Ten Travel Insurance Top Tips

Always consider a family policy.

Quite often you will find that you save money overall, and most of the policies will let the people covered travel individually as well. One thing that should be checked, though, is that children under 18 travelling on their own may not be covered.

Increase your excess to reduce your premium.

Statistically, you are unlikely to claim upon your travel insurance, and while we do not advocate travelling without it, you can reduce your overall premium by increasing the excess payable – you can make some quite big savings doing this, but make sure you can cover the payment should you need to!

Get an excess Waiver

If you’ve just got that sinking feeling before you leave, and you think you might have to claim on your cover, an excess waiver can be added to most policies for around £20, meaning you won’t have to pay your excess should a claim be made.

Think ahead.

Many companies will sell you a multi-trip policy that will cover you, for a set period of time (12 months is standard). If you make three or more trips in that period you will often save large amounts of money, or if you book a lot of last minute trips, it is good to know that you are covered from the outset.

Don’t skimp on medical cover.

Don’t even waste your time looking for policies with under £1m of medical cover – outside Europe you should be looking at over £2m of cover – Being ill in another country can work out to be very expensive if the worst comes to the worst. Also, don’t forget that a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) isn’t necessarily a complete alternative.

Ditch the things you don’t need.

It’s always worth checking what is covered by your bank or credit card provider. Quite often you will find that your luggage and/or personal belongings are covered by one of the organisations listed above, and opting out of these extras can save you nearly 90%.

Check what is and isn’t covered.

Want to go scuba diving while you’re away? Or skiing? These, and many other, activities are quite often not included in standard travel insurance policies, as they are classed as “Hazardous Pastimes”. Often an additional premium is payable to include these (And similar) activities.

Make sure you read your policy details carefully.

Some policies can have an upper age limit as low as 40; if you turn 41 while on your trip and you need to make a claim, you will find that the policy will often not pay out. As soon as you receive your documents, read through every section and ensure you understand it all – any problems or questions, do not hesitate to contact your provider.

Always declare pre-existing medical conditions.

As tempting as it is to not mention an existing medical problem in order to keep the price of your policy down, the last thing you want is to be affected by that condition while you’re away, as by not declaring it you invalidate your policy.

Shop around.

Using the advice given above, you should be able to decrease the cost of your cover considerably, however it’s always best to compare travel insurance policies to make sure you’re getting the best (and cheapest) possible cover.