Product - Travel Insurance

A lot of people go on holidays and give no regard to getting some travel insurance. It's often said that if you can't afford travel insurance, then you can't afford to travel. Touch wood, I've never had to claim on travel insurance, but it's always good to have it, just in case. When buying some travel insurance, however, there are a few things to look out for.


Most people get travel insurance for the medical aspect. If you fall over and break a bone, then most insurance policies will pay all your medical bills in the country of the accident, then pay for you to be shipped home to your home. This can be a trap though. The country they will ship you to will be the country in which you buy the insurance.

If you buy your travel insurance in London and have a medical accident, then they will ship you back to London. I had an Australian friend break his leg in Greece. He was then shipped back to London. He then had to pay his own way back to Australia. If he had of bought his insurance in Australia, then he would have been shipped home to Australia. This is reflected in the price of insurance. Travel insurance is much more expensive to buy in Australia than Europe. Insurance companies have worked out that Australians tend to fall over a lot when on holidays!

Another reason for getting travel insurance is to protect the junk you take with you. The expensive stuff that would annoy you if you lost it, like watches, cameras, laptops etc. Read your policy very carefully if you're traveling with the latest and greatest camera. You may find there's a very low limit on expensive items, as low as $200. That means, if someone nicks your $2,000 camera, you're only going to get $200 back.

Some policies are kinder and have a higher limit, but often it's only for a limited number of high value items. This means, if your camera and laptop get nicked, you'll only be covered for one, not both.

Some policies also have funny policies in relation to cars. Some companies will not cover thefts from cars at night time. Some won't cover thefts from cars at all. The moral of the story is not to leave expensive goods in cars!

Insurance companies are also not stupid. If you leave your watch on a bench in a bathroom, it won't be considered stolen, so you won't be able to claim it. If you leave anything unattended and it gets stolen, you're generally not covered.

Where insurance can come in rather handy is if you have your passport or documents stolen. Most policies are very generous when it comes to covering the replacement of the passport, as well as any incidental costs, like hotel rooms, should you miss your flight.

Travel insurance is a readily available product these days. There's a huge number of web sites offering cover on the spot. Be a little bit careful though, some web sites require a few days notice before the cover starts, so try not to leave buying insurance to the last minute, as you may get into trouble!

A cheap way of getting all the cover you need is an annual policy. If you travel around a fair bit, it will soon be the cheapest option. It also ensures you always have insurance in case you are a bit forgetful!