It appears that around 500,000 people from the UK lose their passport each year while on holiday, with a subsequent loss, according to the Halifax, of over 1.7 million days as they wait to be allowed to come home.
The extra costs of staying abroad, including additional accommodation, flights and so on add up to nearly GBP390 million, or just over GBP130 per person. Advice from the Halifax is to use the hotel safe or safekeeping place in the room for their documents. They should also be aware that one in ten of the lost passports are actually stolen whilst outdoors, so being careful and discreet is important so as not to raise attention.
One further idea, this time from a Halifax travel insurance expert, is to take several copies of the back page of the passport and keep them in a host of different places. This way at least there will be some ID that will help get things sorted out.
As the busiest time of the year for holidays comes ever closer Tesco Finance are sharing some hints and tips with holidaymakers to help them have a great holiday and to manage situations in the best way should they arise.
The most common problems that cause customers to make a claim are lost baggage, medical care and cancellations. All three can ruin a holiday but travel insurance can ease the pressure and ensure a better experience. With regard to lost or stolen baggage for example Tesco Finance want travellers to report their loss to the relevant people straight away. This make the whole claim process much easier further down the line.
Cancellations can be tricky but the key is getting documented proof from the company providing the travel that there was a delay and the reason why. With this in place the claim is much more straightforward.
Marks and Spencer are very generously offering a discount of 20 percent on travel insurance, on top of any other discounts currently applicable.
A spokesman for Marks and Spencer announced the promotion and confirmed that this 20 percent offer is in addition to the 5 percent discount currently given to customers buying their travel insurance online. The offer is also very well time, coming as it does at the beginning of the school holidays.
The cover provided by the Marks and Spencer travel insurance product is very good too, with up to GBP10 million of medical cover, GBP50,000 for personal accidents and GBP6,000 in case the holiday has to be cancelled or curtailed.
