WHY Can't I secure TRAVEL INSURANCE?

 Clue: Smart-City Tech, and YOUR role in said? Might be key to BOTH Problem AND solution! But let's start with WHY there might be an issue here, to begin with..

RIDDLE ME THIS, BATMAN! If 'Da Covid' /Coof etc is all but abated? As in, yes, some spikes here and there, an occasional rogue variant cropping up and so on, but generally, a thing of the recent past? 

IF I have been a good citizen, with minimal health risk; solid credit record/rating and no criminal convictions? 

THEN WHY IS IT SO RUDDY TOUGH TO GET TRAVEL INSURANCE??  

Well. Where to even begin? I can but try. So here we go!

1: MINOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS are STILL medical conditions! 

So, if there is even a 1% chance that you have failed to declare or minimised the potential significance of said? INSTA-FAIL! The insurance providers and counterpart travel carriers may be inclined to treat that as an almost absolute certainty. Because they, too, have liabilities and premiums and duties of care to answer to/for. 

Think of it from their perspective. 

ONE minor incident, something as easily overlooked as a medication mix up, allergy, etc could trigger a MAJOR lawsuit / stream of bad press. That is especially true in an era of 24/7 social media and 'news' stories being magnified to keep the chat going and the lawyers busy. 

So yes. DECLARE EVERYTHING. EVERY-THING! One understands concerns for privacy, of course. But it's that vs travelling and doing so with the very best of insurance policies to match. Weigh that up. Look at annual policies. Especially if you fall into the over 65s bracket. 

2: In case you had not noticed? WE ARE A WORLD AT WAR! 

Without getting political or indeed trivialising the details of what we are now seeing, daily? Wars raise premium costs because they increase RISK. So, even if you have no plans to travel anywhere near the current tragedies unfolding? ANY overlap with its airspace, political partnerships, military exercises, borders and so on, WILL play a pervasive factor. 

If you are specifically seeking travel insurance to visit a territory that MIGHT have some even tangential connection to the viper's nest of danger, then yes, the cost will be possibly prohibitive. And YOU might be declined for that destination. 

Trick here is to remember that in this case, it is not about your suitability so much as the current climate. Pick another place to go! Same is true for natural disasters, terrorist attacks and so on. 

Check your Foreign and Commonwealth Office updates. 

Read the news. Be vigilant; short of needless panic. 

3: Speaking of DANGER? Do you like to go Bungee Jumping? That sort of thing?

Great! Go for it! Just do not expect most standard policies to cover you. You will need to do your research on this; bespoke policies, brokered to your needs. Same goes for mountaineering, danger bikes, fast car fun etc. 

Now, a SLIGHT loop hole there, albeit a RISKY one? Book the standard holiday and policy but then encounter said activities. Fine. But once again: NO. Just NO. Because just imagine if you DO get hurt and find yourself, insured but inadequately so, facing a possibly long stay in a foreign hospital that does not enjoy the pastoral generosities of the NHS? THINK before you JUMP. 

Take risks: that is your right. But measure those, accordingly and do some less exciting but entirely necessary due diligence. And incidentally?  Even if not a danger sport enthusiast? DRIVING can be deadly, even slowly and safely. So make sure your hire car company's policies are comprehensive, too. 

Now, the above is a non exhaustive list. It is not a cure. But what if I were to tell you that the same tech building smart-city initiatives, is now working to improve BOTH travel AND insurance experiences? ONE app. In the palm of your hand: linking insurers, carriers, travel providers, destination mapping and above all, YOU! Well, that IS happening. It's not impossible. 

THIS company are GOING to do it! 

URBAN HAWK wishes you a safe trip. Happy Trails. Be Insured! And be AWARE!