Many people have already insured their possessions on an “all risks” basis through their house contents insurance. Many travel insurance policies include baggage cover as part of the package of cover, so you are paying for this again.

Not only does this mean you are paying twice for the same insurance, but it could lead to problems when making a claim as each insurer could try to get you to claim off the other.

We buy our travel insurance from Bradford and Bingley. One advantage of this is that we have the option of not including baggage cover. Since we don’t need this, our premiums are considerably reduced. This year we have paid around £80 for two adults on a worldwide annual policy.

Benefits offered by Bradford and Bingley include:

- worldwide cover for any number of trips in a year (each trip must be less than 31 days)
- 17 days free wintersports cover (must be under 65 years old)
- pre-travel advice line
- quick and efficient telephone claims handling service (this is what they say they offer; fortunately we have not yet made a claim!)
- £10 million medical cover
- 24 hour emergency help whilst you are away
- no claims discounts (we have certainly benefited from this!)

To find out more, they have a freephone number – 0800 435642.