Get a copy of the full policy terms and conditions up front.o Make certain the insurer is a member of the Insurance Ombudsman’s scheme for resolving complaints (0171-928 7600) or at least the Personal Insurance Arbitration Scheme run by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (0171- 837 4483).This is vital given the frequent disappointment on claims. In each case, however, you have to complain to the insurer before you can take your case further.o Some credit cards do offer free travel cover, although generally it will be insufficient.o Try an insurance broker, but don’t expect the broker to know the whole market.o Where a policy is tied to a discounted holiday, don’t assume this is the best deal. A stand-alone policy may be better.o Which policy is best depends on personal circumstances. Names appearing a lot in the Which? tables include GA Direct (0800 121007); Whiteley (01422 348411); and Club Direct Elite (01730 817533).The Association of British Insurers (ABI) says you can expect to pay pounds 25-pounds 30 for each adult (less for children) for up to 15 days’ cover in Europe, pounds 40-pounds 50 for North America and the rest of the world.Annual policies, by comparison, start around pounds 70, and may prove good options for travellers making perhaps three or more trips a year.

But cheap annual policies may not be suitable for most round-the-world travellers. Trips of only 90 days are covered by WorldCover Direct, for example.Beating the small printIncident Insurer’s exclusion Reason for victoryTheft of cash and Property unattended Policyholder sleepingcamera while and lack of on bag containingasleep on beach reasonable care propertyBroken tooth left Only medical Difficulty of obtaininguntil return home treatment outside dental treatment in shortUK covered time left abroadTaken ill on holiday, Holiday not curtailed Overly restrictive policymissed pre-booked because person notexcursion forced to go homeCancelled holiday for Cancellation not Fair and reasonable claimmedical required to necessary and notget a job unavoidableSource: Recent Insurance Ombudsman Bureau rulings. YOUR disturbing report on Major-General Mohammed Yosfiah (“UK welcomed officer despite link to murder of Britons”, 5 November) is a timely reminder of Britain’s complicity in Indonesian genocide in East Timor and its support for General Suharto’s regime. Since the mid-1960s, when the Indonesian army orchestrated the killings of over half a million “Communists” and sentencedthousands to a living death in the gulags of eastern Indonesia, Britain has become Jakarta’s principal arms supplier. Is it any wonder that neither the Ministry of Defence nor the Foreign Office inquire into the background of the Indonesian officers they welcome into our military academies?
These have included General Yosfiah’s superior officer, General Adolf Sahala Rajagukguk, a graduate of the British Army Staff College (1972- 73), who was East Timor Military Commander in the early 1980s. There was Major General Mochammad Hindarto, a beneficiary of the British government’s Indonesian police training scheme, who came to Britain in 1986 before being appointed police chief of the eastern Indonesian region covering East Timor (1992-93) during the height of the purges which followed the 12 November 1991 Santa Cruz massacre, when 271 Timorese were killed, 382 were wounded and 250 declared “missing”.The fact that, 20 years after the murder of the five Western journalists at Balibo by General (then Captain) Yosfiah’s special forces, Indonesian officers are boasting about their exploits, is indication enough that they take for granted the indulgence of their Western patrons, not least the British.Dr Peter CareyTrinity CollegeOxford. AS a GP, I thank my lucky stars that I have not (yet) been placed in Dr Goodall-Copestake’s unenviable position (“Doctor dumps children to meet cash targets”, 5 November).

Unlike some other countries – the US, for example – there is no compulsion in the UK for parents to have their children immunised. Instead, GPs face withholding of pay if their patients exercise their legal right to refuse immunisation. To most of the profession, it seems unfair that we should be penalised when often every attempt has been made to persuade parents to accept immunisation for their children. Much is made by the Government of business management in the NHS, but no business knowingly accepts clients that will lose them money. A business- led NHS is not compatible with a patient-centred NHS.

The blame should be placed, not on doctors, but on the Government which forces such situations.
Dr P A BradburySheffield. THE judges’ opposition to Michael Howard’s proposals on sentencing (“The long arm of the law”, 5 November) differs from earlier criticisms of government policies: their comments have not been solely directed to their own constitutional position, but have addressed the potential impact of the measures on crime. The Lord Chief Justice has emphasised the limitations of severe sentencing as a deterrent to crime, while judges have argued that some aspects of the Home Secretary’s proposals could increase offending They are right. Mandatory prison sentences would prevent a judge from sentencing a burglar with a drug habit to a probation order combined with drug rehabilitation; yet this sentence is more likely to prevent re-offending than imprisonment is.
Paul CavadinoChair, Penal Affairs Consortium, London SW9. WHERE Hamish McRae describes the league table of world prosperity as “nearly correct” (Business, “A seismic shift to the East”, 5 November) I would assert that the figures we used are absolutely accurate. The table used is taken directly from the Department of Trade and Industry’s Competitiveness Report, Forging Ahead. Information in this DTI publication shows the UK in 18th place based on the latest figures.

OECD figures further confirm that the UK was ranked 13th in the world prosperity league back in 1979.
Some 16 years of Conservative government have resulted in economic decline, causing the UK to slump from 13th to 18th in the world prosperity league.Andrew SmithShadow Chief Secretary to the TreasuryHouse of CommonsLondon SW1. SEVERAL of the anecdotes in your “Great Railway Disaster” series date back far longer than any preparations for privatisation, such as the restriction on breaking the outward journey of a Saver ticket and the omission from local timetables of certain long-distance trains stopping at Watford, etc. True stories resulting from moves toward privatisation include benefits for travellers. For example, an acquaintance who is wheelchair-bound tried just a few years ago to make a local journey involving a change of train but, because of lack of staff co-operation, had to be carried across the tracks by a relative. This summer he was given every assistance as each station telephoned his next port of call.