Three months away from it all in an exotic locale like South America, Asia or Africa may no longer be just a far-off dream as many contract employees and retirees are taking advantage of their flexible employment conditions.
There are numerous decisions to make before leaving for a long period of time - should you unregister the car, cancel the insurance, turn off the house's electricity, pay the household bills in advance or just rent it out?
A Family Money reader from north Dublin travelling abroad for three months to South America says one of her most difficult tasks has been locating affordable travel insurance for long periods for those over the age of 35.
Although USIT is well-known for catering to the younger market, there appears to be very little on offer in Ireland for older travellers.
After unsuccessful calls to her travel agent and several insurance brokers, our reader searched the Net and found a variety of British sites offering travel insurance for Irish residents.
Even with the sterling price differential, she said these policies were far cheaper than those offered here by the insurance companies and travel agents for annual or multi-trip insurance with shorter terms of stay.
Family Money investigated and found several sites catering to older Irish long-term travellers. One of the best sites is Worldwide Travel Insurances Limited at www.wwtis.co.uk. which has a Which? Online/Consumers Association Web trader logo. This means the site has been vetted by the CA's lawyers and the trader has promised to display prices clearly, keep to delivery deadlines and to deal properly with complaints.
Long Stay and Long Stay Plus are two products offered by Worldwide that suit older travellers. Those normally resident outside Britain must pay the higher worldwide rate regardless of their destination. Some unusual advantages of the Long Stay product is that it is extendable any number of times while abroad, allows work abroad and there is no restriction to time spent in any one place.
Long Stay's worldwide including North America policy costs between £21 (€33) to £35 (€55) sterling per month. Long Stay Plus covers Irish residents aged 55 to 79 for higher premiums of £38, £70 and £117 depending on age. Cover is not available for those over age 79.
The Long Stay prices seems competitive but coverage is the most important aspect for any long-term traveller.
The minimum guideline suggested for travel insurance is £1 million to £2 million for medical and personal liability cover; £15,000-£20,000 personal accident; cancellation and curtailment cover of up to £3,000; legal expenses £5,000; and baggage loss £1,500-£2,000.
Most insurers will not cover the excess or first part of the claim, so it is important to determine which items are subject to excess. The typical excess for Irish travel insurance is between £25 and £40.
Increased demand for such products and competition from abroad may mean some brokers will offer long-term insurance products at more reasonable rates. Two other British sites worth mentioning are www.travelinsurers.com and www.westwind.co.uk. For information on legal entitlements when purchasing services from abroad, examine the European Consumer Centre's website at www.ecic.ie.
