The temptation to try and cut down on family travel costs can be hard to avoid, given the costs involved these days with paying for 4 or more people to travel abroad on holiday. Reducing the overall cost by avoiding the travel insurance costs, for something you are unlikely to need, is a consideration. But is travelling without travel insurance wise?

If you are a family from Europe and travelling to another destination in Europe, the first thing to do is to get the free EHIC cards (European Health Insurance Card). These replaced what were previously known as the E111 cards and this in effect is a card to proof that you are European and entitled to certain free medical cover within most of the Euro region. These cards are free and are well worth applying for and getting. (Learn how to get the free European Health Insurance Card).

The EHIC though does not cover you for everything that a travel insurance policy will. More serious and elongated injuries, lost baggage, theft from your hotel room and many other situations are not covered with an EHIC. The EHIC is free so do get your free card and do also consider travel insurance.

As with any incident, it is often something which happens when you least expect it and the costs incurred can be huge. If you feel that the cost of the insurance itself is high, you will consider it very little if you find one of your children needing medical attention in the U.S. or Canada.

As a family, the inconvenience alone can be hard to deal with, let alone the costs. I would strongly recommend always to ensure your family for your trip abroad.

Several companies do offer family travel insurance policies and these policies normally tend to work out much cheaper than booking cover for each individual member of the family. If your children are prone to any specific illness or issue, do check specifically to see if this is covered and do be honest when filling out the insurance documents when buying the policy. Not answering any question about your family, could invalidate the insurance when you attempt to claim on the policy. If buying a family holiday insurance, also check very carefully as to what is defined as a family. Ensure you check the limitation on the ages for who is considered a child. Different insurance companies have different rules on what age is considered for an infant, child and adult.

This is a guest post by Paul Symonds (of the UK Mortgages portal).

Holiday Velvet offers to all their clients the option to purchase specialised travel insurance for holiday rentals.