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Every summer, thousands of people travel overseas confident that their insurance will protect them if something goes wrong. In many respects, that confidence is justified. Travel insurance plays a vital role in responding to emergencies abroad. However, what is less clear is that travel insurance is not designed to compensate victims for the lasting financial and personal consequences of serious injury.
The Insurance team at Womble Bond Dickinson regularly works with Legal Expenses Insurers (LEI) to bridge that gap, helping injured holidaymakers and work travellers pursue claims where significant losses fall outside the scope of standard travel cover.
What travel insurance is designed to do
Where emergencies or unexpected mishaps occur, travel insurance will usually step in quickly to provide practical assistance, emergency treatment and repatriation.
These protections are essential. They remove the immediate financial burden of dealing with a crisis overseas and ensure access to treatment and safety.
But for many injured travellers, this is only the beginning of the problem.
The gap: What travel insurance does not cover
What many policyholders do not appreciate is that travel insurance is not intended to compensate for the wider impact of an accident.
In most cases, it will not cover:
- Pain and suffering and loss of amenity
- Loss of earnings during recovery
- Ongoing care or rehabilitation needs
- Broader consequential financial losses
- Uninsured losses.
This distinction is critical. While travel insurance helps you deal with the immediate crisis, it does not restore you to the position you would have been in had the accident not occurred.
Legal Expenses Insurance: the overlooked protection
Where a third party is responsible for an accident, the route to meaningful compensation lies not with travel insurance, but with a legal claim against that party.
This is where Legal Expenses Insurance (LEI) becomes critical.
Unlike travel insurance, LEI does not compensate losses directly. Instead, it provides funding to pursue a legal claim, enabling injured individuals to seek recovery from those responsible.
In practice, there are two possible routes:
1. Subrogated recovery by the insurer
The travel insurer may pursue the responsible party to recover its outlay. In some cases, uninsured losses can be added to that claim, subject to agreement. If not...
2. A direct personal injury claim
The injured party may bring a claim against the responsible driver, operator or organisation. LEI is often needed to fund this process.
Without LEI, access to compensation may be limited or financially prohibitive.
Crucially, many policyholders are unaware that they already have LEI. It can be found in:
- Premium bank accounts or credit cards
- Home insurance policies
- Some travel insurance policies
- Employer cover for business travel.
Checking the availability and scope of LEI before travel is an important but often overlooked step.
Practical steps if you are injured abroad
Successfully pursuing a claim depends on early action and evidence gathering. If you are involved in an accident overseas and are able to do so, you should:
- Identify the individual or organisation responsible
- Take photographs or video of the scene and any relevant details
- Obtain contact details of witnesses
- Keep all documentation relating to the incident and treatment, including all receipts
- Make notes while events are still fresh in your mind
- Notify your insurer as soon as possible.
A claim will only be viable if a defendant can be identified and sufficient evidence is available. Taking early steps to secure evidence can be critical.
Understanding the limits of LEI cover
LEI policies are subject to conditions, and policyholders should be aware that:
- Claims must have reasonable prospects of success (typically over 50%)
- Costs must be proportionate to the likely recovery
- Insurers usually require control over the conduct of the claim
- Early notification is essential to preserve cover
- The nature of the trip and activities must fall within policy terms.
Understanding these conditions supports better collaboration between you, your insurers and legal representatives.
How Womble Bond Dickinson's Insurance team manages claims and assists insurers
Where serious injury occurs overseas, the coordination between travel insurers and Legal Expenses Insurers is critical to achieving a successful recovery. The Insurance team at Womble Bond Dickinson has extensive experience in supporting LEI insurers in the pursuit of complex, cross-border personal injury claims on behalf of both holidaymakers and work travellers.
We understand the practical and legal challenges involved in identifying defendants in foreign jurisdictions, securing evidence, and navigating differing liability regimes. Working closely with insurers, we aim to maximise recoveries efficiently and proportionately, ensuring that policyholders are properly compensated for losses that travel insurance alone cannot address.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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