For sensible people, travelling with loved ones means getting the family insured before a trip. It is a no-brainer; after all, you want the best for them and don’t want to take chances with their well-being. This simple task can ensure a family holiday is the best that it can be: maximum fun with minimum unpleasantness. But how can you guarantee you’re getting your family insured adequately? Here we answer the most asked questions.

When should I buy insurance?

Many things can happen prior to leaving for a holiday and they can throw a wrench in the most carefully laid plans. Children can get sick, another member of the family could pull out – there are many reasons that may require you to cancel your flights or move them to a later date. Unless you have your family insured, this could mean money down the drain. With a good policy, you can get your money back should these things happen, so it pays to get a policy as soon as you’ve booked your flights and accommodation.

But my credit card offers free insurance! Do I need to get more? 

Some credit cards do include free basic travel insurance if you use them to pay for your travel arrangements, such as airfare and accommodation, so do check before getting your family insured. However, this cover is often very basic, and may only include death and injury benefits, so you will need to purchase an additional policy as well.

You may also want to check your current health insurance and other policies such as homeowners insurance before getting your family insured. Some may provide coverage to a certain degree for some aspects of your trip, so you may only need special additional insurance.

Who should I insure?   

Everyone. A family travel insurance policy will cover you, your spouse and all children under sixteen.  For other members of the family travelling with you, such as children over sixteen and elderly members aged 65 and above, you may need to buy separate additional policies. You’ll also need separate cover if anyone plans on engaging in risky activities such as extreme sports.

Should we insure our belongings?  

Many policies already include compensation for lost or stolen baggage, so a separate property policy may not be necessary as long as you have your family insured adequately. If you have special equipment, however, such as for sports or photography, you may need additional coverage.

Which policy should I buy? And where?

When you are travelling as a group with your loved ones, the family trip or travel insurance is definitely your best bet to make sure you have you have the entire family insured. However, you will need to compare different plans from different companies and choose the one that suits your needs best.

Getting a good travel policy may spell the difference between a dream trip and one that’s a nightmare. With sufficient coverage, unpleasant incidents shouldn’t necessarily turn entire trip into a full-scale disaster.