We all want value for our money, but sometimes the cheapest policy won’t be suitable cover for what you need. You’d regret to try to make a claim during or after your trip away, only to find you’re under-insured and won’t be compensated. Here are a few of our tips to save money without losing cover.
- Insurance bought from a travel agent or operator will be more expensive and is often less specialist if your trip is off the beaten track – your broker is more reliable to arrange sufficient cover for you.
- Decide on the specific levels of cover you need for your trip – before you take out a policy. Your broker will arrange this when you tell them what you’ll be taking with you/ when you declare your medical records etc.
- Consider your excess carefully. This is the amount you will have to pay towards any claim you make. If your claim is £500 and your excess is £150, then your insurance will pay out £350 to you. Policies with a higher excess will be cheaper to buy, but won’t necessarily be worth it for the cover you need.
For example – If a single incident meant you needed to claim for both baggage and medical expenses, some insurance companies will charge two excesses, whilst others will just charge you once for your claim – which can work out cheaper for you in the long run.
- If you travel at least three times a year, consider an annual travel policy. One inclusive fee will likely cost you less than several single-trip policies. Although, you will need to specify if you’ll be travelling to America or Canada, as these countries are often not automatically included, but easily can be.
- You will need to check the ‘maximum trip duration’ on your annual policy. This is the longest amount of days you can be in another country, in a row and still have cover. Most annual insurance will cover up to 31 days. Specify to your broker if you’ll be taking a trip for longer than 31 days at a time.
- Consider a family policy if there’s four of you travelling as a family. You can often save money this way, as opposed to having to take out four individual policies. There are also group policies available for non-immediate family members and friends, to save on their travel insurance.
- Be aware of age limits and medical exclusions applied to most standard policies. Often the over 65’s require age inclusive and more specific medical cover. This is where your broker’s expertise can be invaluable, as they will know the restrictions and conditions of a policy, so you don’t pay for your travel policy, only to find yourself under-insured. Be upfront with your broker about your medical records, so you’re sufficiently covered. You won’t be covered for pre-existing conditions that you failed to declare and may lose any medical cover as a result.
- Even activities such as horse-riding are considered ‘risky activities’ – along with scuba diving and mountain climbing etc. Ensure you have comprehensive winter sports cover if you’re going on a skiing holiday and tell your broker your prospective activities when you arrange cover.
- If you’ll be driving whilst abroad – check first that you’ll be covered by your car insurance under your current policy, since this won’t always be automatically included.
- Before you include your belongings on your travel insurance, it may be worth checking if you’re already covered under your house insurance.
- Ideally, arrange your travel insurance before you book your flights – this way your policy will include cancellation cover, should your flights be cancelled or delayed. Your broker can also tell you if you’ll be covered for the full amount or not.