Travel Insurance/Getting Around Don't Get Done in the Sun

Every year, millions of us splash out on holidays abroad.

But most of us have to save all year for our precious two

weeks in the sun.

So when things go wrong, it can be pretty devastating.

They just want a four-star holiday. I could have come home after a week.

Flight delays, shabby accommodation

and poor service can ruin your precious break.

Not to mention scams, tricks and cons.

I saw these lads coming towards us,

and I think we just all suddenly felt unsafe.

We're here to help you avoid the holiday from hell.

And make sure you don't get done in the sun.

On today's travel itinerary, sunseekers given

the cold shoulder by their insurers when it came to making a claim.

I was absolutely devastated.

I phoned my parents and I was in tears on the phone.

And I'll be hitting the streets to see how easy it is to be

taken for a ride when it comes to getting around on holiday.

Has anybody ever tried to take advantage of you

when you got into a taxi?

That's the best question I've had all afternoon, that one!

There are lots of things that can ruin your holiday.

Illness,

a natural disaster

or losing all your possessions.

Any one of these could put your holiday on the rocks.

That's why we take out travel insurance,

to make sure we're covered.

But are we?

Victoria Wilkinson from Wakefield booked a holiday to Zante in Greece

in October 2010 for her and her 14-year-old son, Luke,

for August 2011.

The holiday cost her £1,224.

It was the first holiday that we'd ever been on, just myself

and Luke abroad, so we were really looking forward to it.

It took her ages to save up for that holiday.

She used to go into the travel agent when she had some spare money

and pay it off gradually.

Luke and Victoria were very excited

and were getting ready to jet off when Victoria's younger brother,

Andrew, who had a long-term heart condition,

was told he needed some unexpected heart surgery.

This was scheduled for the day before Victoria

and Luke were due to fly.

I actually said that we wouldn't go away,

and Andrew was adamant that we should and, you know,

we hadn't had this holiday for such a long time, a two-week holiday.

And he said, you know, "Just come and see me when you get back,"

you know. "It'll be fine." So that's what we decided to do.

Victoria had an annual insurance policy with Columbus that

renewed automatically, so she didn't check the finer details,

and was confident that if she changed her mind, she'd be covered.

She relaxed and carried on with the holiday preparations.

Most insurers in this country are members of

the Association of British Insurers.

But what a policy covers isn't always obvious.

When would you be insured, if your trip was cancelled,

due to the health of a close relative?

You need to check the policy terms and conditions to make sure

you understand when the cancellation cover kicks in.

So the policy document will explain very clearly who is

covered by the policy and in what circumstances.

Although Victoria was aware her brother had been

ill in the past, she assumed she was covered if she had to cancel.

But the day before she was due to fly,

her brother Andrew's condition became far more serious.

We'd set an alarm to get up at three o'clock in the morning to get

ready to go to the airport.

And I got a phone call from my father saying that things had taken

a turn for the worst and that Andrew had been given, at that point,

I think it was a 5% chance of surviving.

So at that point, my dad said to me, "I don't think you should go."

As soon as it was late enough to do so,

I phoned the insurance company and explained the situation to them.

Umm...

Told them that we were going to be unable to go and why,

and they actually said to me, at that point over the phone,

"Don't worry. We'll send you a claim form. You'll get your money back."

Victoria made the right decision not to go on holiday

because ten days later, Andrew's health deteriorated again.

We had no indication whatsoever that there would be any

problem with the surgery that Andrew would have.

But, you know, there were complications,

at the end of the day.

And that, tragically, led to Andrew's death.

Victoria was heartbroken,

but was glad she'd been able to be with her family at this time.

She sent the claim form to the insurance company,

and several weeks later, they wrote back.

There was a clause in the policy that stated that

if a member of your family had a pre-existing medical condition

that you knew about, you weren't covered. I was absolutely devastated.

I phoned my parents and I was in tears on the phone,

and I was saying, "I can't believe this is happening."

Things were already stressful

because it was only a couple of months after Andrew had passed away.

So even if Victoria had declared Andrew's medical history,

Columbus Direct wouldn't have paid out

because of an exclusion in the policy.

