It is vital to make sure that you have adequate travel insurance before you travel. Your policy should provide cover in case of medical emergencies, but also have options that allow you to provide cover for all the activities you plan to participate in during your trip.

If you’re tempted by the thought of travelling, one of the most important steps to ensure you have taken in preparation for your trip is making sure you’re covered by purchasing travel insurance. It is important to make a list of what you plan on taking with you – such as electrical equipment and skiing equipment.

It is also important to make a list of activities that you plan on doing – such as extreme sports and scuba diving – in order to provide accurate information when looking for cheap travel insurance.

Here are some hints and tips on what to bear in mind when searching for a quote:

• Ensure that you take out a travel insurance policy in order to cover the basics – such as medical expenses, repatriation costs, third party liability and passport loss.
• Activities such as scuba diving, white water rafting and bungee jumping may not be covered in basic policies – you will need to look into additional cover for such activities for the duration of your trip. Ensure that you are covered for the duration of your visit just in case plans change and you choose to participate in these activities.
• If you have a pre-existing medical condition, such as asthma or diabetes, you need to look into getting cover in case of complications during your trip. Your insurance company will usually require you to complete a form in order to assess a suitable cost.
• It is advisable to look into additional options on your policy to help cover costs of emergency trips back home – such as bereavements or exam-re-sits. Such cover can also be set up to cover any costs should your parents need to fly out in emergency situations.
• It could also prove beneficial to insure any electrical equipment, such as digital cameras, laptops and handheld gaming devices, consider the price of such equipment and whether it would be safer to take a cheaper model in order to be less attractive to burglars.

Most travel insurance policies are designed to reimburse you in the event of the most likely scenarios that you might encounter while traveling, such as a delayed or canceled trip, death or illness, as well as the death of a relative at home. Travel insurance also covers the high cost of emergency medical assistance in a foreign country, as well as reimbursement for lost baggage.

You can also purchase various extras, including coverage in the event of an accident while participating in extreme sports, such as diving, skiing and skydiving; and coverage that will reimburse you for the cost of any emergency air transportation home, sometimes known as air ambulance. Travel insurance policies do not cover absolutely everything; they generally do not include coverage for expenses due to riots, wars and natural disasters.

It can be confusing determining how much travel insurance you need, or even if you actually need any at all. Most credit cards do include some kind of basic travel or trip cancellation insurance, which is usually adequate. If you are buying a plane ticket, your ticket comes with basic liability coverage for lost or delayed baggage, although it does not really cover expensive items. Also, if you are worried about your airline declaring bankruptcy, which is not so out of the question in today’s economic climate, an airline that ceases operations is required by law to protect you on another carrier or refund your ticket.

There are also policies designed for families and groups as well as so-called “multi trip insurance”. If you travel regularly throughout the year, it is almost certainly less expensive to purchase a policy that covers multiple trips. Family plans provide coverage for families traveling together and are also nearly always less expensive than buying an individual insurance policy for everyone. In this case, the definition of family may extend to various in-laws, cousins and grandparents.

The cost of your travel insurance policy can vary greatly, depending on the length of your trip and just how much coverage you want as well as your destination. Typically, you should expect to pay between 4% and 8% of the overall cost of the trip itself to have adequate travel insurance. If you are traveling to a remote or dangerous country, or to somewhere not recommended by the US department of state, expect to pay more for your travel insurance.

Not surprisingly, many people like to have the security of travel insurance or trip protection insurance if they are going on a particularly expensive or a once in a lifetime trip, such as a honeymoon or a vacation to a far away, exotic location such as Fiji or Africa.

Travel insurance policies also offer different levels of coverage, known as primary coverage and secondary coverage. If you take out primary coverage, your insurance company will pay you before any other insurance you have takes effect; if you have secondary insurance they will only pay you when you have collected from any other insurance options that are available to you.

You also may find that your policy is more expensive if you have what the insurance companies regard as a pre-existing medical condition. Always declare any pre-existing condition when you take out travel insurance, otherwise your policy may be void. This can lead to a very unfortunate experience, of needing insurance and not being able to purchase it at an affordable rate.

Once you have decided what kind of travel insurance you might need, purchasing it is simple. The internet has made it easy and convenient to shop around and compare prices and services offered. Most airlines, travel agents and cruise lines will only be too happy to sell you a policy, as they are probably getting a commission from the insurance company. You are not obligated to get your insurance through them – although it is often just as easy to do so.

If you are buying travel insurance for the first time and are confused, the best option is probably to purchase a basic policy along with your vacation, cruise or plane ticket. You should not be persuaded into taking out much more insurance than you will realistically need. Make sure that you understand exactly what is included and is not included in your policy; and that you take all the paperwork with you when you travel.
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Step 1: Enter Basic Information
The first step to get Instant Travel Insurance, once you have found a company which offers it online, is to enter your basic details. This information would include your travel destination, your age, and the duration of the trip and whether you want personal accident or personal liability or both.

Step 2: Plans
The next step you will arrive at when you buy such insurance Online is a list of plans that are available. The plans available to a customer who is buying Instant Travel Insurance is based on the information that has been given in step one. Different places of travel have different plans that are available. Plans will also depend on the age of the people traveling and what kind of coverage you require.

