07/10/2008 The website gives the impression that they only do travel insurance, but tucked away in a menu at the top, I found the option for home insurance. They offer up to 20% off for combined buildings and contents insurance, but I only wanted contents so that was no use to me. Plus they wanted to know the name of my mortgage provider and my account number, which I think is excessive just to get a quote. At the end of the process, it turns out that Columbus just gets quotes from other providers: I would have preferred to know this at the start. But they did get me a very low quote, so I might buy through them anyway.

23/06/2008 Quote was quick and easy. Gave the options of having extra packages added on for watersports etc. Gave a really cheap option which didn't cover you for cancellation although the rest of the cover wasn't that great either, e.g. only 300 baggage cover and no cover for cash and valuables. If you wanted that kind of cover the price rose quite steeply, but then offered quite good coverage. Wasn't loads of info either on the full policy wording until the end, only a brief summary of inclusions. Will be trying elsewhere I think.

17/06/2008 I found this a really useful specialist travel insurance company. It is easy to tailor a policy to cover almost all travel needs, and to add specific activities (such as climbing Via Ferratta) to the policy. If I was looking for generalist cover that also reflects some particular interests then I'd use this website.

05/05/2008 Rubbish cover for a lot of money - travel insurance. Minimum annual couples policy £50, with no cover for valuables, documents or cash. However, the site works well, and all their policies are laid out clearly next to each other, so you can choose which level of cover you do require. They do offer other facilities like car rental, but I imagine these prices are extortionate too.