Top Tips for Travel Insurance

Outside the EU, medical expenses won't be covered, while even inside the EU you may need to pay for transport home or private treatment. Taking out the correct travel insurance policy can cover you against all of these misdemeanours, and give you peace of mind while you're away. If you're looking for the best travel insurance deal for this summer, then take a read of this article for some tips for finding the best policy.

Shop Around
Even before you get started on your travel insurance search, check out what your bank account or credit card provider offers. Some include annual travel insurance with their accounts, so you won't need to bother shopping around for another quote. However, do make sure you check the small print of these policies - it's worth giving the company a ring if you're still unsure. If you don't have a relevant deal, then there's not many ways to get the cheapest deal other than shopping around. The Internet makes it much easier to find the deal that's right for you quickly and easily, especially through price comparison websites. A couple of these will put you on track for a good quote, while typing ‘travel insurance' into Google can also provide substantial leads - make sure you at least check five different quotes according to your circumstances.

Get an EHIC card
The free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles you to free or discounted medical treatment in state run hospitals in the European Union and Switzerland. If you're travelling in Europe, it's important you get one, as it means you'll be treated like a citizen to the country that you're visiting. However, don't be fooled into thinking this alone is an adequate substitute for travel insurance. For a start, it's only valid in the EU and Switzerland. Then you've got to remember that you will only have access to state run hospitals with an EHIC, which may be more limited and few and far between in some countries. Also, an EHIC won't cover you for anything other than medical expenses - so remember you'll still need cover for baggage loss and flight cancellation, and it won't cover you if you go further afield.

Get the Right Level for You
Have you had a policy suggested to you by your holiday booker? If you have then consider if it's at the right level for you, and the right price; it's possible to be oversold in insurance package and you could end up with too much cover. For instance, does anyone need £100,000,000 worth of medical cover? The answer is almost certainly not, so there's no need to go for a quote with this if it's more expensive than a policy with, say, £2,000,000. Furthermore, unless you're carrying the crown jewels across the world it's unlikely you're going to need much more than £1,000 worth of baggage cover. As the rule of thumb, just try to think objectively of the extent of cover you'll need - it's probably never going to run into the millions so don't pay for it!