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Although we have now officially left the European Union and agreed on a new UK Global Health Insurance card for travel to Europe, this is definitely not a replacement for travel insurance. It has never been more important, to choose the right policy because, as the current Coronavirus Pandemic has highlighted, the wrong choice can have disastrous financial and health consequences, if you have to claim whilst abroad.
Once you have read this review of Blue Bear and compared polices using our unique search facility, you will have all the information you need to make an informed choice.
Blue Bear Travel Insurance is the trading name of Rush Insurance Services Ltd. Rush are a specialist travel insurance intermediary who have been nominated as "Best Travel Insurance Provider" at the 2017 British Travel Awards. They also own Covered2go.co.uk and are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
The company has years of experience in relation to travel insurance. All policies are provided and underwritten by Travel Insurance Facilities Group. TIF is the UK branch office of URV and manages its UK and Ireland operations. URV is part of Germany's largest banking group.
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Children are aged under 18 on this policy.
At time of purchase:-
Aged 79 or under for Annual Multi Trip
Aged 115 or under for Single Trip
Aged 64 or under for a Longstay Policy
Single Trip, Trip Duration is up to 365 days, there is no age limit on this.
Annual Trip, Trip Duration of 31 days on any one trip (unless the appropriate premium has been paid to increase the duration to 45 or 60 days and this is confirmed in writing).
Upon payment of an additional premium your policy will cover winter sports – (on piste skiing and snowboarding, for leisure purposes only and not participating in any timed, competitive or off piste/specialist ski/snow board activities) for the entire duration of your Single Trip or for 24 days in one policy year on your Annual Multi Trip.
Group - up to twenty individuals per policy, although there is no group discount for insuring multiple individuals under one policy.
Family - 1 or 2 Adults, with up to twenty children. (This policy also allows for Extended Family, this is defined as including grandparents, parents, sons and daughters (including foster), aunties, uncles and cousins.
EHIC not Mandatory, but strongly advised. If travelling to Australia you must enrol in Medicare on arrival.
Check the policy schedule. There are nearly 100 activities listed in Activity Pack 1, which are included as standard. Activity Packs 2 to 8 are chargeable and you should check to ensure the activities you plan are included. Note that those activities underlined exclude cover for personal liability and accident cover.
A note of caution: according to activity pack 1 it appears that only swimming in a pool is covered and if you want to swim in the sea or from a boat unsupervised, or go surfing, you would need to pay an additional premium.
Beach swimming is mentioned in the definitions, but not in any of the activities. We would recommend checking with Blue Bear and obtain written confirmation before travelling.
It is important that you check the list of activities before purchasing your travel insurance to ensure you are covered. If you are unsure, it’s a good tip to gain approval in writing from your insurance provider.
Policy states “You, your travelling companion, close relative or business associate being under the influence of:-
drugs (except those prescribed by your registered doctor but not when prescribed for treatment of drug addiction); alcohol (a blood alcohol level that exceeds 0.19%; approximately four pints or four 175ml glasses of wine); solvents, or; anything relating to you or your close relatives or business associate prior abuse of alcohol or solvents.
Not Covered under Bronze or Silver, Airline failure is automatically covered under Gold and Longstay. You are covered under Last Minute for Scheduled Airline Failure after departure.
It is possible to get Blue Bear travel insurance with medical conditions, however you will need to call Travel Claims Facilities on 0203 829 3846. Make sure you have all of your medical details to hand. Check to find out whether you will be accepted and at what terms.
Any pre-existing medical condition that has not been declared and accepted in writing by the insurer will not be covered.
You are not covered in the event of a failure to obtain any recommended vaccines, inoculations or medications prior to your trip departure.
“Our policies include emergency medical expenses cover for pregnancy and childbirth from week 0 to week 28 inclusive whilst you are away. From the start of week 29 to week 40 of the pregnancy, there is no cover for claims relating to normal pregnancy and normal childbirth or cancellation, however, medical expenses and cancellation cover will be provided if any of the following complications arise:
Toxaemia, Gestational diabetes, Gestational hypertension, Ectopic pregnancy, Post-partum haemorrhage, Pre-eclampsia, Molar pregnancy or hydatidiform mole, Retained placenta membrane, Placental abruption, Hyperemesis gravidarum, Placenta praevia, Stillbirth, Miscarriage, Emergency Caesarean, A termination needed for medical reasons, Premature birth more than 12 weeks (or 16 weeks if you know you are having more than one baby) before the expected delivery date.”
Listed under activities - Manual Labour is excluded except for those listed in Activity Pack 1 e.g Bar Work, Animal Sanctuary (non big game). If your plan is for specific work, it is always best to contact the insurance provider and obtain written acceptance that your planned type of work is allowed under the policy.
We would recommend that anyone planning to work obtains written permission from their Insurance Provider that it is covered under their policy.
Proof of value and ownership of property and money is required for any item with a value exceeding £50. This should be in the form of an original receipt. Lack of this may mean you are still eligible to claim but will be subject to a maximum of £50 and will be considered part of “unreceipted items” in respect of the claim and included in the maximum offered by that policy.
It would be sensible to keep receipts of any new clothes/property purchased for your holiday. If in doubt as to whether you have cover for a specific item, please contact the Insurance Provider for clarification prior to taking out insurance.
You are not covered in respect of all sections other than emergency medical expenses - war, terrorism, biological or chemical warfare, invasion, act of foreign enemy, hostilities (whether war has been declared or not), civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection or military or usurped power.
Not Covered under Bronze or Silver or Longstay, Covered under Gold.
You and all other insured persons must be a resident of the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or British Forces Posted Overseas and have not spent more than six months abroad in the year before buying this policy.
That's Insurance have spent some time mystery shopping on blue-bear-travel-insurance-review's website. The policy wording, website, customer service/buying process have been carefully reviewed and each section awarded a user friendly score, which you can see below.
Policy wording - Marks are awarded for Layout, Readability ,Terminology, Communication and Appropriate information.
Website - Marks are awarded for Layout/Navigation, Access to important information e.g. policy wordings, Clear Explanation/Comparison of policies, including limitations, Frequently asked questions.
Customer Service – Marks are awarded for the Buying process, Customer Service, Clear Quotations, Access to important information/Comparison of quotes.
The scores have been calculated as an overall percentage and shown on the three gauges. You can see how Blue Bear compares to the industry average. The higher the percentage the better the company performs in each area.
(layout, readability, terminology)
Awaiting user friendly score
(layout, navigation, access to information)
Awaiting user friendly score
(clear quotes, buying process, customer service)
Awaiting user friendly score
We've highlighted Pro's and Cons for Blue Bear, click on the white bars on the right side of the boxes below. Expand the content to view pros and cons of all policies offered by Blue Bear.
We've listed below cover levels for policies offered by offered by To scroll through all policies, click on the arrows on the left and right of policy name section.
Listed below are some Sample Quotes offered by Blue Bear
Top Picks
Insurance Provider
Excess
Primary Cover
Guide Price
Single Trip
Worldwide
Individual
Age: 40 - 49
Trip Days: 14
100
Medical Expenses 2,000,000
Cancellation 500
Missed Departure 300
Delayed Departure 100
Baggage 0
Personal Accident 10,000
Personal Liability 1,000,000
Legal Expenses 10,000
Single Trip
Europe
Family
Age: 40 - 49
Trip Days: 14
50
Medical Expenses 10,000,000
Cancellation 5,000
Missed Departure 1,000
Delayed Departure 210
Baggage 2,000
Personal Accident 25,000
Personal Liability 2,000,000
Legal Expenses 25,000
Annual
Worldwide
Individual
Age: 40 - 49
Trip Days: 365
50
Medical Expenses 10,000,000
Cancellation 5,000
Missed Departure 1,000
Delayed Departure 210
Baggage 2,000
Personal Accident 25,000
Personal Liability 2,000,000
Legal Expenses 25,000
Annual
Europe
Family
Age: 18 - 29
Trip Days: 365
75
Medical Expenses 5,000,000
Cancellation 1,500
Missed Departure 600
Delayed Departure 150
Baggage 1,500
Personal Accident 15,000
Personal Liability 2,000,000
Legal Expenses 15,000
Backpacker
Europe
Individual
Age: 26 - 29
Trip Days: 365
75
Medical Expenses 5,000,000
Cancellation 3,000
Missed Departure 1,000
Delayed Departure 200
Baggage 1,000
Personal Accident 15,000
Personal Liability 2,000,000
Legal Expenses 25,000
Backpacker
Europe
Individual
Age: 40 - 45
Trip Days: 90
75
Medical Expenses 5,000,000
Cancellation 3,000
Missed Departure 1,000
Delayed Departure 200
Baggage 1,000
Personal Accident 15,000
Personal Liability 2,000,000
Legal Expenses 25,000