Travel insurance should be an important part of your travel planning as many foregin countries do not have a health system like we do in the UK and medical treatment has to be paid for by the individual receiving the treatment. This is one of the reasons why travel insurance is so important. If you travel throughout the year, it may be worth condidering an annual travel insurance policy as this will work out cheaper than purchasing single trip travel insurance each time you travel

What Does Travel Insurance Cover?

This depends on the exact terms and conditions of your particular travel insurance policy, but generally it includes:

Cancellation of, or cutting short, your holiday. For example, travel insurance may cover cancellation of your holiday due to tsunami, earthquake etc.

What Types of Travel Insurance are Available?

In common with other insurance products, there are a number of different types of policy, these include:

Single Trip Travel Insurance

Whilst it is not currently compulsary to have travel insurance, it is highly recommended. Single trip travel insurance usually covers the items listsed above (under the heading What does holiday or travel insurance cover) such as a stolen purse or wallet, an accident or an illness whilst you are away, and damaged or lost luggage.

Annual Travel Insurance

If you travel more than once a year it may be worth considering an annual travel insurance policy as it will often be cheaper than paying for single trip travel insurance each time you travel. It also means that there is no need to arrange cover for each journey you take. Although most annual or multi trip travel policies allow you to travel as many times as you wish each year, there may be a limit on the length of each trip.

It will probably be possible to cover the whole family under the annual travel insurance policy too, which may save a great deal of money compared with insuring each person under a seperate policy.

Other Types of Travel Insurance

Other types of travel insurance include, but are not limited to, winter sports travel insurance, backpacker travel insurance, over 65 holiday insurance and sporting holiday insurance.

Traditionally, your holiday insurance cover would have been purchased from the travel agent at the same time as booking your holiday. But more and more people are sourcing their travel insurance from a third party who can often off the holiday insurance policy cheaper than a travel agent.

Generally, most holiday insurance companies will cover any person up to the age of 65, but some companies offer holiday insurance that will cover over 65s too.

Single trip holiday insurance will usually have a limit on the number of days it covers you for so be sure to inspect the small print of the travel insurance policy.

If you travel more than once a year it may be worth considering annual travel insurance (also known as multi trip travel insurance) which allows multiple trips for up to a year and should work out cheaper than purchasing single trip travel insurance each time you travel.