Paid $1,399 for their 17-day cruise, which they had to leave after five days. They had $99 return flights to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., but ended up spending $550 (U.S.) each for a one-way ticket home when they got off in Barbados. They also racked up $300 in long-distance calls from the ship while making all their last-minute arrangements. Havelock thought the travel medical insurance he bought before the trip would cover his extra costs. But he was wrong. His mistake was not getting an all-inclusive package.

Instead, he bought trip cancellation insurance from his son’s credit card company, out-of-country medical insurance from his wife’s employer and baggage insurance from the cruise line. What he needed – and didn’t have – was trip interruption insurance to cover him once he left home. Many travel insurance policies will pay for the cost of your trip if you have to cancel before your departure date.

But that’s all. It’s worth asking if you’re covered for both trip cancellation and trip interruption.”Otherwise, you’re stuck with the balance of the cruise and you can’t enjoy it when you’re taken off at the first port,” says Michael Camacho of CSI Brokers Inc., which works with financial institutions to develop travel medical insurance products. Trip interruption is “an inexpensive add-on” to a travel medical policy, in his view. It’s helpful when you have a prepaid tour package.

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), the regulatory body of insurance practice in the country and the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), the umbrella body of insurance brokers, have been petitioned over an alleged illegal insurance business, being transacted by Sarah Travels and Tours Limited, a Lagos- based travel agency.

A concerned Nigerian alleged that the company was selling Travel Medical Insurance to Nigerians, travelling abroad and demanded that the task force on Fake Insurance Companies immediately stops the company from further breaching the nation’s insurance laws. In a petition addressed to the Commissioner for Insu-rance, Dr. Oladipo Bailey and entitled: “Petition Against an Illegal Insurance Business Transaction”, the petitioner stated as follows: “We write to bring to the notice of the Commission the illegal and unlawful transaction of Travel Medical Assistance by Sarah Travels and Tours of No. 22, Norman Williams Street, Ikoyi, Lagos State, a company not registered as an insurance broker or insurance company.

Brits looking to take Spanish holidays should not only remember to take out insurance, but also be aware that one size does not necessarily fit all. According to STA Travel, insurance deals vary depending on the type of holiday that Brits are taking. A spokesperson noted that each travel insurance policy is different and offers consumers different levels of cover and inclusions. “It is important for a customer to assess their needs when it comes to travel insurance, for instance assessing the overall value of the items they are traveling with,” she continued. Suggested questions include whether holidaymakers are taking any particularly expensive items which they need cover for, whether they are going to a country with a compatible health agreement with the UK and if they are working while overseas.

Britons planning on hitting the slopes this winter have been issued with some last minute insurance advice before the 2007-2008 season properly begins this weekend. While a number of European ski resorts have already opened ahead of schedule for weekend skiing, the first weekend of December will see even more ski resorts in France, Austria, Switzerland and Italy in operation. However, Insurancewide.com is encouraging skiers not to consider taking to the slopes without taking out and understanding travel insurance policies.” A specific winter sports travel insurance policy should include cover for skiing or boarding, piste closure, ski equipment, medical costs including rescue and repatriation, your liability to others and your luggage,” commented chief executive James Harrison.

He added that a European helicopter mountain rescue service can cost £1,500 with repatriation costs estimated at £4,000.The Association of British Travel Agents recently reported that over 1.3 million UK holidaymakers will head to the snow this winter.