But if these exclusions are buried in the terms and conditions

of most insurance policies, is it even possible to get cover?

Fiona Macrae works in the insurance industry

and specialises in these sorts of cases.

If you have a sick relative,

where should you be going for insurance, do you think?

The first thing you should do, it depends on the circumstances.

So for instance, if you have an annual policy

and your holiday's all booked

and then something comes up with a relative,

they become ill and you don't want to go away or they've got

an operation coming up, the first thing you should do is speak

to your travel insurer and discuss with them what has happened.

They might say to you, "Well,

"you need to cancel your holiday and we'll give you a refund.

"That's fine."

Or they might cover that extra risk of your relative being unwell,

and should you need to cut short your holiday and come home or

cancel it completely, they will cover you for that.

But you need to declare it to your travel insurer

and they've got to have agreed it in writing with you.

But in Victoria's case, her insurer said her policy did not include

cover for any family member with a pre-existing medical condition.

And this is a common clause in many travel insurance policies.

But Victoria is not alone in being surprised by this exclusion.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

-How long have you been a travel writer?

-Oh, it's about 14 years now.

So you've been all over the world, you're a real seasoned traveller.

I've been extremely lucky. I've visited all five continents.

Tell me a bit, then, about your travel insurance story.

Well, it's quite a similar story to Victoria's, really.

I was going to go to New Zealand.

My dad had unfortunately had cancer two years ago

but he was in remission. He had chemotherapy.

We thought there were no problems, and then about two weeks

before I was due to leave, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

He was going to have a seven-hour operation and he's 75 years old.

And that operation was going to be two days after

I was due to arrive in Auckland.

So I cancelled and they said, "Well, you can't make a claim

"because it's a pre-existing condition for your father."

How clued up were you about the small print of your policy,

what it covered and what it didn't?

Well, as it turns out, not very clued up at all.

I fully would have expected that I would have had to disclose

a pre-existing medical condition,

but I wouldn't have assumed that that was the case for family.

As it turns out, I was wrong.

So the medical exclusion within the policy wasn't even clear to

an accomplished globetrotter.

Surely, exclusions like these involving loved ones should be

clearer, especially as they appear in most mainstream travel

insurance policies.

If you've got a relative with a serious health issue, there is

always the possibility that you're going to find cover harder to obtain.

But I think in most circumstances,

there are specialist providers out there, there are intermediaries

out there that can arrange cover in just about any situation.

But if you have an annual policy, are you meant to

tell your insurance company every time something changes?

Every time an insurance company automatically renews your policy,

they should be highlighting to you the essential terms

and conditions, things that, for example, may have

changed during the year that you should be telling them about.

And I think the golden rule here is actually don't second-guess, don't

take a chance, particularly where medical conditions are concerned.

It's a situation that both Victoria

and Will Hide feel they were helpless in.

What needs to change, then, do you think?

I think the insurance companies need to make the small print less small.

A year and a half after the tragic death of her brother, Andrew,

Victoria's travel insurer still won't pay out

for her cancelled holiday.

We put Victoria's case to Columbus Direct

and they've sent a statement in response.

They explain that...

I think that they're not taking into account the complex

nature of this, really.

But if they do review their policies and something does change,

then something good will come out of it.

But that's not the only problem with the insurance industry.

Later, we discover how declaring an illness can lead to some

shocking price rises.

I pressed submit and I was just totally stunned that the cheapest one

was £1,560.

I was totally stunned.

When your plane hits the tarmac, how do you feel?

Relieved to be on your holidays, or dreading the next

leg of the journey - getting to the hotel?

Into town, please.

We paid... I think it was 70 euros for a taxi,

and then on the way back, they charged us 40 euros.

So that's, like, a 30...

Well, probably about a 25 quid difference, which is ridiculous.

One of the most common complaints of Brits abroad is the taxi meter

ticking on and on whilst you feel like you've been driven here,

there and everywhere. Are we nearly there yet?

To avoid going the long way round,

there are a couple of simple things you could do before you leave.

Now, once you've left the airport behind,

getting around should be straightforward.

But getting into the wrong kind of taxi could be

dangerous for your health and your wealth.

