Insurance for laptop, cameras etc. when touring

[RayS]

Checking my house insurance policy I find I have cover for such items but only for up to 60 days in any one period of insurance i.e. a year. If I take one long and one medium tour the total is likely to be around 150 days, so it would be easy to get unlucky with any claim.

I have checked various other insurers and the 60 day period seems to be pretty standard.
Has anyone got a contents policy which would cover for the sort of period I mention, or a specific traval policy for such items.

Suggestions gratefully received.

 

[DavidKlyne]

You can always ask your insurance company to increase the days covered but I expect this will bring and extar premium.
David

 

[DianneT]

We like you Ray are covered by our Household Insurance for 60 days.

 

[Lutz]

I don't know whether the situation regarding insurance coverage of personal effects while away from home is any different in the UK but over here on the Continent we are always told that the insurance companies seize every opportunity that they can find to claim gross negligence on the part of the policyholder in the event of loss, thereby avoiding the need to pay up. As a result, policies specifically offered to those travelling are generally not worth their cost. I can imagine that UK insurance companies are the same.

 

[RogerL]

My household policy covers "Possessions Away From Home" for periods of 60 days at a time - not maximum of 60 days/year - the single item limit is £1,500 so everything I take away is covered whether it's on my person, in the car or in the caravan.
Lutz may have a point about "UK" insurance companies as most of them are foreign owned!

 

[RayS]

After more interchange with CC it now seems that the cause of my anxiety is the wording in the policy book which came when I took the home insurance out some years ago, but which has now been changed - but they didn't send me a new book. The original wording could readily be interpreted as meaning cover for personal possessions was limited to 60 days in any period of insurance - normally a year.
It now reads to correctly represent the situation which is cover without time limit (within the period of insurance) in UK and Europe BUT only for 60 days in 'rest of the world'. So that's a relief.
If anyone has come to the same conclusion as I did originally, it may be worth checking that the policy document you have is the latest issue (perhaps with modified wording) or that 60 days cover applies only to rest of world.
Apologies if I have caused any unnecessary concern.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Ray,

Thank you for bringing this point to light. It actually means that if your insure failed to send you a policy booklet when you 'renwed' they are actually in breach of the industries code of practice, and may even be in breach of the FSA regulations for insurance policies.

It is not always realised, but an insurance policy has defied limits, and usually for homes, cars, caravans etc its a one year policy with an expirey date. Even if you 're-new' your policy before the old one expires, technically there is an actual break in the cover, Often a policy will remian in force up until 23:59 on a given date, and the new policy becomes active at 00:00 on the following day thus the following policy is always a' new' policy.

I have often wondered what happens if a claim arrises in the 1 minute between expirey and the new cover

Often insurance companies will introduce changes to their terms and conditions when a policy is renewed. They may completly reissue the terms and conditins, or they may create an ammendment sheet that referes to previous issues of the T&Cs. Such amendment documents should not be ignored, as they can contain small word chnages that actually have a big impact on the cover or exclusions.
In Ray's case the cover changed for the better, but that is unusual, more often than not the changes protect the insurance company better rather than the customer.

 

[Surfer]

All we got from CC and Towergate was a few loose pages relating to what is covered. Nothing like our household insurance booklet.

 

[birdman101]

Just reading these posts i wonder how many people notify their insurance each time they are away,so that the insurer can make sure you do not exceed the days on the policy.

 

[RogerL]

I have often wondered what happens if a claim arises in the 1 minute between expiry and the new cover

No-one's ever been daft enough to make a claim declaring that it occurred in the last few seconds of the policy cover.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Sorry roger that dosent answer my question,
If it were a claim relating to a pice of technology that time logs using radio clocks for time synchonisation, such that it could be proved the 'insured' event occured at that time - What a ,ovely get out for the insurers!

 

[Surfer]

Sorry roger that dosent answer my question,
If it were a claim relating to a pice of technology that time logs using radio clocks for time synchonisation, such that it could be proved the 'insured' event occured at that time - What a ,ovely get out for the insurers!

What are you smoking? LOL!