Travel insurance should be as common a product as motor and house insurance, given that the average household partakes in one trip a year, but for some reason it is not. Perhaps it is the fact that there is such a variety of product, or that the product has so many options. Either way, the following 5 tips should help you navigate your way to the
best travel insurance and may even help you save a few pounds along the way:
1.Determine if you already have cover
Private medical insurance, credit cards, bank accounts and even your local garage may be offering some form of travel insurance as an add on to the initial product you purchased. Take credit cards, many will include an element of
annual holiday insurance. Or how about bank accounts that have free travel insurance bolt on. Many will not be a full travel insurance policy and you will still need to
buy travel insurance, however it is worth checking with these companies as you could save yourself several pounds and a lot of time if they do.
2.Know what is out there, before you commit to buy travel insurance
You can buy travel insurance from almost everywhere; from your supermarket to a local department store as well as online, from a travel agent, from a broker, from your car breakdown providerwell you get the idea There are lots of different places selling similar products, whilst they will all have excellent marketing campaigns, often the best travel insurance can be found online.
3.Know which policy is best for you and your trip.
Single trip travel insurance
Aimed at travellers of all ages, taking only one trip a year, usually for less than two months in duration
Annual holiday insurance (annual multi-trip travel insurance)
Aimed at travellers of all ages, taking more than one trip a year, each trip will have a maximum duration usually 31 days or less.
Longstay travel insurance
Aimed at travellers aged less than 65 years old, travelling for up to 18 months in duration
Cruise travel insurance
Aimed at travellers of all ages who are holidaying on a cruise ship for some or all of their trip
Winter sports travel insurance
Aimed at travellers of all ages travelling on a skiing or snowboarding holiday
4.Check the policies cover as well as its price
Having a cheap policy that covers little may be cost effective now, but should you need assistance and you not have cover, it may be costly in the long run. Make sure you get a least three quotes for your travel insurance and compare the cover and cover level on a like for like basis. Dont forget to also look at the excess that is the first amount you will have to pay in the event of an incident. The higher this is the lower the premium should be.
5.Check the pre-existing medical criteria on the policy
Most travel insurance policies do not cover medical conditions that you have in existence when you buy the policy known as pre-existing medical conditions. Some travel insurers will allow you to declare these conditions to see if cover can be given and on what terms. Be sure to look up in the policy wording what they may define as a pre-existing medical condition. If you have something you need to declare, be sure that you do so. By not declaring, you may not have any cover on the policy.
