FAQ’s on Travel Insurance.

The True Traveller is a travel company based in London who specialise in adventure travel. Our main website is here but we decided to set up a separate website just for travel insurance due to the amount of insurance queries we were dealing with.

The True Traveller is licenced by the Travel Trust Association (which means all your premiums are kept in a separate account administered by independent accountants until they are paid to the insurance company), hold a valid ATOL (Air Travel Organisers Licence) issued by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, and are also registered with the Financial Services Authority for the sale of travel insurance. We are an Appointed Representative of Campbell Irvine Limited and our FSA Registration number is 536047 which can be checked by clicking here.

In the unlikely event of the Insurer being unable to meet their liabilities, you may be entitled to compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

All our policies are underwritten by ACE European Group Limited (ACE), part of the ACE Group of Companies.

This is the most important part of your travel insurance, as these are the people who help you if you have an accident or get ill on your travels. We use the services of Specialty Assist Limited, who are a world renowned company which deal with medical emergencies and have extensive experience of dealing with emergencies all over the world. We have had first-hand experience of their service, and although there are probably cheaper medical emergency services available, we won’t be changing this part of our insurance anytime soon!

Specialty Assist is on hand 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

If you are normally a resident of the UK or Europe (excluding Switzerland, Belarus, Montenegro Russia and the Ukraine) and your insurance has run out, you may take out cover online with us for Single Trip and Backpacker Policies. This is on the understanding that nothing has occurred at the time of taking out the cover which has led to a claim or may lead to a potential claim. Obviously, this insurance will not pay for your belongings if you’ve already lost them, medical bills if you’ve already incurred them or any other events known to exist at the time of arranging cover which might give rise to a subsequent claim. There is no 14 day cooling off period when already traveling overseas.

Yes. If you’re not entirely sure how long you’ll be away, you can, for example, take a policy for three months, and then extend it for a further two months, giving you a five month policy. We just take the cost of the 3 month policy away from the 5 month policy, and apply a £10 administration fee. Please go to our Extend Insurance page for further information. Note if you insurance has expired already we cannot do this and you will have to purchase a new policy.

Yes. If, for example, you are travelling for 3 months and eventually settling in Australia, just take out a 3 month policy and it will expire after 3 months or when you arrive at your final destination if this is earlier. Also, if you're off on an extensive Backpacking trip and only have a one way ticket and you haven't got your return ticket as yet, you can take out a 12 month cover and that will last until the end of your 12 months. If you're going to travel then for even longer, you can take out another policy to cover you for your on-going travel. Once you arrive at your final destination the insurance will cease.

If you, or a close relative, have a “defined” pre-existing medical condition, cover is excluded, unless your condition is an Automatically Covered Pre-existing Medical Condition. If in doubt, please call our Medical Screening Helpline on +44 (0)844-826 2686. They will ask for details of your travel plans and your condition, and they will advise if you will be covered or not. In some circumstances they will ask for an additional premium which is payable directly to the medical screening company, and in some cases they will advise that they will not cover that particular medical condition. This means that the Insurance is still valid, but cover for the Medical Condition in question will be excluded.

This cover for medical expenses is subject to the Insured individual returning back home with a minimum of 8 weeks prior to the estimated due date. If travelling beyond this time no cover is available in respect of pregnancy. If there are any known gynaecological disorders this should be considered a pre-existing medical condition which will need to be disclosed to the medical screening helpline. Please ensure you are travelling with the consent of your Doctor and the airline in question.

Yes. This insurance is valid for people aged at the time of taking out the policy up to 65 years of age for our Single Trip and Annual Multi-Trip Policies, and up to 49 years of age for our Backpacker Policies. Unfortunately, as our policies are predominately for Adventurous Activities, we cannot offer rates for persons aged 66 or more. Sorry!

We thought about this and found that the Insurers weren’t happy covering durations over one year due to their own accounting policies. However, if you are going for more than 12 months, we suggest taking out a 12 month policy, and then take out another policy just before it’s about to expire. You can do this from whatever part of the World you are in at the time by coming back to our website and the new policy will be e-mailed to you.

