Travel insurance is highly recommended when you go on holiday. It is inexpensive and can really help you out if you’re in a pickle. But there are some things that travel insurance policies either don’t cover or don’t cover generously. It is important to aware of these exclusions so that when you compare travel insurance you’re more likely to end up with the best travel insurance for your needs.

Travel disruption is covered – sort of. This is a situation where the traveller is stranded overseas due to a strike, winter storm, or a volcano in Iceland blowing its top. These situations can result in you needing to pay extra accommodation costs and most insurance policies will pay around £25 per day to go towards this, which is hardly enough. Some travel insurers are starting to add more generous cover for travel interruption (up to £1,500 on family policies). This coverage will cost around £15 extra for an annual family travel policy.

Your travel policy may not have adequate medical cover, particularly if you travel to the US or Canada. For these destinations, you should have at least £1 million in medical cover for your trip.

Also, most standard travel policies don’t cover winter sports and you have to add them to your basic policy. Never assume that skiing, snowboarding, or whatever winter sport you plan to participate in, is covered. You can purchase dedicated Winter Sport travel insurance policies or add cover to your basic travel policy for a fee.