If you've sorted out how you're getting to your destination, where you'll be staying and even your hire car without running into too much trouble, you may well be getting excited about your carefree, peaceful holiday. However, you still have one item left cross off your checklist before you feel like you can put your feet up ? your travel insurance. The decision is hardly the most exciting you'll ever make, and can be a bit off putting for any first time buyers because of the many issues involved in it.
Where do you buy it from? Who will offer you the best deal? What do you need to have covered? And, above all else, is it really worth it? Underestimating the importance of travel insurance can be the cause of untold stress for many out there ? here are 5 tips to help explain the importance of travel insurance, and to guide you in your decision.
1. Don't presume that you can travel without it. If the prospect of sorting out your travel insurance feels like one stress too many when you're trying to plan your dream holiday, it can be easy to think ?what can really go wrong?? This, however, is not the way to treat insurance. You might easily have a holiday that goes off without any setbacks, but the possibility is always there for something to go wrong ? whether it's something minor or major ? which leaves you with undue stress and an empty wallet.
2. Consider how frequent a traveller you are. You may just be planning the one holiday at the moment, but before buying single trip insurance it's wise to consider whether you'll be travelling frequently and therefore better off with annual cover. Annual insurance policies can be very reasonably priced and are often better value for money if you intend to travel twice or more during the year.
3. Consider what kind of traveller you are. Another complication of travel insurance is that most companies offer policies that cater to different kinds of traveller ? backpacker, skier, golfer ? so you have to consider what you need covered before picking one thats right for you. A family holiday, for example, won't require the same kind of accident cover as a winter-sports holiday, so insurance will probably be a bit cheaper.
4. Shop around. Don't just jump at the first insurance policy you find on the internet, because the process of searching seems too overwhelming. Yes, it may require a little extra time and effort to make an informed search, but you will reap the benefits of your prepatory, when dealing with policies that can vary so much in price and details.
5. Don't leave it to the last minute. Above all, buying your travel insurance shouldn't be something that you do in a panicky rush ? a cool head and time for research is the best way to get a great deal.
Though it's not the easiest process to get your head around, searching for your first travel insurance policy shouldn't be too difficult as long as you know what to expect. Always do your research carefully, and read over the policy so that you can be sure you're covered for all your needs.
Personally I think it would be very foolish not to have some sort of travel insurance, especially if you are flying abroad. People sometimes make the mistake in thinking that their local insurance policies will cover any losses and have a big shock when they come to make a claim. Besides, if you have the right policy, it takes all the worry out of your trip.
You should always be offered insurance, by your travel agent, when you arrange your trip. If not, ask, because it will be on your own head if anything goes wrong.
A Cheap Policy or Not?
When a travel insurance policy is issued there are a number of allocations if the premium, agents commissions, administrative costs, some goes towards profit and what's left over goes towards the actual insurance coverage. So, you can see, if it's a cheap travel insurance policy, something is going to miss out and you can bet it will be the level of coverage.
If you buy a regular travel insurance policy, that is, you fill out a form and send it to the insuarance company with your remittance there are a lot of costs involves. A better way would to get a wholesale policy (which travel agents do sell) where the administration costs are dramactically reduced, meaning more money is spent on the actual coverage.
Some tour operators and agents provide an "in-house" travel insurance policy and, often, all it covers is their own cancellation fees and little else. It may be cheaper but will not give you much travel insurance coverage.
Another way to reduce costs, which depends on the level of travel you are going to do, is to purhase an annual travel insurance policy. This is buying in bulk and is likely to be much less expensive than the one-off trip policy.
Primary or Secondry Travel Insurance Cover?
These 2 types of cover determine the way the payouts are made. The primary travel insurance cover means that the company will "Pay First", that is the payment will be paid to the claim maker. The secondary travel insurance cover means they will pay only after you've have claimed as much as you can from other insurance cover that you may have. So, you can see that the primary cover is a lot better than the secondry cover.