If you take out the “Adventure Pack” option when buying your insurance, you may be covered for certain types of work, including volunteer work, whilst on your travels. This may not extend to include paid manual or hazardous work unless specifically detailed in the policy definition of Volunteering. So if you’re working in a bar in Sydney and slip over and break your wrist, your medical bills will be covered subject to the standard terms of the policy. Do however note that Personal Liability will not be in operative on this policy whilst you are working, and this would normally be provided by your employer anyway. The exception to this is Volunteer Work. If you are volunteering overseas and there is no liability cover in place or arranged by your employer, then you will be covered under the standard terms of this policy.

Our policy does not cover work of a predominantly manual or hazardous nature including people whose primary reason for travelling is to be employed to work on a building or construction site, like for example an electrician going to work on a building site in China. However, as part of the Adventure Pack, we specifically requested that organised project and volunteer work was included, so if you're in South America, or indeed in Africa, working on a project which would involve helping to build a school which would involve you getting your hands dirty, so to speak, then this is automatically covered under the standard terms of our policy so long as it does not involve plant, trade or industrial machinery or non-domestic power tools.

Well, it’s not as if we’ve not ever been asked! However we believe that for some things, Price Comparison Websites are marvellous. If you want to change your internet provider, as it’s all about price and as the product is identical it’s easy to see the savings. Travel Insurance though is a lot more complex, with different levels of cover, which is impossible to judge by price alone. For example, a very cheap Policy will most probably not arrange a repatriation for you by Helicopter high up in the mountains of Nepal if you are injured. So for that reason alone, we won’t go on Comparison Websites.

Well, we don’t think they are, and we’re always looking at ways at reducing them! But, from a straw poll, one third of our customers think we’re cheap, one third think we’re priced at just the right level, and the rest think we’re too expensive!

No, sorry! If you’re unsure how long you’re going to be away, take a shorter policy and extend it whilst you are away.

If you want to return home during your travels - say for the wedding of a close friend, or Christmas with your family, then our compassionate return cover allows you to do this. You can suspend your cover from the moment you leave to return to your home country, until the moment you resume your original journey. You don’t have to cancel your policy and buy a new one, and you do not need to notify us of any trip home. Please note: you will not be covered for any costs relating to either your return home or you leaving home to resume your trip.

Yes. When you contact the Medical Emergency service, should Helicopter/Air Ambulances be required if necessary on medical grounds it would normally be authorised by the insurers.

Many insurances cover trekking up to 2000 metres, or 4000 metres or higher. One of the features of this policy is we provide cover for guided trekking on recognised routes up to 2000m as standard. If you are going over 2000m take the “Adventure Pack”, as that covers you over 2000m to no pre-set upper limit. However, if trekking above the snow line we recommend wearing crampons and using ropes to be tethered together. If you are not trekking as part of a guided and organised route, then we recommend that cover is restricted to groups of no less than 3 people in possession of a working 2 way communication such as a mobile. Please note there is no cover if trekking against local authority advice.

Yes. Unless otherwise stated, the Adventure Pack activities cover the activity without any pre-conditions, other than you act sensibly! So the White Water Rafting will cover you for grades 1-6, and likewise Scuba Diving is valid for depths up to 40 metres and diving as part of a group. If there is any activity which you intend to take part in which isn’t in the Adventure Pack, just contact us with the relevant details and we can see if we can get it included within the Adventure Pack, or at an additional premium.

No, Mountaineering isn’t covered. By mountaineering, we mean climbing up rock faces using ropes, picks or other specialist equipment. We can’t offer this as an option online, but if you contact us with your plans we should be able to point you in the right direction.

