If you're wondering whether to purchase travel insurance direct or through a travel agency, you should consider the following pros and cons.

Agency Travel Insurance

The Pros and Cons of purchasing travel insurance from a travel agency are:

Pros

? Convenient
? Offers face to face interaction
? Offers name recognition

Cons

? More expensive than buying direct
? If your travel agency goes out of business then you could lose your travel insurance too
? Doesn't always offer the option of altering your coverage

Buyer Beware

Travel agencies offer travel insurance to customers who purchase airline tickets, cruises, and travel packages from them. These insurance plans are often choked full of extra fees and services that you don't need but can not refuse as part of their package and are offered at prices that are higher than the market rate.



The Pros and Cons of purchasing travel insurance direct are:

Pros

? Special savings and discounts
? The comfort of knowing you have direct access to the company's customer service if you need it
? Eliminates extra services fees and charges that resellers add on

Cons

? Some direct companies do not offer a customer service line or face to face interaction
? They don't always offer the lowest prices ? make sure you compare offers
? Only offer their own travel plans. Though you should have multiple coverage plans to choose from

Buying direct travel insurance is often easiest by visiting the company's website and doing some comparison shopping. You can find information on insurance plans including:

? Comprehensive insurance
? International travel insurance
? Holiday insurance
? Backpacker/Adventure insurance

Most plans provide coverage for:

? Lost or stolen baggage
? Medical protection
? Trip cancellation and interruption

Additional coverage options include:

? Car rental
? Legal services
? Pre-existing medical conditions
? Accidental death and dismemberment

Before purchasing any direct travel insurance plans, you should review your existing insurance policies, examine what insurance options are best for you, compare prices on multiple policies, and read the fine print before signing your name on the dotted line.