Pierre Smith asked:

You want to take plenty of precautions in planning out your vacations to make sure every aspect has been considered. Everything is to be fit into an itinerary beforehand so that when the vacation time comes you can focus on fully enjoying your vacation.

But, no matter how much you plan, the unexpected can always happen during your vacation. When you travel far away it is hard to deal with such things as natural disasters, robberies, accidents, and severe illnesses. Fortunately, with proper planning you can find cheap travel insurance policies that can help you to overcome many of these unexpected incidents as they strike. So make sure that you find cheap travel insurance plans that will provide you with plenty of coverage.

One-Time Trips

If you just go on one trip per year or less you can just purchase a one-trip travel insurance policy. You have a lot of insurance policy options available to you regardless of how often you go on vacation. There are so many options of insurance policies out there if you go on vacation often that it may become confusing to sort through all of these options and pick out a policy.

Annual Travel Insurance Policies

If you travel regularly during the course of a year you will get a big cost savings by purchasing an annual insurance plan. Be careful to read the fine print on this type of insurance policy because you’re stuck with it a long time. It may not include certain types of travel or long-term travel. In some cases you may not be covered during the holiday season.

Family Travel Insurance Policies

If you travel with several members of the family you can purchase a cheap family policy. You get a discount for the whole group over what you would pay insuring each family member one by one. The amount of your premiums can vary quite a bit by the amount of coverage you choose to get for your family. Some will charge a flat family premium rate and some will charge a flat rate plus an additional amount per family member covered by the insurance policy.

Business Travel Insurance

If you travel frequently on business trips you can find cheap travel insurance policy specially designed for this type of travel. This is usually a good deal for business travelers. In some cases if something comes up to prevent you from taking a given trip your company may be able to substitute another employee in your place without having to pay any additional change of flight fees that would normally be charged to passengers.

Laura

Tom C asked:


Most travel insurers require applicants to have a GHIP. However I’m only living in Canada for a year, so I’m using travel insurance (for Canada only) instead of getting an Alberta Health Card. Is there any way I can get insurance for a holiday to Europe?

Peter

Sveej asked:


My parents are visiting me in USA from India for 3 months. What is the best travel insurance that I should get for them and what are the items I should look for in the policy? Thanks for your help!

Jeffery

Paul Stanley asked:

Cheap Travel Insurance, Australia

A large number of travellers ignore getting travel insurance when embarking on a travel adventure. The reasons vary from traveller to traveller. Some consider that it is a waste of money, some are very confident about their safety and some simply find it to be a costly affair. But most of these people are unaware of cheap travel insurance available in the market. Travel insurance is a must for every traveller and the various types of travel insurance are cancellation, delay of trip, illness or accident-related medical expenses, ambulance or emergency transportation, travel provider default and luggage loss or delay. By Purchasing travel insurance direct, you can avoid the travel agent’s commission and the extra charge levied on your holiday package.

There are many types of low cost travel insurance, such as backpacker insurance and family travel insurance available at reasonable rates. However, the coverage and limitations will vary with every insurance company that you will be purchasing policies from.

On purchasing travel insurance direct, you can save up to 60% of the expense. Moreover, you have the freedom to choose the kind of cover you need. Travel insurance purchased through travel agents or that comes as a component of a holiday package will be costlier and have less cover than buying travel insurance direct. One other option that lowers a considerable amount of the expense is buying travel insurance online. As online insurance companies don’t have the same overheads when compared with the conventional insurance selling methods, they will be able to provide equal or even higher benefits at lower rates. A simple research on the internet could save you a good amount of money and that could be useful while travelling.

While buying insurance, make sure the company provides unlimited worldwide medical, hospital, evacuation, and trip cancellation cover plus a high level of Personal Liability. 24/7 customer care, backing by at least one of the world’s major insurance underwriters and one of the world’s leading emergency assistance companies, and a cooling off period provided you haven’t made a claim on the policy and haven’t left home either.

As for as travel insurance in Australia is concerned, it’s possible to purchase cheap travel insurance that keeps you covered until you get home safely.

Australian cheap travel insurance is a definite plus for those who have forgotten to purchase cover before leaving their own country on holiday, or for those who are traveling extensively and have allowed their cover to lapse. For great deals on travel insurance in Australia, you can find a number of companies that provide excellent cover and service. All you have to do is spend some time shopping around to find the company that suits you best.

Tracy

chris rowlands asked:

Each year, thousands of British tourists suffer personal injury and theft when they travel abroad. Their losses run to many millions of pounds. Yet a large number do not have any form of insurance cover, leaving them to foot hospital bills and find the money to replace items such as digital cameras and camcorders.

