Baggage chaos has resulted in 15 000 bags lost, 353 flights cancelled, effecting 20 000 passengers. And that is just 4 days after opening - even more cancellations are expected later this week.

As we are here, at Cover My Travels, do our best to reduce the stress of modern travel, we offer a discount on Baggage Pin with any travel policy you buy. Baggage Pin helps your baggage to find you by own unique number. Read more about baggage pin on our website.

You might have travel insurance as a part of your bank account package for instance, and assume it will cover you and your family whilst abroad.
If, say, you travel with your partner and your partner’s children who don’t normally live with you, then most likely, the children will not be covered by your policy; therefore, require an additional cover.

It is important to have cover for any medical condition you have. If your medical condition has been stable for the last 5 years, you may get the cover for it without any additional premium with Cover My Travels. Call us on 0800 917 7829 to get a quote including cover for your medical condition.

Even if your medical condition is stable, the unusual environment can challenge your body and can affect you more whilst you travel, than at home. When your body is exposed to different environmental conditions- higher sun radiation, higher temperature than you usually live in, different quality of water and unusual food, your body may not adjust quickly enough and may respond in an unusual way- in other words, you can get sick.

If you intend to travel to tropical countries, visit your GP and get the necessary vaccines for diseases like malaria or yellow fever- common in South America and Africa, but can be deadly for the English immune system.
Read more about what diseases can ruin your holiday on BBC website .

Remember, remote exotic destinations usually have very poor or limited medical facilities and when urgent medical attention is necessary, you might have to be transported to the UK by air ambulance. Check out the typical cost of returning you to the UK in case of emergency. Click here.

So, be prepared, don’t gamble with your health and financial stability, get appropriate travel insurance for your travel.

Most travel insurance policies should begin at the date of issue, not the date of departure. So, should you be forced to cancel your trip, you will be eligible to claim against the policy.

All manner of incidents could occur prior to boarding your plane or train- an airport strike action; political unrest -like recent events in Kenya; or even natural disasters- such as floods or hurricanes.

Should you need to cancel your trip due to such an unfortunate event, your travel insurance policy will provide reimbursements to cover some of your expenses- but only if you have purchased the policy prior to departure.

So, don’t leave the purchase of your travel insurance to the last minute, otherwise you won’t receive the maximum level of cover you are entitled to.

Why not try our online quote system and view the benefits available.

Mr. and Mrs. Ferrell booked a holiday to visit Santa in Finland with their grand daughter. As senior travellers, they purchased travel insurance for over 60s that would have covered any medical expenses abroad if needed. Quite unfortunately, the four year old grand daughter caught a cold just before the departure date and the holiday was cancelled. When the family contacted the insurer, it quickly became obvious that the travel insurance policy didn’t cover cancellations.

So, to get the best deal for your money, don’t jump into the first offer: do research and read the policy details. Choosing the right travel insurance provider is as important as choosing the right travel insurance product. If you have to spend 20 min on the phone just to obtain a quote, it’s not a good sign.

Determine your needs. Are you travelling with children? Do you have any medical needs and require travel insurance with medical conditions? Are you retired and want cheap travel insurance for over 65? Do you have a pet and want domestic pet benefit to be included in your policy?

Cover My Travels offers a quick online quote for all your travel insurance needs. Please read our Policy Details outlining the benefits and conditions here.

Heathrow, the world’s busiest international airport, yet again faces the threat of a strike. This time the strike can hit air travellers during the busiest time of the year-Christmas.

With the air ticket prices rocketing during the Christmas period, it is the passengers who suffer the most. Having paid extra premiums, they are left with all this uncertainty on top. Sleeping on a floor at the airport is not a tempting alternative should your flight be cancelled or delayed.

Though BAA is ‘working hard to resolve this issue’ stating that their priority is ‘to ensure there is no disruption to our passengers and their travel plans’, the high risk of a strike is there and if you do travel during Christmas, think carefully what you can do to minimize your stress and potential financial loss.

That is why getting correct travel insurance shouldn’t be a last minute thought, especially if you require senior citizen (over 65) travel insurance or medical travel insurance. Cover My Travels aims to help you reduce time spent planning your trip and offers an easy online travel insurance quote facility.

They are raising awareness by citing reasons why Travel Insurance is important, from flights being cancelled to money being stolen.

A survey carried out by YouGov found that a quarter of all British tourists go abroad without travel insurance which would either cover them or their belongings.

The study also found that consumers believed that the majority of insurance claims are due to lost baggage, however, medical emergencies are a far greater risk.

FirstAssist showed that an air ambulance from the east coast of the US back to the UK would cost £30,000, and up to £16,000 back from the Canary Islands.

It is all to easy to believe that you can afford to take a risk and travel without insurance, however, we all know how unforseen circumstances can happen, therefore covering yourself with travel insurance is your safety net should anything occur, especially if you need medical assistance.

The decision came about after British travelers made complaints that they were having problems making claims as they were not correctly covered by the insurance policies they took out as part of a holiday package.

The FSA said they would:

“review the proposals following the next stage of public consultation by HM Treasury. If the decision is confirmed, the FSA will itself consult with industry and consumer bodies towards the end of the year on the regulatory approach it would take”

The Association of British Insurers welcomed the decision as they have long called for customers to receive the same level of consumer protection regardless of how they buy their travel insurance. They are also interested in ensuring that the new regime will benefit customers rather than adding costs in a competitive market.

Nick Starling, the ABI’s Director of General Insurance and Health said:

“The FSA will need to ensure that the regulation of all travel insurance is proportionate to reflect the low level of potential customer problems associated with this product, and to ensure that customers are not deterred from buy travel insurance”

Source: Insurance Journal

This is due to new passport checks for people entering the UK.

Checks for passengers with older passports generally take around 4 seconds to process, however, the new laser scanning machinery, designed to read data in biometric (fingerprint, voice, DNA or physical appearance, such as facial image) passports will double the time passports take to process.

A spokesman for the Government’s Border and Immigration Agency said:

“While allowing most passengers into the UK quickly, thorough checks are necessary to identify criminals, prevent illegal immigration and protect the public. We make no apologies for enforcing our borders.”

Source: The New Scotsman

Standard Adult Passport fees will increase by £6 from £66 to £72

Child passports will increase by £1 from £45 to £46

Jumbo passports will rise by £8.50 from £77 to £85.50

The Identity and Passport service said:

“These increases have been introduced by the FCO [Foreign and Commonwealth Office] to cover the growing cost of providing consular assistance to British passport holders overseas,”

65 million Brits travel overseas a year, although most people have a trouble free time, occassionally things do go wrong according to Lord Triesman, Foreign Office minister.

“Whether dealing with the victims of crime, sickness or other unforeseen circumstances, consular officials are at the forefront of providing assistance to distressed British nationals.”