Travel Insurance May Include Coverage For Your 'Staycation'

With the credit crunch biting hard, many would-be overseas travellers are faced with cutting the holiday budget and staying close to home - a 'staycation' as it is now known. If you live in a country with socialised medicine, such as the UK, it may not seem important to take out travel insurance. After all, the National Health Service will take care of medical needs if an accident or illness should strike. Statistics have proven that a large percentage of car accidents occur within a few miles of home on familiar roads when we are functioning on 'auto-pilot' and not paying attention. The same phenomenon is likely to be true when taking a holiday in familiar surroundings.

Travel Insurance is not all about missed flights, airlines losing luggage, emergency medical treatment, and repatriation back to the UK. There are a host of other mishaps that are just as likely to occur close to home as they are during a week at a resort in Spain.

Theft is a growing problem throughout the world, and tourist spots everywhere are heavily targeted. You are more likely to carry expensive gadgets and valuables with you - like an iPod, iPhone and laptop during a staycation. Theft can occur from your hotel, vehicle, or rental car, or even from your beach bag while snoozing in a deck chair. The car might break down, preventing you from reaching your pre-booked hotel in time, or a family member might become sick and unable to travel. Hotels have cancellation policies, which could leave you out of pocket for the unused nights.

Most travellers are too busy or can't be bothered to read the small print in their travel insurance policy. Consequently, many travellers do not realise that the Annual Multi-trip travel insurance policy they purchased for the holiday in Spain may also include cover for a staycation. Check the terms of your particular policy, because the cover often extends to your country of domicile (your home country) when accommodation has been pre-booked in advance for two or more nights. It would be a very welcome bonus if disaster should strike.