How to find the best travel insurance deal
Follow these steps to find the best travel insurance for your needs:
- Shop around
Policies and prices do vary from insurer to insurer so always shop around to find the most suitable insurer for your requirements. Travel agents will often try to sell you their travel insurance when you book your holiday. As with all insurance products, the best place to get travel insurance is directly from an insurance company, particularly via the internet. buy.co.uk has teamed up with Insurancewide to help you get the right cover at the best price. Compare insurers now.
- Annual vs. single trip
If you are heading overseas on two or more trips a year, it can be cheaper to buy an annual policy rather than several single trip policies. This is particularly true if you’re planning a ski trip as annual policies usually include winter sports cover automatically.
- Winter sports & activities
Check the policy wording to make sure you’re covered before you embark on skiing or any activity such as jet skiing, water skiing, scuba diving and sailing. Many insurers (although not all) will not provide such cover within their standard policies. If you are unsure whether you are covered contact your insurer to find out.
- Pre-existing medical conditions
Inform your insurer of any pre-existing medical conditions. Failure to do so could mean the insurer will not pay out if you try and claim.
- Read the small print
Ensure you read the policy documents, especially the small print, to make sure that you understand what is included and excluded. If you are in doubt, ask your insurer before you depart.
- European Health Insurance Card
If you are travelling to Europe, get the European Health Insurance Card. You can pick up the EHIC form from your local post office or directly from the Department of Health (www.dh.gov.uk/travellers, 0845 606 2030). It entitles you and the rest of your family access to free or reduced cost emergency medical treatment in the European Union.
The EHIC should not be treated as a substitute for travel insurance; it should be taken in addition to a good travel insurance policy. It will not cover all your medical treatment and will not cover any repatriation costs or non-medical related issues. Each member of your family should have their own card.
Helpful travel insurance tips
It's a good idea to forward your travel insurance policy details and insurer contact instructions to your personal email address or mobile phone so that you can recall them in the event of an emergency abroad. This isn't always required as some insurers now give you a policy card to carry in your wallet, which contains all these details.
Keep your luggage and belongings in sight at all times. Failure to do so could result in the insurer refusing to payout on a claim.
Insurers tend not to cover you for travel to countries that have been declared unsafe to travel to by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). For up to date advice on countries that are safe to travel to, visit www.fco.gov.uk/travel.