If you want to know what can happen to you when you’re overseas take a look at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) website. There are links offering advice on such foreign delicacies as: “avian and pandemic flu”, “terrorism” and “hurricanes”.

Anorak’s favourite alarmist section is called “It'll Never Happen to Me!”. It advises: “Things can go wrong on holiday. You could fall ill or have an accident; you could have money or luggage stolen; your visit might be cancelled or cut short through injury or illness; your family may need to fly out to be with you if there is a serious incident.”

Get Insured

Of course you could just go and have a terrific time. But risk is all around us and to help cushion the blow when something goes awry, you need travel insurance.

The Government tells us that the five places where injuries are most likely to occur are: the Beach; Hotels; Remote locations; Ski slopes.

Factor any of these into your holiday itinerary and the premium on your holiday insurance will increase. Skiing down a mountain surrounded by small French children with bells round their necks and a collective death wish is far more dangerous than caravaning in Morecambe. Insurance premiums will be higher.

But there are always deals. Typically, the first insurance policy you will be offered is when you buy your flights or package holiday. “Would you like travel insurance?” asks the travel agent. You would. But try not to jump at this first offer.

The BBC says two out of three holiday-makers do exactly this. But it may not be wise. You can buy travel insurance at your local supermarket, chemist, or post office. It is not hard to get.

Pay Only For What You Need

The trick is to only pay for what you want, and know what you are paying for. Read the small print.

For instance, a package holiday to the Spanish costas has inherent risks, but do you need cover for scuba diving, bungee jumping and wrestling sharks? If such things are mentioned in your policy, chances are you have paid more for them. If you are risk-averse, stick to the standard no frills policy.

If you do fancy a weekend city break to Baghdad with a visit to the famous lion taming training camp, then you may well need a specialist policy.

But for the rest of us, personal liability cover - this pays out if you damage other people or their property – should be around £1 million (this is practically standard). Resist any urge to upgrade this to more cover, and thereby spend more money.

Cover

And thern there is medial cover isn case you or yours are injured. The agent my well slook at you with earnest eyes and say that you should think about upgrading from £2million of cover (standard) tro £10million or more.

Take a look at the following advice from the FCO’s wesbite.
If you need to be returned to the UK in an emergency, you can expect to pay the following:

£30-35,000 Air ambulance (Jet) – East coast of USA
£12-16,000 Air ambulance (Jet) – Canaries
£10-12,000 Air ambulance (turbo-prop) – Balearics
£1,200-3,000 Air taxi (propeller driven light aircraft) – Northern France
£15-20,000 Scheduled flight, stretcher and Doctor escort – Australia

You should seriously think about having cover in case you need any of these services. They are expensive and without insurance you will have to pay out of your own pocket.

But do not pay over the odds. Make sure your policy does not exceded what you need.

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