“It’s finally here”, you hear the elves cheer,
Santa’s sleigh was full to the brim.
In squeezed the last teddy
The reindeer were ready
The dark, night sky was looking quite grim.
But wait, what’s this? Santa looked at his list
The last box was missing a tick.
“Oh, it’s my insurance.
Meant to sort in advance.”
Santa sighed, as Rudolph gave him a lick.
“Oh well, I’ll risk it” he chuckled aloud
And grabbed a mince pie for the ride
But did it backfire
As the night went dire.
He slumped home defeated and sighed
He opened the door, Mrs Claus smiled
As she helped with his boots and coat
Santa gave her a look
As his reindeer stood shook
He sighed “It should have started with a quote.”
Don’t be like Father Christmas.
Gather round as Santa tells Mrs Claus his story…
“…a storm hit the sleigh and all the presents started to fall out everywhere – we hadn’t even hit New Zealand yet! ...”
When Santa’s sleigh encountered turbulence, the presents started falling out of the sleigh, never to be seen again. Without the right insurance, the cost to replace them would need to come out of his own pocket. With elves to pay and reindeer to feed – this wasn’t the result Santa wanted.
With travel insurance, lost luggage is included as part of your cover. This includes damaged and stolen luggage too. Although airlines have a legal obligation under the Montreal Convention to compensate for lost luggage, it doesn’t state specifically how much you can get compensated for, meaning it can vary largely from airline to airline. Typically, it will be less than £1,000 [1]. With adequate travel insurance and proof of lost belongings, you can try to ensure you are covered for a sufficient amount.
“… Then, when I was abseiling down one of the chimneys, the rope snapped! …”
If you’re planning to include some adventurous activities on your trip, you need to have cover in place to safeguard yourself should anything go wrong.
Check if sports travel insurance can be included in your policy to cover you for a wide range of extreme sports including cycling, quad biking, skiing, snowboarding and many more.
“…I landed with a thud! It’s a wonder no one heard me. I hobbled out of there as quickly as I could, but I knew I had broken something!”
“Did you go to the hospital?” Mrs Claus asked.
“No! I knew it would cost an arm and a leg!” Santa explained…
If you go on holiday without adequate travel insurance, you can be left having to foot the bill for emergency medical expenses abroad which can quickly mount up to thousands of pounds.
The Foreign Office released some startling statistics to help showcase how costly it can be if you don’t buy travel insurance ahead of your trip [2].
|
Location |
Injury/treatment |
Cost |
|
Europe |
Two days in a general ward |
£600 |
|
Asia |
Bronchitis requiring seven days of inpatient treatment |
£15,000 |
|
USA |
Broken leg |
£10,000 |
|
USA |
Heart attack |
£20,000-£30,000 |
|
USA |
Bronchitis requiring seven days inpatient treatment |
£20,000 |
Repatriation costs to the UK can also range from £1,200 - £16,000 from Europe, £9,000 - £35,000 from the USA and £15,000 - £20,000 from Australia [3].
If like Old Saint Nick, you also fall into the over 65 age bracket you may need to look at getting specialist senior’s travel insurance. These policies can include your typical coverage for lost luggage, cancellations and delays but also pre-existing medical conditions.
You don’t have to be over 65 to obtain travel insurance with pre-existing medical condition coverage either. Reach out to a member of our team who can review each travel application on a case-by-case basis with specialist medical screening.
“…Oh dear. It sounds like you had a difficult night!” Mrs Claus reached in for a hug.
“I really considered cancelling Christmas altogether! ….”
Travel insurance doesn’t just kick in once you set foot on the plane. Travel insurance covers the time running up to your trip as well as the holiday as a whole. If you need to cancel your trip due to unforeseen circumstances, you can claim back some of the cost of the holiday up to an agreed value. Unforeseen circumstances include illness, redundancy, bereavement, pregnancy complications, home emergencies, court summons or if the destination you are travelling to is deemed dangerous.
This is another reason why it’s important to buy travel insurance as soon as you have booked your trip.
“…Well thankfully it didn’t come to that. Now let’s go get you checked out by the Elfcare professionals.” Mrs Claus soothed, offering Santa her hand.
“Before I do that dear, I am going to sort out my insurance for next year. It’s never too early!”
Travel insurance from Towergate
Don't be like Father Christmas. Towergate Insurance offers a variety of travel insurance policies. From standard travel insurance to over 65s travel insurance, sports insurance, and coach travel. Visit our holiday insurance section to learn more, or reach out to one of our team on tcs@towergate.co.uk.
[1] https://www.thetimes.com/travel/advice/can-i-get-compensation-for-lost-luggage-g9vfd83dw
[2] Christmas Insurance - BIBA
[3] Christmas Insurance - BIBA
Consistent with our policy when giving comment and advice on a non-specific basis, we cannot assume legal responsibility for the accuracy of any particular statement. In the case of specific problems, we recommend that professional advice be sought.