I personally paid 35 euros for a seven-minute journey

-from Mont Blanc to Chamonix once...

-That was a lot.

..which I thought was expensive.

However, his excuse was winter tyres cost more.

The AA report that in 22 European cities tested,

when it comes to taxis, the standard of driving

and customer care has often been described as appalling.

And in a recent YouGov survey, 15% of us

named local taxi fares as one of our top ten holiday rip-offs.

Meet whistleblower Jeremy Mills, a local driver here in Tenerife.

He's going to give us the low-down on how unscrupulous taxi

drivers can be in a bid to get your money.

-Hi, Jeremy.

-Hi, Rani.

-How are you?

-Very well, thank you. Thanks for stopping to chat to us.

So Jeremy, you've been here for ten years.

How do I know that that taxi meter is not just going on and on and on

and I'm going to be left penniless before I even get to the beach?

Well, you don't know. He could be taking you around wherever, wherever.

You don't necessarily know before you start how much you're going to pay.

You have to keep your eye on the meter.

If you're not happy, for whatever the reason,

then every single taxi has a taxi number, like they do in the UK.

And it's this taxi number that you can report to the authorities.

But it's not just the car you need to check, as some drivers may

not be licensed at all, and this could lead to big problems.

So say, for example, he's speeding and the police stop.

You wouldn't get into trouble, then?

It all depends on whether his paperwork

and everything else was in order. You'd be slung out of the vehicle.

I have known the police stop people, even on the motorway,

and they have been left by the side of the motorway with their suitcases.

Yes, after a long day, it's very tempting to just

wave your arms in the air, hoping to flag down a taxi.

If you are getting into a taxi that's doing an illegal run,

for a lot of people, they just say, "I'm getting a bargain.

"And touch wood," you know.

People aren't going to crash, and that's what we kind of rely on.

Touch wood is right, OK?

You don't know whether it's even got an MOT, you don't

know whether it's actually insured.

If that vehicle then has an accident taking you to the airport

and you injure yourself or you kill yourself,

the possibilities are that your holiday insurance won't cover you.

This is a very real danger,

so it definitely pays to know how to spot a licensed cabbie.

In some places like New York, it's very easy, as they're all

bright yellow.

Other countries will have slightly different ways of identifying

registered taxis.

So make sure you read up on the rules

and regulations of your destination to save you from getting done.

Travel insurance is there to give us complete peace of mind

while we're abroad.

But finding the right cover at the right price is not

always as simple as it sounds.

Meet Rita O'Donnell from Lincolnshire, who experienced

just that.

In 2007, she was diagnosed with breast and liver cancer,

but treatment worked well, and two years later, she was cancer-free.

This meant Rita could start to live her life to the full again,

and there was one luxury that became essential.

Knowing that I had a future meant that holidays became,

and still are, very, very important to me.

They're a way of nourishing your body and nourishing your soul.

So after her daughter, Isabel, moved to LA, Rita planned

a trip to the States to visit her in summer 2012

and started researching options for travel insurance cover.

I did what I always do with any kind of insurance,

whether it's for the car or the home. I go on comparison websites.

They've always provided good value.

But after completing the online quotation questionnaire as best she

could for her pre-existing medical condition, Rita got a nasty shock.

I pressed submit and I was just totally stunned that the

cheapest one was £1,560.

I was totally stunned. Isn't insurance all about risk?

And I didn't feel I was a risk. I've never felt that my "cancer" needed covering.

The best quote for her holiday insurance was more than

the cost of Rita's return flights to LA.

As I'd been cancer-free for several years,

I didn't really think it would have a great impact on insurance.

I'm as shocked as Rita at those quotes.

Like most of us these days, Rita used an online comparison site

to get quotes from all the major insurers.

I want to know if I can get a cheaper quote for travel insurance

with pre-existing medical conditions from any of them.

But first, I'm going to check the price with a clean bill of health.

Single trip. Right, so, let's get quotes then. 81 quotes.

£14 is the lowest quote I've got here.

It's a similar story on other comparison websites that

cover different insurers.

Now, let's fill in the questionnaire using Rita's details

with her pre-existing medical condition.