We used to be able to provide Motorcycle Touring cover for any size of bike, but unfortunately we can no longer do this. However, you can rent or borrow a Motorbike under 125cc when you’re away, as long as you hold a licence and wear a crash helmet and have taken the Adventure Pack, you are covered medically. However, we would advise you to be very cautious on doing this if you are not familiar with riding a motorbike. In Thailand, 38 people get killed every day riding mopeds; that’s over 13,000 a year, which, to put into context, is five times more than everyone who gets killed on the roads in the UK every year from any type road traffic accident, from car drivers, motorbike riders and pedestrians.

Motorbike Taxis: You are covered when riding pillion on a Motorbike Taxi under 125cc, have the Adventure Pack and wear a crash helmet. You will come across Motorbike Taxis throughout Asia and in some parts of South America. They are cheap, but many are unregulated and the drivers have in some cases, no licence, insurance, nor training and may well be intoxicated by alcohol or drugs. The bikes themselves are in the most poorly maintained. In the case of an accident and a subsequent medical claim, you may find yourself uninsured. So we have one word of advice when it comes to Motorbike Taxis. Don’t.

For any very minor treatments which you may have on your trip, you would normally pay locally and just claim it back from the insurers when you get back. If you don’t have enough money you can contact the emergency service as they are there to help. Obviously any large medical emergencies are totally dealt with by Specialty Assist.
For other claims, you must inform our regular claims handlers, CSA, within 45 days of the date of the occurrence of any possible claim.
For more information and advice about how to make an insurance claim, please go to our How to make a Claim page.

For travel delay, where this is caused due to acts of terrorism, then you are not covered for the delays that may cause. However, if you get caught up in an act of terrorism which is not relating to a region or country on the Foreign Office "No Go" list, then full medical cover (including repatriation) will be provided under the terms of this policy. Note however that terrorism involving any form of nuclear, chemical or biological agents are specifically excluded.

It all depends how expensive it is! If you elect to take out Baggage & Personal effects cover, you are limited to a total of £350 for “Valuables” (which cameras are deemed to be), with a maximum limit of £250 for any one article. You also have the ability of adding the “Extra Electronic Equipment” option where you can add on one or two items to a maximum value of £450 each, based on an indemnity value. This means if you take a brand new iPad 3, and it gets lost, stolen or damaged, you will be able to claim back the value of the item up to a maximum of £450 per specified item. If however, you have a 4 year old Laptop, the value you can reclaim is that of a similar 4 year old laptop (second hand value). As a rule of thumb, anything over 5 years old simply isn’t worth insuring, as the indemnity value will be very low. Any items lost, stolen or damaged must be reported to the Police and a written Police Report obtained. No cover is available if items are left unattended and all claims must be supported by the original purchase receipt. No cover is available for mobile phones.

Essentially, if you decide for any reason whatsoever that you do not want the insurance after you’ve taken it out, if you contact us in writing within 14 days of taking out the policy and you haven’t started on your travels nor made a claim or intend to make a claim, we will refund your premium in full; no questions asked. If you cancel the policy after the 14 Day period has elapsed or have taken out Insurance whilst you are already travelling, no refund of premium is available.

Yes. Obviously if you are in a very remote area where there is no Police Station, any other authority will normally suffice, for example the Hotel Manager.

Yes you must, although you can enrol after the first occasion you need treatment. There is a reciprocal health agreement with the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Slovenia, Malta, Italy and the Republic of Ireland, so it makes sense to enrol anyway as the Australian medical system is one of the best in the world, and it helps keep the premiums down! Obviously if you’re not a resident of one of these countries you can’t enrol and your treatment will be paid by the insurers.

If you are involved in an accident and an ambulance is required, then of course the insurance company will settle the claim with the relevant ambulance service. And you’ve heard correctly – ambulances services in Australia are monstrously expensive!

Yes that’s correct. As of May 2010 the Cuban Authorities insisted that all travellers to Cuba have proper medical insurance, which they will check on arrival. If you don’t have medical insurance, you have to buy their insurance there and then, and it isn’t cheap. Our Medical Emergency specialists, Specialty Assist, are on the Cuban Government approved list.

