In addition, often separate insurance can be purchased for specific costs such as:

• pre-existing medical conditions (e.g. asthma, diabetes);

• sports with an element of risk (e.g. skiing, scuba-diving);

• travel to high risk countries (e.g. due to war or natural disasters or acts of terrorism).

Typically travel insurance for the duration of a journey costs approximately 5-7% of the cost of the trip.

Travel insurance buying tips

• Shop around to find a good price and the right product rather than opting to travel without cover.

• Cheaper policies will usually have less cover – for some the price seems most important, but is it worth the initial saving?

• Consider annual multi-trip insurance if you make several trips a year – you’ll save time and money.

What should a travel insurance policy cover (the necessary minimum):

• medical and health cover for an injury or sudden illness abroad;

• 24 hour emergency service and assistance;

• personal liability cover in case you’re sued for causing injury or damaging property;

• lost and stolen possessions cover;

• cancellation and curtailment cover;

• extra cover for activities that are commonly excluded from standard policies, such as jet skiing.

In case of cancellation or curtailment ensure your policy:

• covers delayed departure because of bad weather;

• will refund the full cost of your holiday;

• pays out if you need to cancel or cut short a trip because you fall ill, for example;

• covers pre-paid expenses such as excursions;

• pays out in case of home emergency: fire, storm or flood, burglary, etc;

• covers extra costs incurred to get home.

In case of stolen, lost or damaged possessions

You can normally choose the limit in your policy. Limits for single items such as cameras and jewellery can vary from as little as £250 up to £1000 or more. Check these limits are adequate and realistic.

All insurance policies say that you must take care of your belongings at all times. If you don’t, the policy may not pay out. So, take as much care of your property as if it were uninsured!

In case of lost baggage on flights

Do not rely on compensation from an airline if it loses your luggage.

By law, airlines only have to pay a specified minimum value per kilo of lost luggage. This is unlikely to cover the full value of your things.

United Nations World Tourism Organization

(UNWTO)

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), based in Madrid, Spain, is a United Nations agency dealing with questions relating to tourism. It compiles the World Tourism Rankings. The World Tourism Organization is a significant global body, concerned with the collection and collation of statistical information on international tourism. This organization represents public sector tourism bodies, from most countries in the world and the publication of its data makes possible comparisons of the flow and growth of tourism on a global scale. The official languages of UNWTO are Arabic, English, French, Russian and ‎Spanish. ‎