Travel insurance for a 14yo on a school trip

So daughter is of on a “STEM trip” in December to NASA/Kennedy Space Centre with school.

The school have said we need to sort individual travel insurance.

Should I just try the usual suspects or is there a specific provider that specialises in under 18 travel insurance?

Any recommendations?

The school have said we need to sort individual travel insurance.

That strikes me as being odd. So in the event of a minor having a medical episode stateside, the teacher is going to have to work out which insurance company is which, and ring the number to authorise a paracetamol/ambulance/intensive care?

Sounds very unwise!

I’ve not sent mine on a major trip yet, so perhaps I’m on the naive side.

I know our family annual policy covers the kids for independent travel.

<Edit no it doesn’t. Only when they’re travelling to a relative. Whoops!>

The school have said we need to sort individual travel insurance.

That strikes me as being odd. +1.

Two kids through secondary school, multiple overseas trips including the US, and insurance has always been included. As said above, how on earth are the adults going to deal with that, ,especially if there’s an accident involving two or more pupils. Edited to add, just thought that it might be difficult to get insurance for a 14 year old not travelling with family..

This could be a post Covid change. I was just about to take 40 kids to Italy when lockdown happened. The trip didn’t. It was a total nightmare trying to get the money back and refund the parents.

It’d be even more of a nightmare out there letting little Johnny bleed out because his insurance wasn’t valid!

Who’s to say any of the kids have a valid policy? Who would check and verify it? A teacher? I’d be crapping myself if I had responsibility for kids abroad but had no way of knowing if they had cover or not.

I bet the teachers don’t buy their own cover.

Can I ask what sort school before I pass further comment?

We use Coverwise when LittleMissMC has travelled to Europe on gymnastics/school/music trips. Not sure how it would be for the US.

Not sure who we used for her brother who did go to the States.

I’m surprised that people are surprised at insurance not being included – can’t remember not having to arrange it when the kids have gone abroad.

My daughter did that exact same trip – though it was pre covid. Insurance was included as part of the overall cost. In fact both my kids have been on a number of overseas school trips and insurance has always been included.

Actually, it was the Johnson Space centre – Houston we have a problem!

Thanks all.

I think possibly it isn’t included because the school book everything direct and not through a third party/agent.

The last trip she went on with school was a PGL trip to France – insurance was included iirc.

@Ambrose it’s a small Independent Grammar school – not sure what difference it makes.

I think possibly it isn’t included because the school book everything direct and not through a third party/agent.

it is surprising that it’s not provided though, imagine if there’s some sort of travel disruption and you have multiple people with different policies all covering different solutions, and then perhaps some people who don’t actually have cover for that particular problem.  If I was the school I would want to have one consistent group policy

@Ambrose it’s a small Independent Grammar school – not sure what difference it makes.

Perhaps because some/most local authorities have a general policy which covers this sort of thing.

are you sure you are being asked to provide travel insurance for all the “usual” things: travel problems, medical problems, loss/theft of property?  IIRC the local authority policy our school uses covers travel & medical but has an excess and single item cap for property that means probably most claims for an Individual teenager would be pointless (I can’t remember the exact numbers but I think no single item >200, and excess of 250 total claim).  They encouraged people to take their own policy if taking valuables: we had a family annual policy – but check the rules on <16s if not travelling with someone >16 on policy.

It could be they are talking about cancellation insurance

Could it be as it’s to the US?
I know we have to pay a premium for expeditions in the US compared to europe (the company pays obviously) but it’s an extra couple of hundred quid a week just for the trip/travel insurance, plus the car insurance.

And it varies massively.

When daughter has done gymnastics events abroad, British Gymnastics have insurance for accidents while performing, but the girls have to have their cover for everything else.

The coaches have a folder with copies of all the insurance and EHIC details for the squad just in case.

When daughter has done gymnastics events abroad, British Gymnastics have insurance for accidents while performing, but the girls have to have their cover for everything else.

The coaches have a folder with copies of all the insurance and EHIC details for the squad just in case.

having been involved with a sport governing body when a return trip went wrong (nothing that serious just the usual Ryanair cancellation – no other flight for a week, Ryanair usual customer service skills) this sounds like someone at British Gymnastics needs to reflect for a moment on how you actually manage that realistically.  A better airline would re-route you but chances of getting say a dozen kids and a couple of coaches on the same flight is fairly small so then you have safeguarding headaches!    Who has a credit card that can cope with booking 10 short notice hotel rooms, plus alternative travel.  Who would want to then be the coach trying to get repaid for that from 12 different parents, some of who can’t afford to repay you till their insurer pays out.  If it turns out the small print of Little Johnny’s policy has a carve out for the particular scenario involved who is on the hook for the plan that got adopted?  The parents, the coach, the sport NGB.  It’s bad enough understanding the rules of one policy without trying to understand umpteen policies and which options parents ticked.

