It is important to get travel insurance for any journey, domestic or foreign & get maximum cover for medical expenses or any other financial loss that may occur during the trip. Thus, we should know how to get the best travel insurance within a budget with traveler-friendly features:
In this article...
1. Know from whom to buy travel insurance
Often people buy travel insurance from a travel agency or a tour operator in order to save time and energy in finding an insurance agent. But this can burn a hole in your pocket, as you are not getting any chance to compare the costs of a travel insurance policy with different providers.
Related: Best Travel Insurance for USA
2. Know the exact features that need to be covered by travel insurance
Travel insurance covers all expensive items carried during the trip, but some items may already be covered by a home insurance or any other general insurance policy. So the buyer can exclude those items from coverage, thus making the policy cheaper. Even the medical cover can be considered by taking into account any existing medical insurance policy.
3. Compare cost of one-trip cover and multi-trip cover travel insurance
Often the insurance of a single trip may cost more than a travel insurance policy with multiple trips in a year. So a person, who travels multiple times in a year, should opt for multi-trip travel insurance only, as it saves money.
4. Consider the activities during the vacation
People love to enjoy adventure sports, like skiing or sea-surfing. But these potentially dangerous sports must be covered adequately by your travel insurance.
5. Be cautious about amount of excess money in case of each covered feature
The policyholder may need to pay extra money in excess of the amount guaranteed in the travel insurance policy, in case any unfortunate incident during a trip, relating to the covered feature. This excess amount can be lessened by increasing the premium of the policy.
6. Look for distance covered by policy
If one buys a worldwide travel insurance policy, the premium comes to be huge. This can be avoided by choosing only the places which one is most likely to visit.
7. Be aware of age limits in travel insurance policies
Different insurers mark different age limits for a travel insurance policy, after which they refuse to enter into any insurance agreement, regardless of the health of the buyer. So it is best to consult different insurers, to get the correct policy for an aged person.
8. Extra care for travelers arranging the trip themselves
Many people do not opt for a trip facilitated by a travel agency or tour operator, to save money and have freedom of visiting wherever they want. They need to be more careful in taking extra coverage in the travel insurance policy.
9. Travelers to Europe can have EHIC card for medical emergency
The travelers to visit an European country, may buy a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), to cover any medical emergency that may arise during the trip.
10. Get best quote for travel insurance
Different insurers place different quotes for travel insurance policies in each location, thus it is best to compare all the quotes with their features, and then choose the best and cheapest policy.
11. Plan a trip before hand and get best travel insurance policy
Plan & buy an insurance policy long before commencement of trip.
12. Consult a travel insurance specialist
It is advisable to look for a good travel insurance specialist, who can advise the buyer.
13. Buy travel insurance policy for group, together
Travel insurance policy always comes to be cheaper if it is bought for a group of people. For example, it may be taken for the whole family together.
14. Check the maximum limits for each coverage
The travel insurance policies have different coverage like medical, luggage, single items and cancellation, each of which has different maximum limits with different insurers. So the buyer need to check the maximum coverage and decide how much is needed for his protection.
15. Declare true health conditions of members traveling
False declaration of health conditions of members taking the travel insurance policy, may lead to disputes with the insurer and the policy may be declared null & void.
16. Read carefully the whole policy document
It is wise to go through the policy document carefully to know the terms and conditions of policy before buying it.
17. Buy travel insurance online
It is cheapest to buy a travel insurance policy online from an insurance company, instead of approaching an insurance agent or travel agent.
18. Be aware of Government warnings
Some places may be marked as unsafe by a government, for security reasons. The insurer will not want to provide coverage for visiting that high risk zone for regular premium.
19. Choose a travel insurance policy with least exclusion on natural calamities
Many insurers tend to exclude most natural or unavoidable calamities, thus refusing claims due to a mishap. So, it is best to check which insurer excludes minimum of these calamities from the list of claim situations.
20. Keep an eye on limitation of cover in different health conditions
All pre-existing diseases or health conditions are not covered by many travel insurance policies, thus extra premium need to be paid to ensure coverage of any mishap due to diseases during a trip.
Thus, one can travel safely in a hassle-free way by buying a travel insurance policy after checking all the aspects carefully and keep them financially safe during the trip.
