Travel insurance is one of those things that most of us reluctantly buy, hoping we will never actually need.
It's an annoying but often necessary expense if you are planning a business trip or holiday abroad. And like many other aspects of insurance, it can be confusing, costly and time consuming to get the right cover. Here are some tips to make the process a little bit easier:
How Much Travel Insurance do you Need?
Determine how much coverage you really need and don't be persuaded into taking out more coverage than is necessary. There is actually no legal requirement to have travel insurance when travelling abroad. You should take into account such factors as your destination, length of trip and your age. Families should take out a family policy, which covers adults and children and usually costs less than individual policies. Less than 60 countries actually have reciprocal health agreements with the UK – and those that do mostly operate on an emergency basis only. If you are travelling to Switzerland or a country in the European Economic Area, you are also eligible for free or reduced rate emergency medical care. And if you think your credit card may include travel insurance – check the small print carefully, as the wording is often misleading and you may not be covered under your credit card. Don't assume the insurance offered by your travel agency is always the best value. Travel agents generally receive a commission on each policy sold and their insurance may not be the most competitively priced – in fact it can cost an average of five times as much as it should. And insurance provided by a travel agent or a tour operator isn't regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority) whereas most independent insurance companies are members.What Should be Included in Your Travel Insurance?
Make sure you have adequate medical insurance – the most important part of any travel insurance policy, and the reason most of us get travel insurance. Apart from treatment abroad, you may need to return to the UK in an emergency, or for specialised treatment. The cost of this can be very expensive – an estimated £30,000 to travel by Air Ambulance from the Eastern US; an estimated £14,000 to return from one of the Mediterranean islands. Ideally, this service should be available 24 hours a day. Adventure trips and holidays featuring extreme sports are more popular than ever these days. Does your travel insurance cover you against such activities as bungee jumping, sky diving and mountaineering? These are just a few of the activities that will normally be excluded unless you specifically request coverage. Skiing and scuba diving – two commonplace activities – are considered dangerous sports too. Winter sports coverage is usually offered as an optional extra or included under a separate policy. Surprisingly though, statistics prove that most accidents abroad actually happen in hotel rooms! Consider trip cancellation insurance. As the name suggests, this insurance covers you in the event of delays or cancellations. Some of the most common reasons you may need this type of insurance are bankruptcy of a cruise line or airline, weather delays and other natural disasters and labour disputes. Most discount air tickets have stiff penalties for changing dates or cancelling them altogether – it may pay to insure against that possibility. It might seem like you're throwing money down the drain that could pay for a nice meal or day trip on your holiday, but good travel insurance doesn't have to be expensive if you know where to look and can be a real life saver if things turn sour, particularly if you're thousands of miles away from home when it does.
Labels: buy travel insurance, compare travel insurance, holiday insurance companies
# posted by Arslan : 8:47 AM
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