World First Travel Insurance Blog

So Friday Night with Jonathan Ross has finally come to an end. He says it’s time for him to move on to pastures new. Did he jump or was he pushed? That’s a question to which we’ll probably never know the response but his own answer to the “what do I do next” question is – a gap year!

At almost 50, he won’t be the first middle-ager to take a break. Increasing numbers of people of all ages are taking time out because of a desire for a change, redundancy or just a mid-life crisis. (more…)

Apparently it’s national kissing day today (isn’t every day national something day?). It’s a thing the British are notoriously priggish about. The authorities at Warrington Bank Quay station went so far as to set up no kissing zones last year on the pretext that lingering couples were holding up the trains.

That got me thinking. Across the world, we meet and greet each other in many different ways that are governed by our social customs and habits. Train stations and airports tend to bring on uncharacteristic shows of emotion in the British so we’ll discount those situations. How do people greet each other? (more…)

It seems like British Airways’ long-running dispute with its cabin crew is some way from being resolved. A series of strikes was announced by the Unite union to begin on 18th May until 24th May. Legal action by BA on 18th May cancelled them on the basis that the union had not informed its members that 11 votes had been spoiled.  The union appealed and 2 days later the strikes were back on. As things now stand, further strikes will be held on 24th – 28th May, 30th May – 3rd June and 5th – 9th June. The union also said it would hold a further ballot for industrial action over the company’s conduct during the dispute. (more…)

I seem to have done nothing but write about volcanic ash recently. It caused unprecedented problems 3 weeks ago shutting airports in Northern Europe. People were stranded across the world unable to get back home and to work. International sports events were disrupted and the world’s leaders had to cancel plans to attend the recent funerals of the Polish presidential couple killed in an air crash in Russia. (more…)

There’s a commonly held belief that if you get into trouble or just run out of money abroad, you can just go along to the embassy or consulate in the country where you are located and they will sort you out. Well, it has to be said that in most cases they are willing to help but are limited in what they can actually do.

If you get sick or injured

The first thing to do is contact your favourite travel insurance company who should pay most medical expenses if your cover is comprehensive. If you are admitted to hospital, contact the nearest embassy. Once you do, they will (more…)

I love the expression “nomad workers”, it conjures up images of Peter O’Toole or Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia, but however prosaic the images we have of them, their numbers are increasing. From the traditional sales rep on the road to virtual workers, e-workers (where so these expressions come from?) and freelancers, we’re no longer just restricted to our offices. Work is flexible and we can take it wherever we like. We can work in the coffee shop next door or the other side of the country, on a train or even on holiday (yes, I’m guilty of that).

But working on the move is not always glamorous and can sometimes be full of pitfalls if you don’t prepare things properly. So plan ahead.

1. Whatever you think, you will work less when you’re on the move. There will be distractions and interruptions on trains (even in first class). Have you never looked aimlessly out of a window? And getting on, getting off and settling down takes time. It all eats into your work time. (more…)

Today is World Aids Day, and here at World First we are proud to have been at the forefront of providing travel insurance for HIV positive travellers for thirty years now. 

Since the early 80s, we have worked alongside some of the leading HIV charities to help us better understand this complex and life changing condition and to help raise money and therefore awareness amongst the general public.

Our HIV travel insurance cover is affordable and comprehensive, and allows positive travellers and same sex couples to tour the world with peace of mind, just like the majority of the population.  However, there is no doubt that HIV is a complex condition and we like to think that the way we sell our insurance reflects this.

1. Unlike many travel insurers, there are no blanket exclusions for HIV when it comes to our cover.  We treat all quotes for medical travel insurance in the same way and should a traveller become ill with say haemophilia or hepatitis whilst away, then as long as it was declared and accepted when you bought the policy, we will cover the medical bills. (more…)

Backpackers who travel on a budget often run the risk of being involved in accidents or having problems during their holiday or trip. So it’s important that you get the right backpackers travel insurance rather than relying on mum and dad to bail you out when things go wrong.

Most travel insurance policies are broadly speaking pretty much the same, they all include cover for things like cancellation, travel delays, lost luggage and medical expenses, but it’s important to check the levels of cover included in any policy when you compare travel insurance quotes which you are likely to get when researching all the elements of your gap year trip.

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Even though we do say it ourselves, we have some pretty nifty travel insurance deals out there – and our gap year and backpacker travel insurance cover is second to none – fantastic travel insurance quotes for people going away for extended periods.

But, with some figures coming to our attention the other day which showed that up 49% of gappies don’t take out insurance, we thought we better do something about it.  (Do they know that medical bills and repatriation can rise to the thousands, hundreds of thousands, of pounds?  Will the bank of mum and dad stretch that far I wonder?)

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World First are proud supporters and partner in the Know Before You Go Campaign from the FCO. It’s great that we can work woth over 300 other partners to offer the best travel advice to travellers and hopefully avert some of the problems people encounter when they are on holiday.

We have posted a video about the campaign on our facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/WorldFirstTravelInsurance