What Type Of Coverage Will You Need?
It's fair to say the 2 biggest risks that are covered by most travel insurance policies are the costs of changing your travel plans and and any medical care and emergency assistance that is required while you are away.
Most travel insurance policies will include a few hundred dollars for baggage/loss/damage/delay, loss of travel documents and other small sum for flight delay or interuption. Some will also cover for someone to fly out to you if you are to be hospitalised for more tha 2 or 3 days.
Another major cost, and I must admit I never thought of this one before, can be supplier bankruptcy. Many time the supplier of your travel insurance policy are unable to have the policy to cover thier own bankruptcy. This would be another good reason to have an independant policy from the company arranging your travel.
Most travel insurance policies include a large ammount of air death insurance, but surprisingly, it's of very low value item about 25 cents for a $100,000 cover. I suppose this indicates how safe air travel is.
Some travel isurance policies will also cover car rental risks and this may be an important thing to consider as car rental insurance policies are extremely expensive.
Trip Cancellation/Change Coverage
To understand the possible costs that you may need if you have to change your itinery or cancel the trip, if you have pruchased an unrestricted first class ticket there may be not any costs associated with changing the ticket as this is usually covered in the purchase price.
It may seem strange but the the cheapest ticket has the most risk attached to it as far as cancellation/change is concerned. It can cost a heap more to change the cheap fare to return home on a different flight than the original purchase price of the ticket.
You will have to be aware that when some travel insurance policies state that they will cover 'your total trip cost' you may think that the full charges are covered, but this may not be so. Let's say that your discounted fare cost $590 and you have a package that actually costs $895 and you have to change you may find the return trip will cost more than the whole package. Maybe you will have to pay another $1120 to get home on a no advanced one way return ticket.
I had this experience a few years ago when I had to rush home for my Father's funeral. Because of time restrictions I had to buy a non-discounted ticket. After not feeling well all day, when I finally arrived at the airport I succumbed to a middle ear infection. So with all the vomitting and the different air pressures that come with flying there was no I could get on a aircraft. But, as I had purchased a full fare, there was problems in changing my flight to the next morning. Goes to show that you can't always control your circumstances.
The more restictive travel insurance policies may exclude circumstances that are deemmed 'under your own control', and perhaps this may include work related issues. Let's say you are about to leave work and you are told there is an issue that has to be solved and that you leave has to be deffered. There's a very good chance that this type of travel insurance would no pay out because of this reason.
Medical Care and Emergency Assistance
Some people mistakenly think that their home medical insuarnce policy will cover all costs wherever they are in the world. They may find that that it doesn't cover at all, or the deductions will be much higher or perhaps their medical costs are covered but not any related transport costs.
You may be on a cruise and you need some medical attention by the ship's doctor. There is a good chance that their services are charged for as with any other doctor. You may have to be flown home on a stretcher and this will involve blocking out nine seats, can you imagine how much that would cost. You should make sure that you have travel insurance of at least $10,000 or more to cover these emergencies. Let's imagine you are in a remote area and you break a leg and you need to be lifted out by a helicopter, this is what good travel insurance is all about.
To Summarise
Imagine your worst case travel mishap scenario and decide whether you need travel insurance. This may be the cancellation of the whole trip coupled with the associated cancellation costs or some emergency medical mishap that will require medivac and local care. I know these are horrible thoughts but if you can't afford to self-insure the expenditure of around $100 on travel insurance will give you the piece of mind and one less thing to worry about.
Both Mathew Sabri & Ronald Williams are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Mathew Sabri has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel Insurance. If you have been saving up to go abroad in your gap year, you do not want to have to pay a fortune for . etravelinsuranc. Mathew Sabri's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.
Ronald Williams has sinced written about articles on various topics from Interest, Travel and Leisure and Arts. This Article is part of a series written by the author about Airline Travel. It can be viewed at