Step 3: Benefits
Once you have chosen a plan that you think will work well for you, you will be taken to step 3 where you can view the benefits of the plan that you have chosen. You need to make sure you understand these benefits carefully when you are Buying Instant Insurance to safeguard your trip. When you buy Travel Insurance in India you also have the option of comparing various plans before you make your choice. Comparing plans not only gives you a better understanding of the plans but helps you choose one that will be just right for your requirements.

There are some standard cover benefits you can expect when you take out a travel insurance policy – and with them, some fairly standard terms and conditions for what will and won’t be covered in the event of a claim. Here are some of the most common policy conditions that can cause problems, and some tips to avoid them.

• Claims for Stolen Possessions
  Your insurer expects you to take reasonable care of your property. If you don’t and it’s stolen, they may not pay out. The policy document will confirm the conditions under which the cover will not pay out for stolen possessions. In general, if you’re bringing valuables along with you – including expensive mobile telephones or digital camera equipment – you should never leave them unattended in your hotel room or accomodation. If at any time you won’t be carrying valuables with you, they should be kept in a locked safe.

  By the same token, your insurance company is unlikely to pay out for belongings taken from unlocked baggage, or left unattended in any public area.

• Claims for High Value Items
  Even if you do take reasonable care with your possessions, many policies limit the amount that they will pay out for any single item. If you’re bringing along expensive jewelry or equipment such as your laptop, expect to pay extra to insure it specifically. Alternatively, check with your home insurance company as some policies can cover certain valuables away from the home.
• Multiple Excesses
  Whilst all travel insurance policies have a standard excess, some apply this for every person travelling and/or for each claim event. This might sound nothing unusual until you insure a party of four travellers with a standard £50 excess and all of your baggage is lost or stolen. With a multiple excess you’ll have to pay the first £200 of the claim, not £50. This can also apply for claims which appear to arise from a single event but a multiple excess is applied. For example, if someone snatches your handbag but your camera falls out in the struggle and is smashed, you might have to pay two excesses. One for the theft of your handbag and one for the damage to your camera. Look out for this in the small print of your policy.
• Accident Claims
  Just as insurers expect you to take care of your property, they also expect you to take reasonable precautions with your health and personal safety. Most policies specifically exclude injuries or accidents that happen while you’re intoxicated, so if you trip and fall down the stairs after knocking back half-a-dozen shots at the bar, chances are that you won’t be covered for any related expenses.

  In addition, most policies will not pay out for injuries that happen in the course of extreme sports. If you’re planning on doing some whitewater rafting or cliff-diving, look into separate insurance cover for those specific activities.

• Winter Sports
  If you’re holiday includes skiing or other winter sports, you’ll probably need separate cover as well. Many of the major insurers offer separate winter sports cover tailored to the risks and needs associated with activities like skiing, sledding, snowboarding or any other winter sport.
• Terrorism
  While your policy may cover losses arising from terrorist activity, that cover can vary from insurer to insurer. However, no policy will cover you if you choose to travel to a country against the recommendation of the home office. You can check travel advice by country at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at fco.gov.uk.

Being aware of the exclusions on your policy can help you cover any gaps or holes in the protection it provides. Take the time to read the small print before you go, and you won’t find yourself a victim of small print exclusions when you need cover the most.

In an era when we often equate lowest price with best choice, experts warn that we may be doing ourselves a major disservice by choosing the cheapest alternative. In the case of travel insurance, you may find that your £5.49 gets you absolutely nothing when you go to file a claim. Multiple excesses, exclusions of the most common types of injuries and a strict interpretation of “existing conditions” could rule out the majority of potential claims you could make against your policy. It’s no wonder that nearly 10% of all complaints received by the Financial Ombudsman’s Service concern travel insurance.

Why Cheap Isn’t Always Better

There are many reasons why the cheapest policies aren’t always your best choice. Here are just a few of the things that could make your travel insurance policy virtually useless when you need it most.

• Multiple Excesses
  Typically, you’ll absorb a specified excess before the policy will cover your loss. If you lose your suitcase and your purse was in it, you would expect it to count as one loss, but your insurer might see it differently. In their eyes, your loss could count as two items, so you’ll have to pay the excess twice when they calculate the amount of your loss.
• Low Single Item Limits
  Many cheap travel insurers place a very low limit on the amount that they’ll reimburse you for any single item loss. If the policy states a £150 limit on single item reimbursement and you lose your £400 camera, the most you’ll be reimbursed is £150. After they take off the excess against it, you may end up with only £75 for your trouble.
• Trip Cancellation Policy
  If your travel insurance includes reimbursement or payment if you cancel your trip due to unforeseen circumstances, you should be aware of how the insurer interprets “unforeseen”. In many cases, if you cancel your trip because of illness in the family, the company will reject the claim with the reasoning that you should have been aware of the family member’s health when planning the trip.
• Cover Exclusions
  One of the most important parts of the policy to read is the section that lists excluded cover. It’s a real eye opener. You may find, for instance, that your policy excludes coverage for any item with a value over a specific amount, that it will not pay for the loss of items left on the beach or deck while you’re swimming, that any injury that happens while you’re intoxicated is not covered, and you’re not covered for the cost of replacing your eyeglasses since you should have had the foresight to bring along an extra pair.