"Has the disease ever spread beyond the breast?"

I know it had spread in Rita's case.

"Have you attended a medical practitioner's surgery

"in the last two years?"

Well, I'll put yes,

but I suppose you could have gone for an ingrown toenail.

We have found six quotes, from £1228.95.

That's the cheapest. The most expensive of them...

is £1770.

These results are pretty similar on all the sites I tried.

So there's a problem here.

Clearly, you can find quotes

if you have a pre-existing medical condition on comparison websites.

But they might be sky-high.

Surely, there have to be better deals on offer.

So, who are best-placed to go to comparison websites, do you think?

If you're fit and healthy,

comparison websites can help you arrange travel

insurance in a matter of minutes at very competitive prices.

But if you, for example, have got a pre-existing condition,

you probably need some more specialist, bespoke advice.

There wasn't an option at any time for me to say, "My cancer is gone,"

which was the absolute truth. Or, "I am now cancer-free."

Time to get an opinion from one of the leading comparison websites.

Who do you consult when putting together these questionnaires?

We work very closely with the insurance industry, the ABI,

and insurers directly.

The system that we use on the pre-existing travel insurance

channel is the same set of questions that are used by 80 percent

of travel insurers.

MoneySupermarket doesn't do the underwriting or the evaluating of the risk.

So, most online applications, that's individual companies as well

as price comparison websites, ask quite general questions.

And that means they may not be best suited to you

if your medical history requires more explanation.

Why do pre-existing medical conditions push-up travel

insurance premiums?

Pre-existing medical conditions do not necessarily push up

the cost of travel insurance, because of course not all travel

policies will cover pre-existing conditions.

But those that do cover them need to take into account

the risk of a claim being made.

Why do sites stick to such an inflexible,

one-size-fits-all kind of approach?

They've got what we call a very strict underwriting criteria.

In other words, they are writing travel insurance for people

who are in A-1 medical condition, as a lot of people are.

But of course, there are many people out there that don't fit that box.

It seems if you do want to get insurance that differs

from the normal, it's always best to pick up the phone and discuss

your needs with the company directly, rather than fill out a form.

But although this may result in a lower quote in some cases,

general insurance policies still aren't willing to accept the

risk of medical conditions without an increased cost.

Fiona Macrae also had problems getting insurance after

she was declared free of cancer.

How surprised were you by the fact you couldn't find any insurance?

I was really surprised, because my background was insurance

and I understood risk and I couldn't understand where the risk was.

I'd had my chemotherapy, my oncologist said I was fit

and was happy for me to travel.

But the insurers wouldn't cover me.

So, what would you recommend for people who do have some

kind of pre-existing health problem?

I think you should always look for a specialist insurer.

The charity that supports your condition,

they will always be able to advise you on who can help you.

That's a really good start.

They understand the risks that come with your condition

and they are going to be able to offer you a better price than

somebody that doesn't understand your condition fully.

And after deciding her quotes were just too high, Rita did just that

and found a specialist insurer to get a quote from.

I did their screening, which was way less ambiguous, and had

the all-important "my cancer has now gone", which I was able to tick.

And got to the end of that, submitted,

and it came back as £100.31.

And I got my credit card there and then and paid it.

I was just absolutely overjoyed.

At last, a reasonable quote.

But surely, it shouldn't be that complicated?

Still to come, I ask a leading price comparison website how they,

and the industry as a whole,

can improve the ways they quote for pre-existing medical conditions.

Even if you decide not to leave your resort for your fortnight

in the sun, there are two journeys that you're going to have to make.

That's to and from the airport.

Earlier on, we found out how to avoid getting

conned by a crooked cabbie.

But what if you decide to drive yourself around

while you are on vacation?

Hiring a car gives you more freedom

and flexibility than using taxis or public transport.

But it's wise to take a few precautions before driving

off into the sunset.

I went to Lanzarote before and hired a car there,

and that was pretty bad. We had a bit of a dodgy car.

They tried to charge us so many thousand euros.

Yes, from being lumbered with a dodgy old banger to being

pressured into buying pricey and often unnecessary insurance

policies, hiring a car abroad can be a minefield.

