Columbus Direct

[Claire Bear]

Just looking into travel insurance as my Mum told me off for not already buying it! lol. I have done some quotes and Columbus Direct seem to be about the cheapest with the best cover for example £10,000,000 for medical cover. Plus there is currently 20% quidco cash back.
My only worries are that am I supposed to be looking for something specific in relation to DIY holidays and also there are some mixed reviews, however I guess you get that for any company, people often go on review centre websites just to complain in my experience! Has anyone used this company? Thank you

 

[Kath2003]

We usually go with their Silver package and only then for the increased medical cover - wouldn't travel with less than £10m in medical cover. We have never needed to make a claim, however, so I've no idea how good they actually are.

Make sure cancellation etc. covers the cost of your trip, and that the cash/baggage cover meets your requirements (some people take a LOT with them). Check also the individual item limit if you plan to travel with expensive items. For us, the cheapest package would more than meet our requirements - is only the medical cover that we insist upon "upgrading" on, knowing just how bonkers the US medical system is...

 

[Claire Bear]

Thank you. I was looking at the premium package which includes the £10,000,000 medical cover but also £5000 cancellation. Most of the companies only seem to cover £100 cash though which is a bit annoying.

 

[Kath2003]

Thank you. I was looking at the premium package which includes the £10,000,000 medical cover but also £5000 cancellation. Most of the companies only seem to cover £100 cash though which is a bit annoying.

Remember that covers each individual so two people = £200 cash or $300. It's not really reasonable to expect to be covered for much more in this day and age. We are taking probably $100-200 between us in cash and expect to bring most of it home.

 

[Claire Bear]

Remember that covers each individual so two people = £200 cash or $300. It's not really reasonable to expect to be covered for much more in this day and age. We are taking probably $100-200 between us in cash and expect to bring most of it home.

Good point. I forgot it was £100 each. We are not sure how much we want to take, probably won't take a lot but will take a credit card for shopping

 

[RobynPrincess]

Just a warning, I didn't get my cash back from them through quidco and then they declined my claim with no reason

 

[Claire Bear]

Just a warning, I didn't get my cash back from them through quidco and then they declined my claim with no reason

Oh no! That's awful! Hope you didn't lose too much. I'll keep looking...

 

[darthtatty]

weve used them a few times and got our cashback ok

 

[Kath2003]

We have always had cashback, too.

 

[wayneg]

I used them for one year (3 years ago) got cashbask no problem. Last 2 years gone with the Post Office, a bit more expensive but more reputable.
I have tried to claim twice thru travel insurance, once with ASDA and once with Insure & Go, bith times they wouldn't pay out. Its one of those things you have no idea how good they are til you try to use it.
Ours is due for renewal soon, hate doing it every year.

 

[Claire Bear]

That's good darthtatty and Kath. I'm not surprised you hate doing it Wayneg, it's not exactly straight forward. I think I'll look again and see which companies 'Which?' recommend. If a company is not going to pay out if its a genuine claim its just a nightmare.
Has anyone had any successful claims and can recommend a particular company?

 

[Cyrano]

Concur with others travel insurance is our least favourite part of holiday preparation.

Last year we had a big hike in the quote so looked at the options through bank account. It grates me to pay a monthly amount to the bank, however the monthly charges are less than the cost of a single family trip insurance. Bonus is that we get annual travel insurance, aa cover and other benefits thrown in

So definitely worth exploring this option.

I should add although it was a paper endurance test the underwriters AXA paid out when DS left his backpack at the roadside on the return journey home from Florida.

 

[Claire Bear]

Thank you. We used to pay monthly bank fees but we felt it wasn't worth it because we weren't using the other benefits.

I've had a look on Which? and they seem to recommend the following companies for adults up to the age of 54:

Topnotchcover.com - Silver
Yourtravelcover.com - Gold
Holidaysafe - Premier
Atlas Direct - Comprehensive
Bengo Travel - Optimum

 

[Claire Bear]

I've been doing a bit of research today and think Holiday Safe could be a good company to use, they are recommended by Which? and Money Saving Expert. Just wanted to let other people know who are currently looking.
Has anyone on here used them?

 

[scoobydooby]

This has made me re look at our cover via the bank. It's still the cheapest way for us to to do it for very comprehensive cover (10m
medical each etc) but that is because of i phone insurance as part of the banking too.

 

[Claire Bear]

This has made me re look at our cover via the bank. It's still the cheapest way for us to to do it for very comprehensive cover (10m
medical each etc) but that is because of i phone insurance as part of the banking too.

I guess if you are going on more than one holiday a year it's definitely the cheapest way but we are only looking at a single trip policy so it's just not beneficial for us. Still haven't bought ours, think I'll make it a job for tomorrow night, I've been busy reading trip reports instead lol