Claiming on many budget travel insurance policies is pointless thanks to sky-high excess charges, reveals research

• To offer cheap travel cover insurers often add a high excess
• One insurer will pay £200 if cash goes missing - but has a £200 excess 

By Victoria Bischoff For Money Mail

Published: 18:53 EST, 22 September 2015 | Updated: 03:27 EST, 23 September 2015

Sky-high excess charges mean claiming on many budget travel insurers’ policies is pointless, an investigation by Which? has revealed.

To offer cheap travel insurance policies for as little as £10, insurers commonly cut cover and add exclusions into their small print. But now many are ramping up the excess they charge before they will pay out.

Diamond’s Economy policy will pay out up to £200 if your cash goes missing on holiday. But it also charges a £200 excess. So once you have paid that, you won’t get anything else back.

Travel insurance: Many insurers are ramping up the excess they charge before they will pay out

MRL Insurance’s Economy policy will allow you to claim up to £200 for lost or stolen luggage. It charges a £120 excess so you will only get £80 to replace all of your clothes and belongings.

Cheaper Travel Insurance’s Bronze policy has a claim limit of £500 if you need to cancel your trip and a £250 excess. This leaves you with just £250 to offset the cost of your whole holiday.

For a medical claim, a typical excess is just £50, according to price comparison website Gocompare. Some insurers charge just £25.

For cancellations, lost baggage and cash claims, you have to provide up to £250 before your insurer will pay out. 

Comments (0)

Share what you think

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now