When two worlds collide: Insuring your home-based devices when you’re travelling abroad

Holiday luggage today is less about clothing and more about gadgetry, but do you know if your travel policy covers the cost of your digital device getting lost, stolen or damaged while you’re abroad?

With the summer travel season fast approaching, it’s not just about sunglasses and sunscreen anymore – many will be packing go pros, digital cameras, smartphones and tablets to make sure the memories of a lifetime last forever too.

Despite this, most travel insurance policies still only provide for a single gadget, and in the majority up to a maximum cost of £500 – around half the price of the latest smartphones available on the market today.

Steve Jones, CEO, ProtectYourGadget

UK comparison site Protect Your Gadget is working to help consumers draw the line between travel insurance and gadget cover, therefore, in a bid to reduce the risks involved for thousands of UK travellers bound for foreign climes in the coming months and beyond.

Steve Jones, CEO at Protect Your Gadget, said: “As an impartial comparison provider offering a whole of market perspective we felt duty bound to highlight what is a growing issue for travellers going abroad both professionally and for leisure.

“Our research shows that coverage is generally limited to one gadget per trip by most travel insurers, even where specific gadget protection is requested during the sign-up process. At a time of year when thousands of us will be looking to embark on a host of seasonal sightseeing expeditions, it’s important to make sure the insurance you do have in place is comprehensive enough to cover every eventuality, and every device, therefore.”

Protect Your Gadget found that, while requesting ‘add on’ options to ensure multiple gadgets are covered in a single trip were available from most travel insurers, they were not always immediately visible and generally offered limited value financially, with specifics around each and every item required in order for the cover to be effective.

Policies available via travel insurers ranged from £6 to more than £40, with coverage for a single gadget offered in each case of no more than £750 as a general maximum. Laptops were also specified as not being covered in some cases – especially important for those travelling abroad with work.

The majority of specialist gadget policies, meanwhile, were found to provide for foreign cover as standard for 90 days or more in most cases, with some offering protection for multiple devices for as long as 120 days of being abroad.

Steve added: “With mobile phone usage abroad becoming ever more affordable, the majority of those looking to protect their digital gadgetry while they are abroad via travel insurance alone will have theoretically used up most of their allowance on their handheld device.

“Making sure tablets, activity and digital cameras, Sat Navs, portable DVD players and a host of other digital devices which have become a standard fixture of many holidays are specifically covered is a must, therefore, in order to properly protect yourself from greater expenditure along the way.”