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However, making the decision to travel also means that travel insurance should not be neglected.
When a disease outbreak occurs, such as the swine flu pandemic, some of the most frequently asked questions about travel insurance are: · Will I be covered if I get sick and can't go on holiday as planned? · Is medical cover included if I get sick while I'm abroad? · Does cover apply if my travel companion or family member becomes too ill to travel? · Am I covered if I'm abroad and illness of a family member at home means I must return early? · Will my policy cover the return airfare if I am delayed because of illness? The quick and easy answer to all the above is yes.
However, always check the terms and conditions as policies do vary from company to company and even policy to policy.
Travellers with 'pre-existing' medical conditions must be completely honest when purchasing travel insurance.
Failure to disclose a medical problem could invalidate the policy if you need to make a related claim.
Basically, if you get sick while abroad on holiday you should be covered, whether it's malaria, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, bird flu, swine flu, or any other medical condition which requires urgent medical treatment.
However, when required, inoculations and other preventative measures should always be taken to avoid illness.
This is the general situation at the time of writing, but as world events change it is always possible that insurance policy terms and conditions may have to be adjusted to keep up with the times.
If you go ahead and book travel to a part of the world where a current government or official advisory against travel is in force, any resulting claims on your insurance may be invalidated.
If an advisory against travel goes into force after you have booked the trip and purchased insurance you should be okay, as obviously you could not have foreseen the problem.
However, it is a good idea to keep up with news reports and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office or other government agency websites to check for issues such as political unrest, disease, adverse weather, or other problems in your destination country.
For residents of EU countries travelling to member states the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) provides cover in participating countries.
However, be aware that cover only extends to medical care in state-run facilities, not private care.
In an emergency you may not have a choice where you are taken and the closest facility may be a private hospital.
This is just one more reason to have comprehensive insurance.
The EHIC should never be relied upon as a substitute for travel insurance, for several reasons: The EHIC does not cover financially devastating expenses like emergency medical evacuation, air ambulance, mountain rescue or emergency repatriation (transporting you back to your home country).
It also does not cover ongoing treatment, non-urgent treatment, personal liability, or other travel-related mishaps such as the airlines losing your luggage! Play it safe and cover all bases by taking out a good travel insurance policy as well as the EHIC.
Opting for the cheapest quote on your search of comparison websites may turn out to be false economy.
The chances are that the cover has been drastically cut in one or more areas to keep the price low.
Check to see whether the amount for medical cover is lower than policies offered elsewhere, or whether the 'excess' payment (also known as 'deductible' - the part of any claim which is your responsibility) is very high.
Companies advertising on comparison websites may well be genuine, but be aware that their costs include paying high commission fees to the hosting website.
Why let the fear of catching swine flu or other illness cramp your style when you can trot off on your holiday as happy as a pig in muck knowing that travel insurance has you covered!
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