Summer holidays: 5 reminders your clients expect from their broker

In July-August 2024, Belgian assistance insurers received 437,110 calls and opened 130,163 assistance cases, roughly 1,900 cases per day. 6,115 repatriations were organised in two months. A third of the year's foreign assistance cases are concentrated in this period.

Behind these numbers lie real situations: a cardiac event in Koh Samui billed at 130,750 euros, a road accident in Portugal for a family of four, 5,490 euros, a medical repatriation from Cuba, 30,061 euros. Amounts the client pays out of pocket if their coverage falls short.

The broker who sends the right reminders in May-June gets ahead. They protect clients before problems arise, demonstrate their added value, and strengthen the trust relationship. Here are the five essential points to communicate.

1. Travel cancellation insurance is taken out before booking, not before departure

Many clients think they can take out cancellation insurance at the last minute. In reality, most policies require subscription within 7 days of booking. After that deadline, terms deteriorate or coverage is simply refused.

Covered reasons vary by contract but generally include illness, accident, death (up to second degree relatives), economic redundancy, damage to the home or visa refusal. Pre-existing known conditions, simple change of mind and destinations under government travel warnings are excluded in most contracts.

The reminder to send: if your client plans to book a trip this summer, now is the time to get in touch about cancellation insurance. For clients who travel twice a year or more, an annual policy is often better value than per-trip coverage.

Also watch out for clients who rely on their credit card. Coverage is typically limited: a ceiling of 5,000 to 6,000 euros, a deductible of 75 to 100 euros, and a requirement to have paid for the entire trip with the card.

2. The European Health Insurance Card does not cover everything

The EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) covers urgent and unforeseen care in the EU, the EEA and Switzerland. But only at the rates of the visited country, which can differ significantly from Belgian rates. And crucially: it covers neither private hospitals, nor planned treatments, nor repatriation.

Outside Europe, the picture is even clearer. The Belgian health insurance fund reimburses virtually nothing in countries without bilateral agreements. Limited agreements exist with Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey and some Balkan countries, but coverage remains partial.

The reminder to send: the EHIC is a useful supplement, to be requested from the health insurance fund before departure (validity: 2 years). It is no substitute for travel assistance insurance. For clients travelling outside Europe, assistance insurance is essential. The 130,750 euros in medical costs in Thailand documented by Assuralia last summer illustrate the stakes.

3. The empty house during holidays, an underestimated risk

In Belgium, around 12,000 burglaries are concentrated in July and August, roughly a third of the annual total. The point many clients miss: theft insurance is an option within the fire policy, it is not included by default.

A client who has not taken out this supplementary cover is simply not insured against burglary. And for those who have, one clause deserves attention: the unoccupancy clause. Most contracts limit unoccupancy to 60 or 90 days per year. Beyond that, coverage may be reduced or cancelled.

The reminder to send: check with your clients that their home insurance includes theft cover. If they are away for more than two months a year, remind them to verify the unoccupancy clause. And in all cases: doors locked, windows secured. Contracts condition coverage on the behaviour of a "reasonable person".

We previously discussed this preventive approach in our article on floods and client communication. The principle is the same: informing before a claim strengthens trust and reduces unwelcome surprises.

4. The green card for motor insurance: check before hitting the road

If your client is driving abroad, Belgian motor third-party liability insurance automatically covers all EU and EEA countries. But two checks are needed.

First, the destination country must not be crossed out on the green card. Russia and Belarus have been excluded since June 2023, Iran since January 2024.

Second, some countries require a paper version of the green card. This applies to Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Albania, Azerbaijan, Moldova, North Macedonia and Ukraine. A PDF on the phone is not enough.

The reminder to send: ask your clients to check their green card and contact you if they have any doubts about their destination. If they are heading to Morocco, Tunisia or Turkey, arrange to send a paper copy. And remind them that bodily injury compensation abroad follows local law, which may be less favourable than Belgian law.

5. When something goes wrong abroad: call the insurer before taking action

This is the reflex most clients forget. In a medical emergency or incident abroad, the first call after 112 (the European emergency number, free, valid in 39 countries) should be to the assistance insurer's 24/7 number.

It is the insurer who directs you to partner facilities, who advances medical costs, and who organises repatriation if needed. A client who goes straight to the local emergency room risks paying out of pocket and then having to claim reimbursement afterwards, with delays and caps.

The reminder to send: give your clients the insurer's 24/7 assistance number before they leave. Remind them of the right reflexes: call assistance, file a report with local police (with a written statement), keep all receipts and medical documents, photograph any damage, and notify the insurer within the contractual deadline.

The right timing for these reminders

May-June is the ideal window. Bookings are underway, departures are approaching, and your clients are receptive. Assuralia publishes its holiday tips at this time every year.

The most effective format: a short, practical email that the client can save or forward. A clear subject line ("5 checks before your holiday"), actionable content, and your contact details at the bottom. This is the kind of message that reminds the client why they work with a broker rather than an online form.

You can combine all five reminders into a single newsletter at the end of May, or spread them across two mailings (cancellation + EHIC in May, home + motor + reflexes in June). A tool like BrokerMail makes it possible to automate these seasonal mailings and maintain contact with your clients between appointments.

The broker who warns, retains

Every broker knows which clients travel far, which ones have an isolated house, which ones drive to Morocco every summer. That portfolio knowledge is a structural advantage over any online comparison tool.

But that expertise stays invisible if it is not shared. A prevention email sent at the right time transforms tacit knowledge into perceived value. The client who receives this kind of message knows their broker is watching out. They do not compare. They stay.

The next holiday season is coming. The broker who communicated beforehand will be the one called during the trip, and the one trusted afterwards.