You have to contact the Medical Screening Helpline if you have a Pre-Existing Medical Condition to ensure that you will get cover. These conditions are:
a) Any respiratory condition (relating to the lungs or breathing), heart condition, stroke, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy, allergy, or cancer for which you (or any other person not necessarily travelling but upon whom travel depends such as a Close Relative) have ever received treatment (including surgery, tests or investigations by your doctor or a consultant/specialist or prescribed drugs/medication).
b) Any Medical Condition for which you (or any other person not necessarily travelling but upon whom travel depends such as a Close Relative) have received surgery, in-patient treatment or investigations in a hospital or clinic within the last twelve months or for which you are taking prescribed drugs/medication. There are a number of Automatically Covered Pre-Existing Medical Conditions which you can view here. You do not need to call the Medical Screening Helpline in respect of these as they are covered at no additional premium.

Under this policy, a “Close Relative” is defined as mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband, partner (including common law and civil partnerships), son, daughter(including fostered/adopted), grandparent, grandchild, parent in law, son in law, daughter in law, brother in law, sister in law, step parent, step child, step sister, step brother or legal guardian.

This is basically the amount which will be deducted by the insurer against claims. So, for example, if you lost all your luggage and claimed back £500 and this was approved by the insurer, they would deduct £70 from that claim and you’d receive £430.
There is a £70 (£120 on the Backpacker Policy) excess for every claim per incident on this policy, with the following exceptions:
The first £250 of each and every claim arising from the same incident under Sections A.4.2 rented accommodation (in respect of the use of rented temporary accommodation only) and Legal Expenses.
There is no excess on Personal Accident, Loss of Deposit, Travel Delay and Temporary loss of baggage.

Essentially, this means you are covered for accidental injury, death or illness to another person, or accidental loss or damage to material property. To put this into context, here are two examples of each type.

You are on an overland tour, and you pick up a pot of boiling water off the camp fire, realise it’s extremely hot and immediate drop it, but in the process of doing so you badly scold other travellers, which result in them becoming hospitalised and missing the rest of the trip. These other travellers will in all probability sue you for damages. That’s why you need cover for accidental injury.

The other example is that you’ve checked into your hotel in Penang after a day on the beach, and you start running the bath. You then go out onto the balcony to gaze across the sea, have a Gin and Tonic, and slowly doze off to sleep. The bath carries on running, overpowers the overflow, goes all over the floor, seeps over the carpets, then seeps through the floor and damages the room below. The hotel is going to want payment for all the damage, and compensation for the fact that will have to take two rooms out of service whilst the damage is repaired.

Note the Personal Liability cover will not cover you whilst driving a car, motorbike or any other type of machinery (for example Jet-Ski’s and the likes), as this will be covered by the relevant insurance for that, and nor will if cover you for taking part in any trade, business or profession.

In the policy itself, there is a whole section devoted to Complaints Procedure, all the way from the first people to complain to right through to the Financial Ombudsman. However, in the first instance please contact The True Traveller to get it sorted out. We know the system better, and it’s in our interest to get any complaints sorted out for you as you’re our client. Our clients are fortunate in as much it’s very rare indeed for us to receive a complaint anyway. In the past twelve months, we received one complaint, which essentially was that someone wanted a refund on their insurance after they had already started travelling and they’d bought their insurance months earlier.

Yes. We use a system called Trustpilot, and a couple of days after you take out your insurance you’ll receive an invitation to give Trustpilot your comments, good or bad. Only about 2% of people actually complete the Trustpilot invitation anyway, and we can’t amend or delete any of them. If you leave us a great comment, and then find out we’ve let you down, you can go back and amend your comment as well.

Well, a few people have put on their own blogs the service they have received, and some have written on forums as well. Due to its commercially sensitive nature, we can’t list out all the claims that have been made which is a shame as we’d love to! But in 2012, we had far more than our fair share of helicopter repatriations in Nepal, hospitalisations all over the world, cancellation claims, travel delay and baggage claims. Pretty much what one would expect!