Is this the best guide to travel insurance you’ll ever need? ….Probably

Giving advice on travel insurance is always important. However a recent article posted on the Daily Telegraph online publication (www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/advice/Guide-to-travel-insurance-how-to-choose-the-right-policy) fell short on its usual high standards.

It begins with a case study of a traveller who became sick and then decides to buy travel insurance. It isn’t rocket science for the average customer that buying insurance once you are sick means there could a problem once a claim is made. Insurance is a product bought to cover the sudden and unforeseen risks – you cannot buy motor insurance after you have had an accident!

The hospital referred to in the article, administered their ethical duty by operating on a sick man. Not operating would have been a far worse scenario and it is confusing why the insurance company then took two days to tell the poor man he was not covered.

Sadly this is hardly an exhaustive guide to travel insurance. So, what should you do when buying a travel insurance policy?

Firstly – you should purchase your policy (whether single trip or multi-trip) at the time you make your booking – to ensure that you are covered for cancellation.

Secondly – make sure that your policy provides cover for any medical conditions you may have – travel insurance policies will only provide cover for an event that was sudden and unforeseen.

Now you can decide if you want to purchase a single trip or multi trip policy – this will depend on your own personal travel plans for the coming twelve months.

Next you should consider whether or not you plan to take part in any activities and check that the policies you look at will cover these activities – either as standard or on payment of an additional premium.

Now you can think about the cover you actually want that matches you own particular requirements:

• Are you concerned that your airline, tour operator, or accommodation provider might go bust?
• Would you want to cancel your holiday (or come home early) if your pet was suddenly taken ill or died?
• Would you want to cancel your holiday (or come home early) if there was a terrorist incident close to where you are staying?
• Do you need cover for your gadgets, such as a mobile phone, iPad or tablet?
• Are you prepared to pay an excess (i.e. have your claim reduced)? If so are you aware that the excess will apply to each person on your policy?
• Do your travel arrangements include connecting flights? If so check that your policy will cover you if you miss a connecting flight?

Now that you have an idea of your requirements, you can start to look for a suitable policy – while price comparison sites are a reasonable starting place, remember to use the various ‘filters’ to ensure that you compare policies that meet your requirements.

The big change in travel insurance purchasing over the past 10 years is the continual search for the cheapest policy possible. The old adage ‘you get what you pay for’ has never been truer than when applied to travel insurance.

So, the correct way to buy travel insurance is to start with the cover you want, and then find a policy that meets your needs at a premium that you are happy to pay.

A good place to start your search might be www.postcardtravelinsurance.co.uk their strapline is “cover you can write home about at a price you can afford…… that’s the Postcard promise”