Travel Insurance

Travelling, particularly going abroad, incurs risks that staying at home does not. Some of the smaller risks are having luggage lost or stolen, the travel company or air line going out of business leaving the traveler stranded abroad and having money stolen. International travel insurance is designed to insure against things such as this happening.

Travel medical insurance

The biggest risk is requiring medical treatment while abroad. For example accidents are far more likely on long journeys. Different countries have different health services. Some are government run, some are private and most are in between. Travelling can have their risks and travel health insurance brings the peace of mind that is needed when going to a foreign country.

What else is covered

As well as medical insurance a number of other items are covered. Some relate to the act of travelling, so cancellation insurance will cover a traveler if they cannot make trip for medical reasons and baggage cover will cover lost baggage including a certain amount of money. Personal liability insurance is important as many insurance policies are limited to Canada. Similarly legal cover, and even a 24 hour helpline, can be important in different jurisdictions.

Single trip travel insurance

Travel insurance is quoted either on an annual basis or for a single journey, often called trip travel insurance or holiday insurance. This suits different kinds of travelers. For the person who is making frequent non-business trips, then annual travel insurance - while being more expensive at first tends to be cheaper on a per-journey basis. For the infrequent traveler - usually someone who takes less than three trips abroad then single trip travel insurance is usually better suited. For the business traveler single trip insurance is often better as it is more likely to be tax deductible for tax purposes, and to be reclaimable from the employer as a work expense.

Getting cheap travel insurance

In recent years travel insurance has become cheaper due to a number of new entrants, so here are a few tips to cut the cost of travel insurance.

Shop around - The web has made it easier to find cheap travel insurance. Getting travel insurance online meant that a number of travel insurance quotes can be accessed quickly and with little fuss.

Check special groups - Many people may belong to groups such as alumni associations, professional associations, trade unions or working for certain employers. Affinity travel insurance deals are often available. Similarly specialist agents can often offer cheaper student travel insurance.

Check if the employer provides it - If the trip is a business trip then the employer may well provide adequate travel insurance for their employees, check this before buying. Alternatively, don’t rely on the travel insurance without checking, especially if there have been any horror stories from fellow employees.

Use a specialist insurer - Single trip travel insurance is often sold by the airline or the holiday provider. This can be problematic as this cover has often been found to be insufficient and inflexible.

Check the level of cover needed - It is possible to over-insure. The level of cover may be too high, particularly for items such as baggage cover and cancellation cover. Alternatively some of the cheapest schemes may offer far too little cover.