How to Buy Travel Insurance

With all of the things that can go wrong on a trip such as lost luggage, medical problems and trip cancellation, it’s difficult to fathom why some people don’t obtain travel insurance prior to their departure. Today, travel insurance rates are quite reasonable and many can be obtained online at quite a substantial savings as insurance companies continue to work at building their online presence.

When shopping around for travel insurance keep in mind that they are some mistakes that many make. Being aware of these can keep one from making them themselves.
Be wary of purchasing travel insurance from businesses that are not in the insurance industry. Many other entities will offer travel insurance such as your bank, credit card, travel agencies and more. These people are acting as middlemen who also want to take a cut of the money paid for the policy. They are simply reselling you the travel insurance coverage. Therefore, these kinds of insurance policies will end up costing you must more in the long run. When you need travel insurance, go straight to the source.

Many travel agents will attempt to sell you travel insurance as part of your holiday package. Many consumers believe this is probably a good deal but it’s really not. Actually, when travel insurance is combined with the package, you can often pay more than 90% than what cheap travel insurance policies cost. Shopping around at primary providers is the best way to get a good deal.

Also be cautious about the terms of the travel insurance. Some policies will charge multiple excesses. While paying an excess is standard when making a claim. Some insurance companies will try to charge you multiple excesses for each item claimed from the same event. Reading the fine print of any travel insurance policy can help this be avoided.

These are all good, solid and basic tips, just like my advice on travel with cell phones or getting the proper shots before you leave.

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3 Responses to How to Buy Travel Insurance

  1. Georgia 2012/10/03 at 00:43 #

    Thanks for this. Usually I just buy my insurance either from the travel agent or the website I buy my flights from, after I read your blog I researched prices from actual travel insurance companies like CoverMore and they were significantly cheaper – now I have more spending money for my Europe trip!!

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