Of course not much thought is given to these negative aspects when planning for and booking our holiday. Indeed, this is often the last thing on our minds.

By the time you remember to purchase travel insurance or at least recognise a need for it, you may be only day’s away from the start of your holiday. It is all too easy at this point to purchase the first policy you come across with a decent price tag and sometimes even this goes out of the window in your haste.

So what should you think about when considering travel insurance? The first thing is to be careful when allowing your tour operator to package your holiday insurance alongside your other travel arrangements. More often than not such policies work out much more expensive this way.

You may also find that particular travel agencies/companies are affiliated with one insurer, so you will not receive a competitive quote on your policy, or it may not cover all your precise needs.

When searching for a travel insurance policy you should be careful to look for the features you require. A good policy should provide you with a minimum of £1m in personal injury or accident cover, baggage cover, theft cover, holiday cancellation cover and public liability cover in case you are sued by a third party.

Using a comparison website can allow you to search through many insurers at once. Indeed just spending 10-15 minutes trawling round a few websites yourself will return enough quotes to allow you to make an educated decision.

To many the main aim is to find a cheap travel insurance policy, whilst this is in theory a good idea and definitely advised if you want to save those pennies, you should never lose sight of the features you require.

Nine times out of 10 you will find that the cheapest quote has the minimum features you’re looking for. But you should remember that sometimes it is best to increase the cover in certain areas. A good example being travel to the USA: look to increase the cover for personal injury from £1m to £2m, as hospital costs can literally bankrupt you.

Above all, travel insurance affords you peace of mind, the knowledge that you are covered should you fall victim to an accident or have your personal possessions stolen cannot be valued highly enough.

Jimmy

spongekristen asked:


I need good travel health insurance while living/working abroad for two years, in several countries. I would also like vision and dental coverage, but can’t seem to find anything on that front. What do you use?

Claudia

Peter Ecob asked:

In theory an annual travel insurance policy sounds great, you pay a one-off fee and all your journeys are covered for the next 12 months. For most standard journeys this is fine but if you delve deeper into the conditions of your policy you may find the level of cover is not as comprehensive as first appears.

Today people travel for a wide range of reasons and the travel insurance policies available to you have evolved to meet the more varied demand for appropriate cover. The nature of your travel and the activities you have planned upon your arrival now have a huge impact in determining which travel insurance policy is right for you. In this guide we will look at which policies are suitable for certain types of travel.

If you are planning to take a winter holiday you may want to consider taking out winter sports insurance. This form of insurance provides cover for activities such as skiing and snowboarding, covering both injuries and the loss or damage of sports equipment. Fewer than 60 countries have a reciprocal healthcare agreement with the UK and without adequate cover a broken leg in Switzerland could cost you around £25,000.

If your holiday is likely to involve you taking part in adventure activities such as bungee jumping or white-water rafting it would be advisable to take out a form of adventure holiday insurance. Many of these adventure activities may be exempt from a traditional travel insurance policy so failing to take out appropriate cover could mean you facing a hefty bill should something go wrong. When purchasing adventure holiday insurance always ensure your planned activities are covered by the policy.

A backpacking holiday is another activity that can require a specialised policy. Backpackers insurance is a form of long term insurance that can last up to 18 months. Policies also cover you when working abroad which may be necessary when travelling for a long period of time, particularly for students. When taking out backpackers insurance it is essential to check that all the countries you plan to visit are covered by the policy, particularly if you’re travelling to countries where your EHIC card is not valid. Also remember that some third world or war-torn countries may not be covered.

If your work requires you to travel abroad you should consider taking out business insurance. This type of policy can cover business equipment such as laptops and PDAs and business documents. Some policies also cover the travel expenses if you are taken ill and another member of staff has to fly out and take your place. Business insurance also covers you for personal injury and liability, something that insurance provided by your employer may not.

Many standard insurance policies have an upper age limit (usually this is 65). Once you breach this limit travel insurance can become more expensive as you are considered a higher risk. In this situation you should seek insurance from providers who specialise in cheap travel insurance for the over 65s. Regardless of your age if you have any pre-existing medical conditions it is vital to let your insurance company know before buying the insurance. Such a condition is likely to increase the cost of your policy but it’s a small price to pay; if you fail to declare any medical issues your insurance policy is unlikely to cover you and this could result in a large bill for any medical treatment.

As you can see the type of travel insurance you need varies wildly depending on the nature of your journey. In addition to choosing the correct type of policy also remember to check your travel insurance covers all the basics including medical expenses, loss of luggage, money and passports, repatriation costs, cancelled or delayed flights and damage to third parties.

