Group Travel Insurance

Why there's strength - and savings - in numbers . . .

A church outing to Rome, a Boy Scouts yomp around Loch Lomondside in Scotland, a rugby club dinner in France, a school trip to Belgium.

You can buy group travel insurance to cover any identifiable group of individuals who are travelling together at the same time.

Buying group travel insurance can reap savings, in the same way you get reduced or free tickets when you make a block booking for a concert.

Buy 10 Policies - Get 1 Free!!!

Different insurers offer different carrots in return for the extra business. Endsleigh Insurance, for instance offers a 20% discount to groups of 10 or more.

But group holiday insurance is no different from any travel insurance policy in that there will be restrictions and exclusions on the cover.

If your group is heading off for the Alps and you plan on getting some skiing under your belts, then make sure that winter sports are included in the policy.

Travelling Solo or Together?

Check too whether individuals who are travelling separately are covered under the group insurance - some insurers expect a party to travel together at the same time, others are more flexible.

As with ordinary travel insurance groups have the option to take out single trip or annual multi-trip insurance.

If your group travels several times a year then it makes sense to opt for multi-trip travel insurance.

Winter sports insurance is usually included in an annual multi-trip policy - there'll be restrictions on the number of days you can participate though.

If you don't need this type of cover, talk with the insurer about it so that the policy is better tailored to suit your group's needs.

Do Sequence Dancers Really Want Ski Cover . . . ?

If your group consists of a team of sequence dancers you probably won't want winter sports cover. You might prefer a greater level of luggage cover instead.

Speaking of which if you opt not to take the luggage cover option and delete it from your policy, Endsleigh will reduce your premium by 25%.

Businesses large and small could also benefit from group holiday insurance especially if staff have to travel a lot in the course of the job.

There are considerable cost savings to be made, plus there's less time spent on admin having to organise travel insurance for each and every single journey.

Some group travel insurance policies cover families travelling with staff.

Stag and Hen Parties Abroad

Half a billion pounds is sent on overseas Stag and Hen entertainment. Top destination are Spain, Netherlands and France.

However, there may be tears before bedtime for the stags:

• 4 times more losses of personal items
• double the odds for theft
• 14 times more likely visit a hospital with injuries such as broken bones

This can all end up in ruined parties for the group and collective bail-outs for emergency medical treatment or repatriation. Not cheap.