Whilst you wouldn’t dream of going on a trip abroad without having the appropriate insurance, you’d be surprised how many people simply don’t bother taking out a policy when travelling within the UK. Of course, we know that there’s free NHS treatment in the UK and you’re unlikely to lose your baggage if it’s staying with you the whole time, but we’re here to tell you exactly why it’s so important to get insurance, even when staying in the UK.
There are a huge number of reasons why you may have to cancel your UK trip, just the same as there would be if you were travelling abroad; including weather, financial issues or health reasons. If you don’t take out insurance, you could lose some, if not all, of your payment for the holiday and any activities you’ve booked. However, you must always read the small print on your documents, as, for example, if your friend fell seriously ill, you would expect to be covered, but some insurances only cover ill health of 'yourself or close family members'.
If you're taking part in a physical activity or driving a hire car whilst you’re away, for example, and accidentally injure somebody, they could make a claim against you - even if it wasn’t your fault. Having an insurance which covers personal liability is essential for this reason, and could save you a fortune in the long run.
When travelling within the UK, you wouldn’t expect to lose your baggage, as it probably won’t be leaving your person to go in hold of an aeroplane, for example. However, if anything is mislaid in transit, taken from train storage, damaged or even stolen, insurances can pay out to cover the costs of replacing your belongings. You may think it’s okay to chance it, but if you’ve lost something valuable like money, phones, laptops or cameras, you’ll be seriously pleased you got cover.
Many influences out of your control can cause transport delays, with the main contributor being the weather. With the UK's weather being as unpredictable as it can be, many travellers regularly face inconvenient delays. There’s also closed roads, flash floods, high winds and severe thunderstorms which can all cause you to miss important connections, or even a risk to public safety like a terrorist attack, which could see you stranded. If you happen to be unfortunate enough to be caught up in anything like this on your trip within the UK, your insurance should cover your costs.
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Emergency Assistance / Medical Cover
As we've already mentioned, you'd expect to be covered medically if you’re travelling within the UK. Although this is true, many insurance companies offer emergency helplines if you're in need of assistance, which could be a lifesaver for you and your group.
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Always Read the Small Print
We can't stress this point enough - always make sure you read the policy wording and know exactly what level of cover your insurance provides before travelling, as there may be some exclusions that you’re not aware of. This will save you from any nasty surprises if you should need to put in a claim.
You wouldn’t go on holiday without your money, clothes and phone, so don’t travel without insurance. Whatever policy you decide to take out, we highly advise that you check the small print before you travel, in order to ensure that it covers everything that you’ll need. You can even get insurances which cover you for the whole year or for multiple trips, which you can use for your UK trip, as well as any travels in the future.