Frequently asked questions
Here are all the answers to the most common questions about our Travel Insurance policies:
Are UK trips included in the policy?
What area of travel can I choose?
Where can I find travel advice on the country I'm going to?
What's the maximum length of time I can be covered per trip?
Can I extend the trip duration?
Are business trips included?
What should I do if I or anyone else covered under my policy falls ill abroad?
What happens if my/our money is stolen while we're away?
How do I make a claim?
In the event of a claim will I have to pay any excess?
Can I cancel the insurance and/or is there a cooling off period after my insurance has been booked?
Which policy is best for me?
Am I or anyone else under my policy covered for hazardous sports or activities?
How can I make sure I am protected if my holiday airline or hotel goes out of business?
Are UK trips included in the policy?
Yes, UK holidays are covered providing they involve two or more nights' stay in pre-booked accommodation.
What area of travel can I choose?
- UK (Single trip only)
- Europe
- Worldwide excluding USA, Canada and all Caribbean Islands
- Worldwide including USA, Canada and all Caribbean Islands
Where can I find travel advice on the country I'm going to?
Check the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website for up-to-date essential travel information or call 0845 850 2829.
What's the maximum length of time I can be covered per trip?
You can choose cover for 31, 45, 60 or 90 days per trip on an Annual Multi-trip policy, up to a total of 183 days travelling in any period of insurance for all your trips, or up to 120 days on a Single trip policy.
Can I extend the trip duration?
Yes, after you have bought your policy but before you start your trip you can change the trip duration (you have the choice of 31, 45, 60 or 90 days per trip on an Annual Multi-trip policy or up to 120 on a Single trip policy). There will be an additional premium to pay if you increase your trip limit.
Are business trips included?
No, but you can add cover for business trips which involve administrative or clerical duties only and no manual work or duties which involve dealing with the general public. Once Business cover is added, a maximum of four people can be covered per business trip and cover under the Annual multi-trip policy is limited to five trips per year.
What should I do if I or anyone else covered under my policy falls ill abroad?
The emergency medical assistance provider can be contacted 24 hours a day by phone should you have an emergency.
There is also a Travel Assistant service, which offers advice on all kinds of travel problems, such as how to cancel credit cards if they are lost or stolen or how you can transfer emergency funds whilst abroad.
It also includes a facility to send emergency messages to friends and relatives.
Additional charges may be payable by you in connection with the Travel Assistant service.
Medical Emergencies:
Telephone: +44 (0)1603 605 128
Fax: +44 (0)1603 605 130
To help us continually improve our service and in the interests of security, we may monitor and/or record your telephone call with us.
What happens if my/our money is stolen while we're away?
If you need emergency money while you are away (and you cannot obtain replacement travellers cheques), our Travel Assistant service can help arrange to transfer emergency money from the UK.
Additional charges may be payable by you in connection with the Travel Assistance service.
How do I make a claim?
If you need to make a claim for abandonment (cutting short your trip), or for emergency medical treatment while on holiday, you can call our medical emergency line on +44 (0)1603-605128, which is manned 24 hours a day. For all other claims you should contact our Claims helpline, on +44 (0)1603-605124 which is manned between 8am and 6pm Monday to Thursday and 8am to 5.30pm Friday.
To help us continually improve our service and in the interests of security, we may monitor and/or record your telephone call with us.
In the event of a claim, will I have to pay any excess?
Yes. You will have to pay an excess under most sections of the policy. This means that each person covered under the policy will be responsible for paying the first part of the claim for each incident.
Can I cancel the insurance and/or is there a cooling off period after the insurance has been booked?
The policy provides a 14 day cooling-off period, during which time, if you find that the terms and conditions do not meet your needs and you have not travelled or made a claim, you can cancel the policy and obtain a refund of any premium you have paid. You can cancel your policy at any time outside of the 14 day cooling-off period, however, no refund of premium will be available.
Which policy is best for me?
HSBC offers two types of Travel Insurance:
Single trip Travel Insurance
This is likely to be the best value for a holiday or business trip if you only travel once a year.
Annual Multi-Trip Travel Insurance
This covers you for as many journeys as you like during a full year (up to a total of 183 days travelling in any period of insurance for all your trips) on an Annual multi-trip policy. The maximum length of one stay is 31 days (you can increase your trip length to 45, 60 or 90 days subject to an additional premium). This is likely to be the best value plan for you if you travel more than once in any 12-month period.
Am I, or is anyone else under my policy, covered for hazardous sports or activities?
Our policy automatically provides cover for a number of sports and leisure activities if you take part in them on a recreational basis during the trip.
Please check the list of sports and leisure activities on pages 17-19 of the Policy Booklet to find out if the activity is covered. If you take part in an activity that is not listed, cover will be excluded. The policy does not provide cover while you are taking part in activities either as a professional or where you receive financial reward or gain or where you are practising for speed or time trial, sprints or racing of any kind.
The following activity based holidays are automatically covered by your policy if you book a trip primarily for the purpose of taking part in the activity during your trip.
Activity based holiday symbols and definitions
# No cover for equipment under the Baggage cover section
† No cover under Personal Liability section
* Coastal waters are defined as within a 12 mile limit of the coastline for Flotilla Sailing
Cycling (no BMX, off-road mountain biking or racing)
Fishing # (no deep sea fishing)
Flotilla sailing *† (providing taken under the supervision of a qualified lead skipper and organised through your tour operator)
Golf # - see also optional Golfing cover
Hiking and Trekking up to 5000 metres altitude (providing accompanied by qualified guides and organised through your tour operator) Safari - supervised walking and vehicle safaris organised through your tour operator (no gun or horseback safaris)
The following winter sports activities are covered if you have selected this option and it is shown on your policy schedule. Cover is available up to a total of 21 days during the period of insurance under our Annual Multi-trip policy and up to 120 days under our Single Trip policy.
Winter sports activities symbols and definitions
† No Personal Liability cover
~ With a qualified guide in areas that resort management consider to be safe
Cross-country skiing (on recognised paths)
Dry slope skiing
Off-piste skiing~
Off-piste snowboarding~
Skiing (on recognised pistes)
Sledging
Snowboarding (on recognised pistes)
Snow mobiling†
Snow shoeing
How can I make sure I am protected if my holiday airline or hotel goes out of business?
Where a package or flight was booked through an ATOL tour operator or travel firm, the protection available can be viewed via this website: www.caa.co.uk/passengers
