5 Clever Ways to Save On Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is important whether you are just planning to go on a weekend trip out to the countryside or go on a back-packing trip around the world. Essential as it is, there is still a need for people to find the best deal available in order to save on money. There are various travel insurance policies and they can cover travelers for different areas of the world, for various lengths of time and insure a whole lot of different things.
If you are about to go on a trip and are looking for ways to save on travel insurance, here are 5 clever ways to save on travel insurance:
1. Check if you are already covered. There are some banks that offer their clients free travel insurance depending on their account type. Check if the account you have with your bank makes you eligible for free travel insurance coverage courtesy of your bank. If you are, then you don’t have to buy insurance for your travel. You have to understand however that the travel accident insurance commonly offered by credit companies only cover you under specific circumstances. You have to be aware of such circumstances to know if this type of insurance is appropriate for you. Also, make sure that you declare any medical conditions and other important things lest the policy gets invalidated.
2. Look for specialist policies if you are going away for long periods. It is essential for you to look for a specialist policy if you’re going on a long trip i.e. a ‘gap year’ trip because a lot of annual insurance policies are limited to only 30 days. If you are the adventurous type and your trip involves hang gliding, skiing and other such activities, a specialist insurance policy is ideal.
There are some insurance companies that offer winter sports coverage however you may need to pay additional costs. If you’re into extreme sports or activities, check with the company if they have an extra premium that covers these activities if only for a short period of time. This could at times be cheaper than buying annual insurance policy from a specialist insurer.
3. Get only the coverage you need. It is not wise to pay for coverage you don’t actually need. An insurance agent would naturally coax you into buying an entire policy, telling you that you need all coverage included but if you look closely, there are covers that are really a waste of your money. For example, you don’t need baggage coverage if you are not taking away any valuables with you. It is even cheaper to just have your valuables insured with household insurance.
4. Decide whether to get a single trip policy or an annual travel policy. If you are planning to go on a trip more than once within a year, you will save more money by purchasing annual travel insurance instead of buying insurance for every trip you take.
5. Don’t buy travel insurance at the last minute. Some people hoping to find great bargains tend to wait till the last minute to buy travel insurance and often, they end up with no other options but to bundle in travel insurance. Bundled trip insurance is not always a good thing because they are often overpriced compared to other plans. If you really want to save on trip insurance, take the time to search out better deals and don’t wait until the last minute to purchase.