Discount travel insurance

In the current financial climate, more and more people are seeking discount holidays and discount travel insurance to go with it!

There are now hundreds of travel insurance products on the market and premiums vary enormously. However there are a number of ways that you can obtain discount travel insurance and still be properly covered.

You should not just purchase your insurance from your travel agent as shopping around could save you money and get you better cover. Nowadays it is easy to compare discount travel insurance premiums in just a few clicks thanks to comparison sites such as Moneysupermarket. But be sure to check the small print carefully as cover levels vary considerably and you don’t want to be under-covered or paying for extra cover that you don’t need. It is important to assess what your personal requirements are in terms of cover levels.

For example, while medical expenses can be very high when abroad (and cover for emergency medical expenses is an absolute must), it is extremely rare for a claim to reach anywhere near the £10m offered by some policies. If you are off on a holiday of a lifetime, check that the level of cancellation cover is sufficient – or if you are booking a last minute break this may be less important to you.

Check also that your discount travel insurance policy covers you for any sporting activities you might be undertaking. Also check your home contents insurance as your personal belongings and valuables may already be covered for your holiday, meaning you might not have to pay for baggage cover – some companies offer a discount for deleting baggage cover. If you have private medical insurance and it has an overseas extension you may not need medical expenses cover and some discount travel insurance providers offer a discount for excluding this – but it is vital to check with your private medical insurance provider that your policy covers this.

Fortunately it is now easier to check your discount travel insurance policy meets your needs as all providers must provide a Policy Summary (also known as Keyfacts), which is a document that contains an outline of the key features and benefits of the discount travel insurance policy.

Joint policies are likely to be cheaper for couples, and kids are sometimes covered at no extra cost. Many discount travel insurance policies can now be purchased online with many providers offering a discount for this, making a further saving.

Finally, for discount travel insurance, if you travel abroad more than once a year, consider buying an annual multi-trip discount travel insurance policy – they often work out cheaper.

247 Travel Insurance sells single trip discount travel insurance starting from under £5* and annual multi-trip cheap travel insurance starting from only £32.35**. Their How We Compare page also shows the significant differences in premiums between well-known providers.

In short – don’t scrimp on discount travel insurance, but don’t pay over the odds either!