TRAVELLERS’ CHECKS
DREAMING OF ESCAPING TO THE SUN? MONEYSAVING EXPERT HAS SOME THINGS YOU NEED TO CONSIDER FIRST SAVVY
A
THE good news is you are financially better off than many in your age group. The bad news is your health.
Few find discussing money easy. Those of your friends who are better off may be so because they have gold-plated workplace pensions which go up each year with rising prices while, as business owners, you probably had less secure pension arrangements.
It’s impossible to know exactly and, in any case, it’s too late to do anything at your age. From your description of your illnesses – we have left many out both for space reasons and to ensure anonymity – it could be worth applying for the government’s Attendance Allowance. Unlike many other benefits, this does not count your savings – you have too much to claim for most help available. The allowance goes to those over 65 who need help at home because of a long-term illness or disability.
It would pay £57.30 a week if you need help either in the day or at night or £85.60 a week if you need help both day and at night.
Your first move should be going somewhere like Citizens Advice or other help centre to discuss whether your circumstances qualify you for the allowance.
Send your question to Veronica J
IT’S cold, so it’s no surprise that January and February are the busiest beach break-booking months of the year, as millions turn their attention to a lovely foreign holiday. With Brexit round the corner, if you’ve booked a trip to Europe, there are some crucial checks you need to make.
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CHECK YOUR PASSPORT IS VALID
CURRENTLY you can travel to any EU country as long as you have a UK passport that is still valid on the day you return. Yet if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on March 29, that is set to change.
Then, most EU countries, including Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and Germany, will require you to have at least six months left on your passport and you can’t have a passport older than nine years and six months. If not you could be refused entry on arrival.
You can use the government’s free EU Europe passport checker tool at passport.service.gov.uk/check-apassport to see if yours will need renewing.
If we leave with a deal, then it is likely the current EU passport rules will remain at least until the end of 2020. It is worth noting though that a number of countries outside the EU – including Dubai and Russia – already require at least six months on passports.
It can take up to three weeks to renew your passport, so plan ahead.
An online adult passport renewal costs £75.50, and you should only do it via gov.uk – beware shyster websites that try and charge you more.
2
IS YOUR EHIC VALID?
Check that your EHIC is in date
THE free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) means when you go to the EU, you’re entitled to the same treatment at state-run hospitals and GPs that locals are. In other words if they pay you pay, if it’s free for them it’s free for you.
Around five million EHICs expire annually and more people don’t check the date it runs out (it’s point nine on the card) so look at yours now if you’re planning to go away.
To renew go to ehic.org.uk or call 0300 330 1350. Again, don’t Google it – there are sites trying to charge you.
As for Brexit, if we leave with a no deal, it looks like EHICs will no longer be valid. If we leave with a deal, EHICs should still work until at least the end of the transitional period in December 2020.
3
GET TRAVEL INSURANCE ASAB (AS SOON AS YOU’VE BOOKED)
EACH summer, someone on social media contacts me with a distressing question like: “Just found I’ve a breast lump and need treatment, my airline won’t refund my ticket, no insurance, what can
I do?” I always check if they’ve got travel insurance, but the fact they’re asking me usually means they hadn’t got round to it yet.
I can’t stress this enough. Half the point of travel insurance is to protect you if something happens BEFOREHAND, so you can’t go.
So as soon as you’ve booked your holiday, buy your travel insurance. If not, you won’t be covered should anything happen before you go, such as an illness, family illness or cancellation.
For help and options go to mse. me/travelinsurance. Cover is available for as little as £10 a year. Brexit may play a role here too. If EHICs are no longer valid, as that’s factored into insurer’s current prices, we could see costs rise.
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GOING AWAY AROUND BREXIT TIME – WILL YOUR INSURANCE COVER YOU FOR DISRUPTION?
IT’S impossible to say for sure whether there’ll be
You can tweet Martin Lewis, pictured, @MartinSLewis disruption to flights after March 29. The Government’s official guidance says flights “should” continue as normal even if there’s no deal, but airline trade body the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has warned some may be cancelled.
If this happens you won’t be entitled to the EU compensation for flight delays as it’s unlikely to be the airline’s fault – (though you’re still entitled to a full refund or an alternative flight).
Out of 16 insurers my team checked, only four (Admiral, Aviva, Direct Line, and Saga) said you would be covered, but only if your policy is in place before any post-Brexit delays become a “known event”. Five others said you’d only be covered on Premium policies.
So if you are travelling over that period, speak to your insurer to check if you’d be covered, or if you can, upgrade to a ‘cancellation any cause’ policy.
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BOOK CAR HIRE EARLY
NOTHING to do with Brexit, this one, yet it still has a level of urgency. The closest to the time you need a hire car abroad, the costlier it gets. To find your cheapest, use as many comparison sites as you’ve time for, including Kayak.co.uk, Skyscanner.net, TravelSupermarket.com and Carrentals.co.uk. While you get basic insurance with car hire, they’ll usually try and fear sell you into getting a policy
SPEND SPLURGE
Sophie Conran for Portmeirion heart bowl (19cm), to cover any ‘excess’ when you pick the car up. This is normally extortionate.
Instead do this as a standalone policy, like Glynn who tweeted me: “Thanks @MartinSLewis, I followed your guide & got a week’s car hire excess insurance for £13. Rental company wanted £12 per day.”
For full help on how to do that, and what to watch out for, see mse. me/carhire
WE ARE in our late seventies. We recently retired after running our own business for almost all our 57 years of married life. We have a little financial ‘nest egg’ plus £850 a month from selling our business and the state pension. But we seem to be poorer than many friends who have no problem with new cars and holidays.
We own our house. We both recently privately paid for new hips (£12,000 each), and I am waiting to have the other hip replaced. I have osteoarthritis. I have recently had delicate right hand surgery, from which I am currently recovering. I had a heart attack four years ago.
I am also waiting for the results of a bowel scan. My husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer, is currently on hormone treatment and has rheumatoid arthritis.
I would love to be able to afford to have someone help with housework, like changing beds and ironing, window cleaning and gardening.
Is there any allowance claimable or am I dreaming? I hope you can advise!
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YOU MAY NEED A PERMIT IF DRIVING IN THE EU
CURRENTLY, if you have a UK driving licence you can drive in the EU without any extra documents. If we get a deal, that’s likely to continue.
Yet if there’s a no deal Brexit, you may need to get an International Driving Permit (IDP).
Currently these cost £5.50, and you’ll need to get one from the Post Office before you travel.
■ Martin Lewis is the Founder and Chair of MoneySavingExpert. com. To join the 13 million people who get his free Money Tips weekly email, go to money savingexpert.com/latesttip.