MARCH 2020 PAGE 2


THE KNOWLEDGE www.travelextra.ie CONTENTS


Travel Extra Clownings, Straffan, Co Kildare


(+3531) 2913707 Fax (+3531) 2957417


Editor:


Eoghan Corry eoghan.corry@ travelextra.ie Publisher:


Edmund Hourican edmund@bizex.ie Sales Director: Maureen Ledwith maureen@bizex.ie


Sales Manager Paulette Moran paulette@bizex.ie t: +353 (0)1 291 3702 Accounts and Advertising: Maria Sinnott maria@bizex.ie


Chief Features Writer: Anne Cadwallader anne@travelextra.ie


Contributors : Damian Allen


damianjamesallen@ gmail.com


Carmel Higgins carmel@travelextra.ie Cauvery Madhavan cauvery@travelextra.ie Sean Mannion sean@grafacai.ie Catherine Murphy cathmurph@yahoo.com Aileen O’Reilly


aileencoreilly@gmail.com


Editor Emeritus: Gerry O’Hare


Travel Extra


takes no responsib- ility


for errors and omissions.


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Contact +35387- 2551675 if you have difficulty getting Travel Extra.


3 News Holiday world 6 Postcards: News from the trade


8 ITIA Awards: This year’s winners 26 Afloat: A quantum leap 28-31 Flying: Airline and airport news


33 Wriuter awards I 36 Window seat: Our columnists 37 Pictures: Out and about


MTravel Insurance


any people have a fixation on price as


the determining factor when choosing travel insurance. But there is a substantial difference be- tween policies in terms of coverage, the level of excesses and what cover is available only as an optional extra.


BUSINESS travel is not covered by


25pc of annual policies and is an optional extra for 28pc of them. Cover is standard with 47pc of annual policies.


DISRUPTION The buzz word of the


moment, €10 extra per trip and €17 on an an- nual policy.


SEPARA-


TION A third of annual policies won’t provide cover for your children (or stepchil- dren) if they don’t live with you.


CHILDREN travelling independently


are not covered by half of all annual policies and other insurers are likely to regard children as travelling independently even if one parent puts them on a plane and the other collects them when they get off. They insist that children are accom- panied by a responsible adult for the whole journey.


WINTER sports bills for medical treat-


ment abroad can be huge, despite this, a fifth of skiers don’t bother with insurance at all, while only a third of those who do buy a policy check that it covers them for winter sports.


Just 30pc of annual You never know when and where:


travel policies include winter sports cover as standard, while 63pc offer it as an optional extra and 7pc don’t in- clude it at all. Check the terms carefully. Some exclude off-piste skiing altogether, others insist that you have a guide, for example. Many poli- cies restrict the amount of skiing you can do within the year.


AIRLINE failure


is covered by just 34pc of annual policies provide this cover as standard, while it is an optional extra for 4pc of annual policies; 62pc don’t provide cover at all. However, the elabor- ate bonding scheme does not cover most ticket- only air fares you buy direct from an airline.


EXCESS limits on your insurance can vary


widely according from one insurer to another. Some charge no excess at all, but others charge as much as €500 of a claim before you receive a penny from your in- surance. With medical expenses the average ex- cess is €85, with a range of zero to €600. For cancellation, the average excess is €80, with indi- vidual insurers charging anything from nothing to €300.


For loss of deposit is the average is €40 and maximum €300; the


equivalent figures are €80 (maximum €250) for lost baggage, €10 (maximum €120) for de- layed baggage and €80 (maximum €420) for legal expenses.


AGE Three quarters of annual policies have


a maximum age of 75 years or less, and 27pc


have a maximum age of 65 or less. It is essential that any pre-existing medical conditions are declared to the relevant provider as failing to do so could invalidate the policy.” Cover might al- ready be there from your bank as part of your cur- rent account. Although “packaged accounts” are much maligned, they can offer the elderly a cheap way to get travel cover. Even where insurers did not have maximum age limits, premiums are often so high as to be unaffordable. One policy has a maximum age of just 34.


LENGTH of holi- day is important. Some


policies allow you to be overseas for a maximum of 17 consecutive days, 45pc of annual policies limited trip coverage to 31 days abroad while


others will cover you even if you are abroad every day of the year.


BREAKING the


journey could invalidate your insurance, if you have a backpacker policy but need to come home for a few days, some insurers won’t cover you when you resume your travels. Coverage will automatically cease for 57pc of backpacker policies, regardless of whether or not you intend to resume their travels abroad.


PETS If your return from holiday is delayed,


will your travel insur- ance cover the cost of an extended stay in kennels for your pets? Forty- six per cent of policies provide such cover, with limits typically varying from €50 to €750.


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