January and February is the busiest period for summer holidays bookings and travel insurance is key to the arrangements, while with mortgage lending at an all-time high mortage protection is essential. Analayst Defaqto compares products in these sectors as well as dog insurance products

Annual travel insurance

In its third travel insurance review last year, Defaqto estimated that customers spent over £250m more on holiday insurance than they needed to, mainly by purchasing from their travel agent. A more sensible approach for customers taking more than one holiday is an annual policy. We have analysed a small selection of policies from the more than 150 providers known to Defaqto.

James Hampden's Worldwide annual policy is a clear leader, although a number of other providers offer very good levels of cover. It is underwritten at Lloyd's. Family cover for travel anywhere in the world costs £140 including IPT.

Key features of the James Hampden policy include:

  • 17 days' winter sports as standard

  • Maximum of 90 days per trip, with no limit on the number of holidays

  • Unlimited medical expenses, and £50,000 personal accident death/disability benefits

  • £2,000 baggage cover with a £500 single article limit

  • £750 money cover, including cash and passport replacement

  • £5,000 cancellation/curtailment cover

  • £2m personal liability

  • £25,000 legal expenses cover.

    Drawbacks include the fact that business travel is an optional extra, and the winter sports cover includes only cover for own ski equipment, medical and liability covers, but not piste closure.

    Mortgage payment protection

    With the economy apparently hovering close to recession, and mortgage lending at an all-time high, mortgage payment protection policies may well become a sensible part of any customers' personal protection. We looked at a range of policies offering a standard level of cover - accident, sickness and unemployment for a 30-year-old male, with a 30-day excess period, paying out for a minimum of 12 months.

    Top of the tree is that on offer to Natwest's customers, which is also available to the general public. Underwritten by UK Insurance, the cost is £5.12 per £100 of cover.

    Key features of the policy include:

  • Retrospective (back to day one) cover, with benefit calculated on a daily basis

  • Cover for customers who regularly work outside the UK, provided they return to register as unemployed, or be under the care of a UK doctor

  • Covers non-renewal of contracts provided the insured has had two six-month contracts renewed, or one 12-month contract, or has worked for the same employer for 24 months

  • Joint cover allowed, with benefit calculated pro-rata on incomes

  • £20,000 accidental death benefit included as standard

  • No limit on the monthly benefit that can be selected

  • Back to work and medical helplines in the event of a claim

  • No restrictive exclusions on claims for mental illness, backache or stress.

    Drawbacks include monthly additional benefit selected is only meant to cover insurance premiums, not other expenditure

    At the lower end of the market, the Web Money payprotect policy (underwritten by Pinnacle) may appear to offer very limited cover. However, at a cost of just £2.78 per £100 for a 30-year-old, it is well worth considering for those with straightforward UK based employment, who require less than £1,000 of monthly benefit.

    Dog Insurance

    Cats are now reported as being the pet of choice for modern homeowners, but dogs are still a family favourite. Those people who bought their children a dog for Christmas will no doubt be wondering if, and with whom, they should insure their new pet.

    MoreTh>n has brought dog insurance to the public mind with its ongoing "Lucky" advertising campaign. The MoreTh>n product was updated towards the end of 2002, so we looked at how the Premier and Value Cover options compare with a range of other providers. Premier cover is only available by telephone, while Value Cover is also available via the Internet.

    Key features of the MoreTh>n Premier policy include:

  • Unlimited cover for vets fees, including in-patient costs

  • Cover includes alternative medical treatments such as acupuncture, physiotherapy and herbal medicines

  • Cover for the purchase price, up to £1,500, if the pet is lost or stolen, or dies by natural causes or accident before the age of 11

  • Up to £1,500 for kennel fees, if the customer is hospitalised (excluding the first four days' costs)

  • Advertising and reward costs covered up to £1,500 subject to the insurer's prior agreement

  • £3m of personal liability cover as standard

  • Emergency vets fees in Europe (in countries in the PETS scheme) for one holiday up to 21 days per insured period

    Drawbacks of the Premier policy include:

  • No cover for holiday cancellation costs in the event of pet illness - most other providers offer this cover

  • No cover for waiver of premiums - companies such as Asda and Pinnacle offer some form of this cover as standard

  • No cover for additional transport costs if the pet is referred to a specialist.

    Mortgage payment protection

    With the economy apparently hovering close to recession, and mortgage lending at an all-time high, mortgage payment protection policies may well become a sensible part of any customers' personal protection. We looked at a range of policies offering a standard level of cover - accident, sickness and unemployment for a 30-year-old male, with a 30-day excess period, paying out for a minimum of 12 months.

    Top of the tree is that on offer to Natwest's customers, which is also available to the general public. Underwritten by UK Insurance, the cost is £5.12 per £100 of cover.

    Key features of the policy include:

  • Retrospective (back to day one) cover, with benefit calculated on a daily basis

  • Cover for customers who regularly work outside the UK, provided they return to register as unemployed, or be under the care of a UK doctor

  • Covers non-renewal of contracts provided the insured has had two six-month contracts renewed, or one 12-month contract, or has worked for the same employer for 24 months

  • Joint cover allowed, with benefit calculated pro-rata on incomes

  • £20,000 accidental death benefit included as standard

  • No limit on the monthly benefit that can be selected

  • Back to work and medical helplines in the event of a claim

  • No restrictive exclusions on claims for mental illness, backache or stress.

    Drawbacks include monthly additional benefit selected is only meant to cover insurance premiums, not other expenditure

    At the lower end of the market, the Web Money payprotect policy (underwritten by Pinnacle) may appear to offer very limited cover. However, at a cost of just £2.78 per £100 for a 30-year-old, it is well worth considering for those with straightforward UK based employment, who require less than £1,000 of monthly benefit.

    NOTES:


  • These charts use Defaqto Ltd's unique Data Numerical Analysis (DNA) scoring system.

  • DNA illustrates the relative positioning of a product based on selected criteria.

  • The criteria used in this chart are a representative sample only and may not be relevant in all cases.

  • Other criteria are available and may give different results.

  • When used to match products to a client's circumstances, DNA can show how closely a product matches those requirements

    Source: Defaqto's Aequos database - for details:
    www.defaqto.com , freephone 0808 1000804

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