I wonder whether the school does have its own insurance, but they expect the kids to have their own in addition as an arse-covering exercise.  If something goes wrong and their insurance isn’t comprehensive enough, they’re in the shit.

Could it be as it’s to the US?

Whenever I’ve booked travel insurance, it’s always specified US / obviously dangerous places / rest of the world.  Quite why the US is singled out I don’t know, though I could speculate.

In any case, travel insurance is dirt cheap.  The difference between single trip and annual cover is pence, even.  I wouldn’t overthink it, run it through the Meerkat and net some discounted cinema tickets.

I ask because I know that in the Local Authority I work for insurance is provided. Trips have to be signed off by County prior to at least 14 days prior to departure. No insurance will automatically stop the trip, inasmuch as County will not support, cover assist etc should something go wrong.

To be frank. I am gobsmacked that individual participants in the OPs situation are required to arrange their own insurance. Over the years I have arranged and led countless trips. Adventurous, theme parks, field trips, exchanges, whatever. Abroad (European and beyond but never USA) as well as at home. From a day’s duration to many, many days inc. crossing multiple borders.

I would NEVER ever allow a participant’s family to arrange their own insurance because in life many people will be swayed by the ‘best’ price. And who would have to juggle the sh1t if it hits the fan?

Similarly I always seemingly overstaff, the costs being covered by the participants. If little Johnny gets so ill he cannot continue he then needs adult supervision. I know of a school trip from a Local Authority school where a member of staff had to fly home early from New York to escort three teenage boys who the hotel refused to have after their continued poor behaviour, behaviour well in excess of any leeway. (Repeated balcony climbing into girls’ rooms) The boys concerned and their parents were made well aware of the importance of good behaviour prior to and then during the trip.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge believer in the value, worth and importance of educational trips but they have to be very well controlled. If a participant is left to sort their own cover I would say that the trip is not appropriately controlled and I would refuse to have anything to do with it.

It seems that I’m quite lucky that my Local Authority has really good Universal coverage for all taking part, including loss of personal possessions, delays, additional costs etc, as well as health care, repatriation etc.

My school science trip was a 60 mile trip to Cruachan Power Station. I’m thinking I was short changed.

As a University we have a single policy for all our travel, including student field trips. I couldn’t bear the thought of the stress and consequences of students being asked to take out an individual policy! Ok it’s a bit different as Uni’s run like businesses with a lot of travel, but still – 10s of young people cause chaos and I’d want to know as a member of staff I am not left picking up complex pieces.

Quite why the US is singled out I don’t know, though I could speculate.

It’s largely simply down to the cost of health care.

So I ran this past a senior teacher friend. They said they thought it was utterly wrong for the same reasons as above. But, they haven’t run a big trip post-covid so it’s possible the goalposts have moved.

The only time they’d ever seen pupils with their own cover was on skiing trips where there was a central cover from the school (actually the local authority) but some parents had effectively bought a top-up policy just in case.

I believe the current rate for intensive care in Trumpland is $10,000 per day.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge believer in the value, worth and importance of educational trips but they have to be very well controlled. If a participant is left to sort their own cover I would say that the trip is not appropriately controlled and I would refuse to have anything to do with it.

I went on an Accounts trip to London when I was maybe 14.  Accounts!  Not rugby, or skiing, or extreme downhill ironing, Accounts for gods’ sake.  It was all the nerds, what could possibly go wrong.  The official highlight of the trip was visiting Lloyds of London.

It was ****ing bedlam.  We went feral.  I was alpha girlie swot in a classful of girlie swots so I missed most of the fun (copious amounts of strong alcohol, check; climbing fire escapes to get to the girls’ rooms, check, seemingly for everyone except me) but I still nearly got my head kicked in by a limo driver who took exception to a dozen northern kids looking at him a bit funny.  Traversing London fare-dodging by jumping onto the back of a Routemaster with one hand on the pole and one foot on the floor, everything else hanging out into space behind the bus, check (and a bucket list item before bucket lists were a thing).  I could go on, I’m barely scratching the surface.

I believe there was A Review after we got back.  It’s still spoken about in hushed tones today. And we were the “good kids.”  Christ only knows what would have happened if it were a Woodwork trip, it’d have been 1666 all over again.