Frequently Asked Questions
Full and extended answers/information can be found on your policy document or our example policy document found on the travel insurance page.
Q: CAN YOU PLEASE GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE INSURERS POSITION REGARDING COVID-19
Our customers benefit from enhanced COVID-19 cover that comes as standard on Staysure policies, so you can travel knowing you are covered (for countries that the FCDO deems safe to travel to).
Your policy will not cover you if you travel against the advice of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), unless you have purchased the European FCDO Travel Advice Extension cover and the advice is only against all but essential travel solely as a result of COVID-19.
Q: DO I NEED TO HAVE HAD BOTH DOSES OF THE COVID-19 VACCINE?
A: To be covered, you need to have received all doses of the COVID vaccine that you’ve been offered. This could be one or two depending on your age.
You can also be covered if you can’t have the vaccine due to a medical exemption.
If you have refused any doses of the COVID vaccine, then you won’t be covered.
Q: WHAT IS A PRE-EXISTING MEDICAL CONDITION?
A: A pre-existing medical condition is a condition that you’ve had symptoms, medication, surgery, investigations or medical appointments for in the past two years. This also includes cardiovascular and circulatory conditions outside of the past two years. It’s important you declare any pre-existing medical conditions you have when taking out a policy with us.
You can declare your medical conditions through the Staysure medical screening process, which is a set of questions for us to understand how your medical conditions affect you. This can be completed either online or over the phone.
All pre-existing conditions need to be declared on your policy. This may help you to avoid large medical bills if you need treatment in another country. Failure to disclose any pre-existing medical conditions may affect the validity of your policy should you need to claim.
Q: WHAT WILL I BE ASKED WHEN I APPLY FOR TRAVEL INSURANCE WITH A PRE-EXISTING MEDICAL CONDITION?
A: When applying for travel insurance for existing medical conditions, we’ll ask you to declare any conditions through the Staysure medical screening process.
Declaring all of your pre-existing conditions is vital. Failing to do so may affect the validity of your policy, should you need to claim further down the line.
You should have to hand:
- The names of any medical conditions you have
- Medical history documents to help with questions relating to dates
Complete the Staysure simple medical screening online today.
Q: DO I NEED MEDICAL TRAVEL INSURANCE IF I HAVE AN EHIC OR GHIC?
A: If you’re travelling to Europe, you should always carry your EHIC or GHIC with you. These cards give you access to free or discounted emergency medical care in EU countries. While the EHIC and GHIC cards are very useful, they’re not a substitute for travel insurance with pre-existing conditions.
Your EHIC or GHIC card is not always a pass to free healthcare. You may have to pay a substantial amount of the medical bill yourself, or you may be taken to a private hospital. In these cases, travel insurance can cover you.
Q: WHO CAN BE COVERED BY SINGLE TRIP TRAVEL INSURANCE?
With no upper age limit on Single Trip Travel Insurance policies, you could insure the whole family with us.
It’s also sometimes cheaper to book together as families and couples living at the same address get an automatic discount applied.
Making sure your whole family is covered with your policy also helps to protect you if a family member falls ill due to unforeseen circumstances.
When it comes to travel insurance, it’s worth doing right and making sure you and your family are covered properly.
Q: HOW FAR IN ADVANCE OF MY HOLIDAY CAN I BUY MY SINGLE TRIP POLICY?
A: You can buy a policy from us up to 18 months before you travel.
It’s worth booking your policy early to make sure you’re covered for cancellation – as leaving things till the last minute may mean that you’re not covered.
Q: HOW OFTEN CAN I TRAVEL WITH A YEAR-LONG POLICY?
A: Annual Multi-Trip Travel Insurance policies cover your travel plans for up to 183 days in total.
Each trip you take must not be longer than:
- 50 days if you are aged 70 or below. You can increase your trip duration limit to 100 days (for one trip) by paying an additional premium
- 35 days if you are aged 71 and above
Q: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SINGLE TRIP TRAVEL INSURANCE AND ANNUAL TRAVEL INSURANCE?
A:The difference between choosing Single Trip Travel Insurance or an annual policy is how often you’re planning on travelling, how long you’re planning on travelling for and where you’re going to:
With an Annual Travel Insurance policy, you will be covered for multiple trips in a 12-month period (trip limits apply). You can buy your policy up to 90 days before you want it to start.
A single trip policy will cover you for one return trip and can be bought up to 18 months before you travel.
Both have no upper age limit.
Q: WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE TRAVEL FIRST INSURANCE
A: TRAVEL FIRST INSURANCE provides a personal service where we listen to our client’s particular requirements. We then select the cover to suit you. TRAVEL FIRST INSURANCE can arrange cover with extensive benefits at competitive premiums for all travellers, whether cover is required for a holiday or to visit friends or relatives . In addition extra cover can be included for golfers and their golf equipment.
Q: IS GOLFGUARD FULLY AUTHORISED TO ACT AS AN INSURANCE BROKER?
A: Yes, TRAVEL FIRST INSURANCE is one of the trading names of the legal entity Golfguard Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales with the Company number 02452429. Golfguard is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our FCA Register number is 310410.
Q: CAN TRAVEL FIRST INSURANCE ARRANGE WORLDWIDE COVER?
A: Travel First Insurance will offer you the opportunity to select Staysure worldwide cover excluding Bermuda, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Mexico, Singapore, Thailand, the islands of the Caribbean and the United States of America.
Q: CAN YOU ADVISE ME REGARDING MEDICAL CONDITIONS?
A: The basis of the cover arranged for each insured person, is that all persons are healthy, fit to travel to undertake the trip, will not be travelling against the advice of a medical practitioner, have not received a terminal prognosis from a medical practitioner and will not be travelling with the intention of obtaining medical treatment abroad.
The insurance will exclude any claim arising from any medical condition for which there has been surgery, treatment, investigation (or tests or investigations that are ongoing) which existed prior to the trip, unless the condition has been declared to and accepted in writing by the insurers’ Medical Screening Helpline.
The Key Facts and Policy Document provided by each insurer will contain details in respect of Disclosure of Pre-Existing Medical conditions and we would advise that these are carefully read prior to arranging cover. The documents will provide a list of medical conditions and if any person upon whose health a trip may depend has one (and only one) of the accepted medical condition cover can be provided without reference to the medical screening helpline.
However should a claim arise from that condition, the person’s doctor must confirm in writing the date of diagnosis, that the condition was stable prior to travel and that there was no foreseeable reason why the insured person should need to claim on this policy:
Should you need to contact the medical screening helpline to discuss your medical condition(s) or the medical condition of someone on whose health a trip may depend, we will provide you with the insurers’ Medical Screening Helpline telephone number.
Q: DO YOU PROVIDE COVER FOR A FAMILY?
A: Yes we can provide cover for a family. Annual cover for families can offer extremely good value.
Q: CAN I ARRANGE COVER FOR A WINTERSPORTS HOLIDAY?
A: Staysure can provide wintersports cover. However, this would be dependent on your age limit and subject to medical acceptance.
If you have any questions, please call Travel First Insurance on 0800 581 801 or contact us.
