{"id":289391,"date":"2026-01-17T15:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T15:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/289391\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T15:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T15:00:13","slug":"travel-insurance-dont-leave-home-without-it-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/289391\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel insurance \u2013 don\u2019t leave home without it \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cost-of-living<\/a> crisis appears to be without end but there are still people with money to spend with new research highlighting a desire among many to travel<\/a> overseas on multiple holidays this year. <\/p>\n

A new survey from multitrip.com<\/a> suggests that 53 per cent of Irish people already planning to enjoy three or more holidays in 2026 and the weeks ahead is when the key booking windows will open.<\/p>\n

But while many will happily spend thousands of euro on holidays in the sun \u2013 with Spain<\/a> by far the most popular destination for Irish holidaymakers \u2013 a considerable percentage will refuse to spend modest sums that could protect them and their families and their finances should things go wrong at any point between now and their return from their summer jollies. <\/p>\n

The managing director of multitrip.com, Jason Whelan, said its survey highlighted how people \u201ctruly realise the value of taking the hard-earned break, maybe a couple of times a year\u201d.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, given the nature of his business, he was quick to point to the value of travel insurance for those planning to head off to the sun \u2013 or the snow \u2013 in the weeks and months ahead.<\/p>\n

But although Whelan has skin in the game, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC<\/a>) does not and it too has been anxious to stress both the importance and the value of travel insurance in recent days. <\/p>\n

It has also detailed the large percentage of Irish consumers who gamble on their financial and physical wellbeing by not bothering with it at all.<\/p>\n

In a piece of research published earlier this month, it highlighted that holidaymakers spent an average of almost \u20ac2,500 on flights and accommodation last summer, and that 16 per cent (or one in six) had issues with their trip.<\/p>\n

Most involved flight cancellations and delays but people also contacted the CCPC\u2019s helpline seeking advice about scam websites, poor-quality hotels and lost luggage among other issues.<\/p>\n

The CCPC research found that as many as one in three holidaymakers travelled without insurance, rising to almost half of those under the age of 35 \u2013 even though that cohort was the most likely to experience problems when travelling overseas. <\/p>\n

It warned consumers to expect the unexpected not just while away, but also in the period before their holiday, and reminded consumers that in the event of a strike or an extreme weather event a traveller who tries to buy insurance after the issues come to light may find they are not covered.<\/p>\n

The CCPC\u2019s deputy director of communications, Orla Delargy, said Irish consumers spend \u201ca considerable amount of money on holidays\u201d and should think about potential pitfalls that could ruin their plans. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re travelling uninsured you need to expect the unexpected, and bear in mind that late insurance purchase may not cover you for some events,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Because it is comparatively cheap \u2013 and, let\u2019s face it, that is not something we can say about all insurance products \u2013 it is a wonder so many people don\u2019t pack it into their suitcases or buy it too late for it to offer full protection.<\/p>\n

And people pay dearly for not having it. How dearly? Well someone who is unfortunate enough to suffer even a mild heart attack in the US might be out of pocket by a quarter of a million euro, depending on where they are treated and for how long.<\/p>\n

If someone needs an air ambulance to bring them home from somewhere in the European Union, it might set them back \u20ac20,000, while a holiday cancelled at the last minute because of a family bereavement will see a family down by around \u20ac3,000.<\/p>\n

Even a lost couple of low-fare flights to Spain because of a wildcat strike will cost far more than an annual cost of a policy for a family of four.<\/p>\n

Too many people think their private health insurance or the European Health Insurance Card \u2013 which allows an EU citizen be treated like the citizens of whatever EU country they are in \u2013 removes the need for travel insurance.<\/p>\n

It does not. They are handy to have but neither will be of much use if trips have to be cancelled or curtailed and they won\u2019t help if a person is the victim of a crime overseas. <\/p>\n

Then there is the reality that some private hospitals overseas will ask for travel insurance policy details in the first instance, and having them to hand can save a lot of hassle at the time.<\/p>\n

If someone is in a hospital when they should be on the beach, hassle is the last thing they will need. <\/p>\n

A year-long multi-trip policy for a family of four with an online broker ranges from just under \u20ac70 to more than \u20ac150 and while people might be tempted to go for the cheapest option, it is wise to look deeper than the top-line figures. <\/p>\n

Companies boast about the millions of euro of medical cover they offer but, for most people, the level of cancellation or curtailment cover is equally important. <\/p>\n

The cheapest policies we priced offered cancellation cover worth \u20ac1,000 \u2013 which wouldn\u2019t make much of a dent in a family holiday overseas \u2013 while the cancellation cover for the most expensive of those policies was \u20ac6,000. That\u2019s a substantial difference for the sake of less than \u20ac50 a year.<\/p>\n

When taking out policies, timing is as important as price. <\/p>\n

As many as 50 per cent of all claims are made before travel, with illness and death the most likely reasons. <\/p>\n

That is why it is key to take out cover the moment a trip is booked rather than waiting until the very last minute because \u2013 as everyone knows \u2013 it is impossible to say when something terrible will happen. <\/p>\n

When taking out a policy, a person would be advised to be straight up when considering pre-existing conditions. Insurance companies can be pretty ruthless when investigating claims and if they discover a cancellation or curtailment is connected with a condition a person had but did not disclose then they will go to the ends of the Earth to reject it. <\/p>\n

Many will also try to reject a claim if a curtailment or cancellation is because a family member who is not travelling or who has been sick for many years passes away so it is worth bearing that in mind, too. <\/p>\n

That takes us to the small print, and when it comes to travel insurance the devil is often in the detail.<\/p>\n

Insurance companies are notorious for putting hurdles in the way of consumers making claims, with many exclusions and unexpected terms to be found hiding in small print that can sometimes run to more than 20,000 words. <\/p>\n

No one is going to read that in full but it is important to look for exclusions and search for words and phrases such as \u201cexcess\u201d, \u201cexcluded\u201d, \u201cnot covered\u201d, \u201cpassport\u201d, \u201cphone\u201d. <\/p>\n

Why phone? Because in some cases, phones are not covered, while valuables may be excluded if they\u2019re not carried at all times. And exclusions can be deployed if a passport is stolen from a hotel room but wasn\u2019t in a safe.<\/p>\n

It is also key in the world in which we live to make sure the policy covers delays and cancellations as a result of what used to be called acts of God or circumstances beyond the control of airlines or tour operators.<\/p>\n

Protection against strikes, volcanoes and \u2013 heaven forbid \u2013 global pandemics \u2013 does cost more but not that much more and could save holidaymakers a world of heartache should things go off the rails.<\/p>\n

You can contact us at OnTheMoney@irishtimes.com<\/a> with personal finance questions you would like to see us address. If you missed last week\u2019s newsletter, you can read it here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The cost-of-living crisis appears to be without end but there are still people with money to spend with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,7771,18,19,17,14923,15484],"class_list":{"0":"post-289391","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-competition-and-consumer-protection-commission-ccpc","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-on-the-money","14":"tag-travel-insurance"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115911040877893088","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}