We all have different occupations, hobbies and lifestyles and the insurance industry is always ready to accept these differences and make allowances for special situations. These days a person can insure virtually anything, whether it be their house and all its contents or their pet. The matter of how much a person is willing to pay will often have a large influence on whether or not these priorities can be insured. The travel insurance branch stems from this massive insurance ‘tree’ but unlike some packages which can seem risky and often unnecessary, travel insurance is a sector which sees more compensation and alleviates more cases of stress abroad than virtually any other sector.

A minor accident in a foreign country can cost a tourist hundreds of thousands if they are not covered by travel insurance. In some cases this can be more than the cost of the family home. How much money do you spend every year on home insurance? Compared with the more expensive and more common life, home, vehicle and medical insurances, travel insurance is a lot cheaper and covers a far wider range of potential catastrophes and it is just as important as the others.

Picture any one of these scenarios: You have your trip all planned out and you’re excited to arrive at your exotic destination. You have bought all the accessories you can think of: toiletries, camera, new shoes, new clothes and you’re looking forward to finally using them. While hurrying to make your flight your car breaks down, making you late for your flight. Can you afford to fork out more money for another ticket? The airline won’t just hand you one, unless you have travel insurance. Travel insurance can cover you for costs in respect of reasonable additional accommodation and travel expenses necessarily incurred to reach your exotic destination on time as a result of the failure of the vehicle in which you are travelling to deliver you to the departure point in time to commence the journey, provided you have allowed sufficient travel time to ensure you meet the departure check in time. Terms and conditions usually apply. This means the cost of another flight, cost of a taxi to get you to the airport again, cost of hotel room at the airport if you can’t fly till the next day etc.

Or imagine that a traffic jam held you up but didn’t stop you getting to the airport just in time to get on your flight. In your flurry to get onto the plane, you’ve mislaid your hand luggage containing your money, new sunnies, some extra cash and some in-flight luxuries. You’re pretty sure you left it at the duty free chemist. You can’t turn back now. You’re already running late and the plane might be waiting for you but the other passengers won’t be too impressed. Do you just kiss that bag goodbye? Not if you have travel insurance. Travel insurance will replace (in the equivalent in monetary value) your bag and its contents including the money.

Okay, so you got on the plane and you managed to keep all your things in tow. Fantastic. You jet off to your beautiful holiday destination and your accommodation is perfect. However, you manage to get food poisoning in the hotel restaurant and you end up being moved on from one doctor to the next in the hope of diagnosing your ailment, incurring multiple medical costs along the way. This seems excessive for a case of the trots but in some third world countries, good doctors can be hard to come by and the most trivial of illnesses can be overlooked. Travel insurance will cover all your medical costs even if the situation escalates and it turns out to be something worse than food poisoning causing you to be hospitalised. Travel insurance will pay for the cost of transporting you home under medical supervision and if you cannot be safely moved, travel insurance will pay for the cost of flying a close family member to your side to support you and be with you until you are well enough to be transported home.

At any point during your travels, virtually anything can happen to you and being in a foreign country around people you don’t know only makes it tougher trying to ride out the bumps. Travel insurance is designed to ease the inconveniences you may encounter and offer you peace of mind so that your nerves don’t get the best of you and spoil your time away.

The historic Cornish village of Porthleven is the UK mainland’s most southerly working port and is just waiting to be found and enjoyed by new visitors. After the wreck of HMS Anson on Loe Bar during a ferocious December 29th 1807 the harbour was constructed. A hero on that day, a man by the name of Tobias Roberts, swam through violent dangerous seas out to the Anson. They created a lifeline for those on board by Tobias tying a rope around his-self, enabling him to create a link between ship and shore. Over one hundred including the ship’s Captain Lydiard perished, even though he successfully reached the ship.

Appalled by the loss of life, Tobias Roberts battled with Admiralty and locals alike to ensure there was a harbour of safe refuge to avoid such an incident in the future.. Being a man of determination Porthleven Harbour was constructed and then improved at a later date. It took two acts of Parliament before the harbour became what it is today, home to a much reduce number of fishermen, no commercial traffic of any size and small number of pleasure craft.

However, the harbour still plays a big role enticing tourists from all around the world. The media gave a lot of attention to Porthleven when it was lashed by a hurricane in December 1989. The coverage on the television was televised all over the world, with pictures showing the demolishing storm with its huge eaves throwing shingle and seaweed over 22 meters (72 feet). That’s the height of the clock tower in Porthleven. TV and film crews have been to Porthleven over the years, with programme makers helping to promote Porthleven’s natural unspoilt attractions.

In addition, brown tourist signs were introduced and publicised the village in a variety of ways including the Discover Porthleven leaflet which is now reproduced annually. Of course the village received media attention well beyond affordable advertising when it was hit by a hurricane in December 1989.

Porthleven has a number of quality self catering cottages, B&B and hotels situated around the harbour, above the beach and within the village. Many accommodate commanding views of the bay, the harbour or surrounding countryside. The village also has a small drop in caravan and camp site. Porthleven has three Inns, the oldest being the Ship Inn. In these you will discover good food, good ale and friendly locals. According to local legend and the BBC the Ship has a few resident ghosts.

There are a variety of places to eat such as The Blue Haze Restaurant a recent asset to the village and quickly building an excellent reputation with both locals and visitors alike. Kota Restaurant and B&B located on the harbour head produces a well presented and varied menu. Both restaurants have chefs with a passion for cooking local sourced food. In addition there are two fish and chip shops, a Chinese take-away. Real Cornish Pasties from the Horse and Jockey Bakery (we believe these are the best in Cornwall) and then there is Nauti but Ice where visitors can sit and watch the fishing boats whilst consuming a variety of ice creams and other mouth watering treats.

Before you leave home, a good travel tip is to get some currency local to the country you’re going to visit.  In most cases for Europe, change some dollars into euros at your local national bank or at AAA.  For longer trips, I also like to carry some euro travelers checks – available at AAA, or from American Express outlets which usually include your local banks.

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Avoid using either airport, railway station or store front ”currency exchanges” Read the rest of this entry

Here are some insiders travel tips for you:

One of the fun things about taking a trip is that you

can go buy some new stuff – probably most women enjoy

picking out some new duds, whereas guys think about

cameras, binocs and similar new toys.

In fact, in defense of my gender, picking out toys for

travel can indeed make the trip even more enjoyable.

Maybe for a travel camera, small size, improved

telephoto capabilities, extended battery life can mean

the difference in getting that great shot of a Greek

mountain goat, for instance. 

photo credit: John Kratz

Or perhaps some lightweight noise-cancelling headphones

can spell a really restful sleep on a long flight. And Read the rest of this entry