Is there such a thing as free travel insurance?

There is no such thing as a free lunch so why do we believe this when it comes to travel insurance? Many banks and credit cards now offer free travel insurance for choosing a top branded current account for which you pay a monthly fee, typically between ?10 to ?15, and in return you get your free travel insurance thrown in.

The main concern is that the insurance is sometimes not as user friendly or indeed as comprehensive as one may believe and it is easy to catch a cold. No pun intended, but problems arise with not declaring medical conditions at renewal, which often happens automatically, and without knowing it many people are not adequately covered because between the start of their policy and the renewal they may have developed a medical condition which is under investigation.

If you dont advise insurers at the time of renewing your policy, then you may well find that you dont have the cover you envisaged. One recent report (Sunday Times 1st June 2008) also revealed how the medical benefit, which should have covered an insureds extra stay abroad following hospitalisation, actually ended the day they were booked to return, leaving them without adequate cover. The insurers argued that the extra stay was neither cancellation nor curtailment and as such the medical benefits did not apply after the return date.

It is always worth reading the small print or seeking advice from a professional. Go to an expert, look at the price and look at the level of cover you are getting.

An annual multi trip policy for Europe will cost as little as ?29.99 from Travel and Insure, considerably less than ?10 a month on a premium bank account. Its not free but neither is lunch!

Keith McGregor is a partner of Strawberrysoup, a web design agency with offices in Chichester and Bournemouth. Strawberrysoup specialise in creative web design, content managed websites, search engine optimisation, search engine marketing and graphic design