When looking to save money on your travel insurance remember that choosing the correct policy is just as important and a few extra pounds could save you thousands.

Regina

Henry Bell asked:

If you are one of those travelers in UK who just pack their baggage and rush to enjoy their traveling at the low budget without any tension. Then you must think about backpacker travel insurance UK which is made keeping in view the requirement of backpacker travelers.

Backpacker Travel Insurance in UK assist those people who wish to go on the unconventional places of the universe instead of general and common places but in a limited budget. Backpacker travelers try to visit more and more exciting traveling location within limited amount of money. As a backpacker traveler you might sometime even overlook your health and about safety precaution during journey. But these all can be dangerous for you if unfortunately you fall ill in a completely unknown place. Suppose you are visiting to the place where even the water is not available to drink and due to getting tired of rigorous journey you fall seriously ill or you get injured then it might be difficult for you to recover without proper medical treatment. But because you are at such place that it is not possible even to get first aid forget about proper medical care. In such situations if you have taken backpacker travel insurance in UK you can not only get emergency medical treatment but in case of urgent need you can get emergency ambulance to the hospital.

Backpacker travel insurance in UK provides for various different covers like-

* Most sports and activities at no extra cost

* Medical emergencies

* Medical evacuation

* Trip cancellation

Apart from these above mentioned cover you can also get cover against legal liabilities for injuries you might suffer with the payment of some extra premium with the policy of backpacker travel insurance in UK. Although backpacking is the great fun but if you will not take care of yourself by taking backpacking travel insurance in UK then your fun might convert into nightmare for you.

Insurance companies in UK now offer the quote for backpacking travel insurance on their websites. By just getting access to the internet on your pc you can search for the right quote of backpacking travel insurance in UK. You should search for such backpacking travel insurance policy in UK which is not only within your budget but can also provide you the full coverage for you protection in the unconventional locations of world. Then after buying the policy for backpacking travel insurance in UK you can enjoy your travel with more fun.

Kristen

Shirley Stevens asked:

Before you start packing your bags for that much longed-for summer holiday, it would be wise to do a double-check on the terms and conditions of your credit card’s supposed ‘free travel insurance’.

Be warned - full travel insurance and the more common travel accident insurance offered by most credit cards are completely different forms of cover.

Most credit cards offer free Travel Accident Insurance but it is only for very limited cover, so it is just as well to check out exactly what you are covered for well before you leave for the airport.

Dig out your credit card paperwork and check the small print carefully - as I always say, ‘the devil is in the detail’.

Very limited and restricted cover

Travel Accident Insurance is a largely meaningless form of insurance and provides very limited and restrictive cover, in spite of the liberal use of the term ‘travel insurance’. It is like chalk and cheese compared to genuine travel insurance.

If ever there was a real contradiction in terms, this is it.

For instance, it offers little or no cover prior to your journey for such events as lost property, missed departures or travel delays and cancellations through no fault of your own.

Surprisingly, you will not be covered at the other end either.

Planes, trains and automobiles

The much-vaunted and free Travel Accident Insurance punted by credit cards is purely designed to insure you while you are actually en route to your destination, whether by bus, taxi, train or plane.

You will certainly want wider cover than that.

Even worse, the cover is really limited and you may find your credit card company will only pay out for a major accident such as death, permanent disability or the loss of an eye or limb.

Should you find on closer investigation that your cover is likely to be inadequate for your planned holiday; your first priority should be to look around for a comprehensive travel insurance plan from a dedicated travel insurance provider.

This should at the very least insure you for repatriation, personal liability, lost possessions, legal charges and medical expenses.

Be proactive and forearmed so you are not taken by surprise if the worst should happen.

Full holiday travel insurance

You may be wondering if there is a credit card that offers free comprehensive travel insurance.

The short answer is ‘Yes’!

Barclaycard is one credit card company who offer comprehensive travel insurance for holidaymakers booking through one of their tour operators, on condition that you pay for the holiday using a Barclaycard credit card.

Before going ahead and booking, it is important to weigh up the insurance benefits the credit cards claim to offer and take a good look too at the small print to check that the benefits are really as good as advertised.

To summarise, a credit card which gives you comprehensive and unrestricted insurance coverage is almost always better than a card which offers Travel Accident insurance only.

Leslie

Sridhar asked:


My MIL is traveling from India to US for 6 months. I did a quick analysis of the insurance plans available in India for her and they dont seem to be adequate. Most of them have a deductible of USD 400 or above and the providers here are mostly unknown.

Any suggestions of whom to look for either in India or in US?

Thanks in advance for your time.

Sean