure/Travel delay – A few hundred £GBPs to cover any incident of this type
- Baggage loss or damage – To cover the cost of your luggage if it goes missing or is damaged as you travel
- Personal liability – £2million GBP to cover any claims against you from others.
There are other items you may consider adding such as cash, airline failure, prevailing conditions preventing departure, ‘dangerous sports’ and more besides.
Your insurance, especially for cancellation, should be in force from the date that the booking is confirmed, and not just for the dates of the booking.
Do I need to insure for damage to the property?
Your Security Deposit acts as a kind of insurance excess and covers almost all breakages and damage that are likely to occur, but this is not the limit of the liability. If you are concerned about a potential claim should some more substantial damage be attributed to you, you can insure against this. However, claims above the level of the Security Deposit are extremely rare, and you should not be concerned about this.
The Owner will hold Insurance that will covers them against extreme loss and damage as part of their normal insurance.
What else should I look out for?
There are several things to be aware of when checking policies, especially if you have those included in credit cards or insurances:
Who is included? Ensure that all members of the party are covered – especially important if you have guests normally resident at other addresses such as friends of children who may not be covered
Excess payments- Check how much the excess payment is on any policy: Those with higher excesses will by definition be cheaper.
Overseas days – Some policies may not be valid if you spend more than a certain time abroad in any one year: This is often well cloaked in the small print and should be checked for.
Medical Exclusions – ensure any pre-existing conditions are understood and included by the Insurers.
What happens if I need to make a claim for cancellation, or for other reasons?
HL Holidays will supply all customers with statements of fact in support of a claim which will set out the facts as understood by us. These will be in our own words, and is free of charge
France for Families customers should liaise directly with the Owner of the property which they booked.
Car Hire – Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)
This annoying little daily sum mounts up if you are a frequent traveller, or having a long holiday with a rented car as it is usually charged daily. It basically reduces the level of your excess in the event of an accident.
There are policies available which will give you very economic annual coverage to cover this instead of paying the daily charge – it is usually benficial if your hire is around ten days or more. For further information, see www.carhireexcess.co.uk
Travel Insurance is for the benefit of travellers and peace of mind: The advice above is general, and may need to be adapted to your specific needs: For more detailed advice please contact an Insurance company or broker who will advise you best.