For the common holidaymaker, most of the fine print surrounding single trip holiday insurance continues to be a complete mystery. After all, in a society where many tourists neglect or forget to contract such a policy before departing on their break, it might be too much to ask for all the nuances of a confusing policy to be understood right away.
As a result, as tends to happen with everything that is poorly understood, the field has seen its fair share of scams, cons, swindles and frauds. However, unlike what one might have expected, these are not all coming from the same side. Much to the contrary: when it comes to single trip holiday insurance and other types of policies in general, it would seem there are certain consumers trying to get the upper hand in a none to honest way!
As such, it is important for both parties to be aware of the most common types of fraud generally associated with this field, so that they may prevent them occurring. Below are some of the most common ways in which both companies and clients will seek to exact fraud with regards to single trip holiday insurance.
Read The Fine Print
From the customer side of things, of course, the most important precaution to take is to always read the fine print. Remember: if something seems too good to be true, it probably is - there is likely to be a 'catch' somewhere, whether it is a binding long-term contract or a series of exceptions that limit the scope of the policy to an often obscene extent.
As such, while this type of advice applies to pretty much anything in day-to-day life, it is particularly valid when the subject is travel cover: stay on your toes and always take an extra few minutes to read the fine print. It just might turn out to make a massive amount of difference. Naturally, if you deal with a high profile and trusted company this point is less important from the angle of fraud, but still vital from the angle of being properly informed.
Be Honest
Tales of customer fraud in this field are a dime a dozen. A recent study discovered a significant amount of people who contract single trip holiday insurance later try to file false claims and 'get one over' on the company, citing reasons such as greed, unwillingness to pay for genuine claims or overpricing as justifications for their actions.
There is no need to explain why this is ill-advised; not only does it reflect badly on you as a person, but it may actively work against you when it comes time to contract another policy in the future. Your original provider could well blacklist you - on valid grounds - and word may even spread across the local industry, making it difficult for you to contract another policy on your next holiday or business trip - it's just not worth it.
It is best, then, for both sides to be entirely honest and upfront about this important process.
Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of Insuremore. We provide low cost travel insurance and offer a range of policies including single trip holiday insurance, annual, multi-trip and family cover. For all your travel cover needs, Insuremore can help you in the quickest and most cost-efficient way.