So, here are top tips to keep you, and your wallet,

safe while driving overseas.

1. Be wary of thieves that may target you.

Hire cars tend to be obvious with the hire car sticker on the back.

One of the things to watch out for if you're driving through

the Continent is, particularly, roadside robberies or scams.

A good Samaritan will flash at your car, point at your back tyre,

perhaps, and you think, "Hey, we've got a flat".

You pull over, somebody reaches in and takes

a handbag from the front seat or a bag from the back seat.

And watch out when you're parked up, too.

If you have a hire car, don't leave any belongings on show.

Nothing at all. Not passports, nothing in the hire car.

And if you have to leave things behind,

make sure they're locked in the boot and not visible for anyone to see.

2. Read up on driving at your holiday destination before you leave the UK.

When you drive outside of the UK, the rules are going to be different.

Different road signs, different etiquette on the road.

So, always do check with a motoring organisation what the main

differences are.

Increasingly, I'm hearing that highway patrols in any country

in the world are getting a lot more serious about fining tourists.

Very often, there's all kinds of penalties whereby if you

haven't paid your fine, you might not be allowed out of the country.

And 3. Always book with a reputable company,

and give the car a good going-over before driving off.

So, you get your hire car, then you go, "Ooh,"

and they go, "This is a perfect hire car,

"there you go, ladies, off you go."

And d'you go, "Thank you very much," or d'you have a look at it?

-Yeah, we have a look at it.

-A good look?

-Yeah.

Check everything.

When you hire something abroad it's absolutely, 100 percent vital

that you go round the car and inspect it for scratches.

You must do that.

And if there's anything on there that is not on the form,

then go back and report it because if you bring it back

and there's extra scratches on there, it's your word

against theirs and quite frankly, they're not going to believe you.

So, that's the low-down on hiring a car abroad to ensure you don't

get done in the sun.

Travel insurance is something you really shouldn't have to

worry about when you're relaxing in the sun.

But the devil is in the detail of your policy,

so here's your essential travel insurance advice.

Don't rely on an online application,

as you may not be able to provide all of the detail you need to.

For example, with pre-existing medical conditions,

call up the insurer and explain things for more tailored advice.

But be prepared, as not all insurance companies will cover you.

You might also need to look for specialist cover

if you're taking part in an extreme sport, going on a cruise,

or travelling to a country deemed to be dangerous.

And many policies also won't pay out

if your holiday's affected by a natural disaster.

A European Health Insurance Card isn't an alternative to

private travel insurance, but it does let you get state

healthcare at a reduced cost, only within Europe.

Some insurers will waive the excess on your policy if you have one.

So it seems most general insurers on price comparison websites

can't offer a competitive quote to people like Rita,

who have been cleared of cancer.

So why don't they enable people to give more detail?

There was no opportunity for Rita anywhere on the questionnaire

to say that she was cancer-free.

Why is that?

Well, it's a term that we haven't been able to find anywhere.

I'm not a medical expert,

so I don't know if it is an official term that people use.

I mean, I've heard the phrase of being in remission

-when it comes to cancer.

-And is that on the questionnaire?

No, it's not on the questionnaire.

The questions we ask are the questions that are recognised by the industry.

If your questionnaire reflects the industry standard,

and one in three of us is expected to get cancer, for example,

then does the industry standard need to change?

I think it's a very difficult one to answer,

because as I say, with pre-existing medical conditions,

it covers a huge array of different illnesses.

I think one of the things, when it comes with insurance,

is what we need to try and do is come up with a question set

that helps the majority of people.

Tell me what you've been doing since you've been made aware of Rita's case.

Well, we're looking at ways we can incorporate specialist

insurers into our channel and our product,

and we're actually in discussions with the company that did insure Rita,

to see how we can potentially include them on the site.

In some circumstances,

perhaps the panel that's on the site at the moment, they can't

necessarily return a quote as low as maybe a specialist can.

Great news that this comparison site is looking to change things

and offer a wider variety of insurance providers.

But the onus is still on us travellers to make sure

we get the right policy, not just the cheapest.

It might help more of us to not get done in the sun.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd