RAC Travel Insurance Review

Children means any person under the age of 17.

Children under the age of 17 are only insured when travelling with an adult also insured under the same policy.

The RAC has no upper age limit for single trip policies.

Annual Multi Trip travel policies are restricted to those aged 80 years and under.

The maximum duration for any RAC single trip travel insurance policy is 94 days.

The annual multi trip policy allows for an unlimited number of trips throughout the policy year, provided the duration of individual trips does not exceed 62 days (Orange and Silver policies) and 92 days (Black policy).

Winter sports can be included on both the single trip policy (for the duration of the trip) and the annual travel policy for up to 24 days maximum. The maximum age limit for winter sports is 65.

The Winter sports policy only covers certain activities, these are

• On piste skiing or on piste snowboarding  
• Off-piste skiing or off piste snowboarding where accompanied by a qualified guide or instructor
• Cross country skiing on recognised routes and with a guide
• Ski racing arranged by ski schools for their pupils
• Sledging

All other wintersport activities are excluded, unless you contact the RAC and obtain written permission.

Both types of policy are available to individuals, couples (who have been living together for at least six months), families (one or two parents and up to nine children, who are dependent on the adults, living at home and in full time education) or groups of up to ten individuals (provided they are all travelling together)

The RAC policy states if you are travelling to a European Union country or Switzerland, you should obtain an European Health Insurance Card.

If you need medical treatment in Australia, you must enrol with a local Medicare office. If you are in a country where no reciprocal agreement exists, you should contact Emergency Medical Assistance, for any costs likely to be in excess of £500.

The RAC policy lists 36 activities which are automatically covered under the policy. A further 29 sports, things like Jet Skiing, Abseiling, Scuba diving down to 30 metres are also covered provided they are professionally organised, supervised and that you wear the appropriate safety equipment and take appropriate safety precautions. Some of those past times exclude personal accident and liability cover

Finally there is a list of activities which are excluded. It is therefore important that you check the policy wording to make sure you have the correct information on which activities are covered and which are not.

The policy excludes claims relating to alcohol abuse/misuse. Where you have drunk too much alcohol where it is reasonably foreseeable that such consumption could result in an impariment of your physical ability and judgement resulting in a claim.

The RAC do not expect you to avoid alcohol, but will not cover claims whereby you have drunk so much alcohol, that your judgement is seriously affected and you need to make a claim a result.

Scheduled Airline Failure is covered under all policies. This is extended to include any end supplier failure on the Silver and Black policies.

Pre Existing Medical conditions are excluded but can be underwritten online at the point of sale, allowing you to obtain terms including a premium without the need to phone a medical helpline.

The RAC policy does not cover any costs arising from pregnancy or childbirth if the expected date of delivery is less than 12 weeks (16 weeks for a multiple birth) after the end of the trip.

The RAC policy is not really designed to cover working abroad. Manual work is excluded (except at ground level and not involving machinery).

The RAC will consider baggage claims on a new for old basis, provided the item is less than two years old at the date of incident and you are able to provide an original purchase receipt.

Anything else will be subject to a deduction for wear and tear. Claims may not be paid, where you are unable to provide satisfactory proof of purchase or ownership.

The RAC policy excludes claims in respect of war risks, civil commotion and terrorism, except for emergency medical expenses, Hospital benefit or personal accident claims (personal accident claims unless caused by a nuclear, chemical or biological attack).

Automatically covered under the Silver and Black policies.

The RAC policy is only available to those permanently resident in the United Kingdom and registered with a UK medical practitioner.

The optional section on Cruise cover, is only available for those taking out a single trip policy. You can opt to include cover for cruises under all three policies, the cover is the same but the sums insured increase accordingly, with the Black policy having the highest sums insured.

The policy covers additional expenses to get you to the next port after missing the initial one. Compensation if you have to be confined to your cabin and miss booked excursions.

Finally the cruise option, allows you to benefit from an increased baggage allowance, single article and valuables limit.

All three RAC policies include a small amount of cover for gadgets that you might take with you on holiday. Gadgets are items like, mobile phones, smart phones, laptops, tablets etc (see the policy wording for a full list)

As the standard cover limits are low, you do have the option to increase the level of cover, subject to payment of the relevant additional premium. The sum insured can be increased to £1,000, £2,000 or £3,000 depending on which level of benefits you have chosen.

If you gadget is lost or stolen, RAC will also cover the cost of unauthorised calls.

Both Comparethemarket and Moneysupermarket offer RAC travel insurance policies on their comparison sites. The policies are also labelled Orange, Silver and Black.

Whilst the premiums are cheaper, the levels of cover they offer are much lower and the excesses higher, than you will find if you visit and buy on the RAC website direct.

The RAC policy wording is 72 pages long, however it is nicely laid out, with a helpful table of benefits for all three levels of cover, allowing you to compare. The index helps you find specific pages of the policy and for the most part is easy to read and understand.

Unfortunately the only customer reviews we found, either related to Breakdown cover or car insurance, so it's impossible for us to comment on the service that travel insurance customers experienced.

The Silver and Black policies provide excellent levels of cover, as you would expect from a five star rated policy.

The only slight negative point is the lower number of Sporting activities and past times that are covered. (The same is true for Winter Sports activities) If you are planning an active or adventure holiday, make sure all activities are covered, or you may need to find another Insurer.

The unique feature of RAC travel insurance is the option to include cover for driving holidays. This discretionary section provides insurance against Car Jacking, Camping and Caravan, Trailer Cover, Emergency Car Hire, and extended cancellation, an area that few other Travel Insurers cover.