Travel Insurance – are you Missing Out?
Posted on | December 9, 2009 | 9 Comments
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.
Related posts:
- Time For Travel Insurance?
- Few Points in Getting a Cheap Worldwide Travel Insurance
- Single Trip Travel Insurance: Buy for Some Special Occasion
- Travel Insurance – General Information & Advice
- Reasons To Consider Travel Insurance
- Buying Travel Insurance
- Travel Insurance – How to Get the Best Deal
- Cheap Travel Insurance: Why You Need to Be Covered When You Travel
- Travel Insurance For Peace Of Mind During Your Travels
- What Will Adventure Travel Insurance Will Cover?
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9 Responses to “Travel Insurance – are you Missing Out?”
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December 9th, 2009 @ 10:02 am
Generally insurance policies have a provision that if your costs (or in this case losses) are covered by another policy then you are not able to claim them on a second. Attempting to do so is insurance fraud and there are penalties that would far outweigh the financial benefits of double-dipping.
Also, note that most travel policies will pay out only when the airline does not reimburse or if they reimburse at an amount lower than what your insurance company covers. Then you will get the difference.
My suggestion is to check with your insurance companies regarding their policies and then file the claim with the one that has the best benefits for your circumstances.
December 9th, 2009 @ 10:57 am
You should be covered but you should read the documentation that came with your policy.
December 10th, 2009 @ 1:50 am
check sixxpaktravel.com
December 10th, 2009 @ 4:09 am
As long as you have 1 ID with a photo on it –
Two forms of identification, one of which must be issued by a government authority.
Acceptable forms of ID include the following:
Valid Driver's License
Military ID
Valid Passport
Company ID card
Credit card
Social Security card
Proof of auto insurance in passenger's name
School ID card
Library card
December 10th, 2009 @ 6:36 am
December 10th, 2009 @ 1:24 pm
If you are on a through ticket then the airline will put you on the next available flight to your destination.
If you have separate tickets, then the airline is under no obligation to help you and you may have to pay amendment fees or buy a new ticket to the final destination.
December 11th, 2009 @ 3:38 pm
You can use any travel insurance that covers for trip cancellation and interruption. I use TravelEx and I have been travelling for more than 15 years.
http://www.travelex-insurance.com/index.asp?location=07-0018
I've made a few travel related ( delay ) claims with them over the past several years and they have always been prompt, courteous and swift with their reimbursement. I have not however tested the metal of their medical claims process ( fortunately. )
Have a wonderful trip.
December 12th, 2009 @ 5:16 pm
Let me clarify the previous posters. Yes, the airline will re-book you, but that doesn't mean there will be space to do so. Also, if the delay is weather related, they are not obligated to provide anything other than a later flight.
You are doing the smart thing by buying trip insurance, in the event of a delay, the policy will REIMBURSE you for hotel expenses, etc. Read the details of your policy though, some have exclusions.
45 minutes is cutting it close, and here's why. Depending on where you leave from in Canada, you may not be able to pre-clear US customs. If you cannot, you will have to claim your bags in PHX, then clear customs, then re-check. THAT will not happen in 45 mins. Check your departure airport to see if they have pre-clearance capability. If not, consider another flight.
December 12th, 2009 @ 9:12 pm
Check out TravelEx, I've done that leg myself many times. Here is the link that I use to get a quote –> http://www.travelex-insurance.com/index.asp?location=07-0018