TripInsurance.com, operated by the M.H.Ross Company (founded 1952), is a travel insurance website selling their own products under the names Global Alert! Basic and Global Alert! Enhanced.

Global Alert! travel insurance policies are available on their own site, tripinsurance.com, as well as the popular comparisons sites such as InsureMyTrip.com and Squaremouth.com.

Website is very user friendly
TripInsurance.com is set up very simply and allows the customer to find what they need fast. The top-left of the page contains a quote engine labeled “Calculate Premium”, asking only the number of travelers and travel dates. The travel dates are entered with picklists for month, day, and year, which can be tedious. Most users are comfortable with calendar buttons at this point, and I think TripInsurance.com would benefit from adding them to the home page quote engine.

The home page also features a few common Q&A’s, bullet points of some policy benefits, and even an up-to-date mention of the foiled terrorist plots in Britain and how they effect your travel insurance policy. It’s good to see the company informing customers of real day to day concerns.

Also on the left column are mentions of their “10 day free-look” policy and “Early bird benefits”. The 10 day free-look allows a policy holder the opportunity to return their travel insurance policy for a refund. The “Early bird benefits” list the advantages of purchasing your travel insurance policy as soon as possible, including the Pre-existing conditions waiver, coverage for financial insolvency of a travel company, and terrorist act coverage. Both policy features are not uncommon, but I like how they promote them right up front.

After entering the number of travelers and travel dates, you are taken to a new screen and asked for some more information. I do like how TripInsurance.com has broken the quote process down into a few sections, it seems less overwhelming than one screen with a long list of question fields. Here again, however, are picklists to choose the traveler ages instead of simple entry boxes.

Screenshot from quote screen

Next you are supplied with some quote numbers for both their Global Alert! Basic plan and the Global Alert! Enhanced plan. They also mention some upgrade options, such as Global Alert! Extra (AD&D, Medical Evacuation, and rental car coverage), and “Cancel for any reason” coverage.

When you click “Buy Now”, you are taken to another screen which discussed enrolling in the plan, and features an “Enroll Now Online” button. This seems a little more complicated than it needs to be. If a potential customer likes the quote and clicks “Buy Now”, I think you can safely take them to a purchase screen.

After clicking “Enroll Online Now”, you are taken to a personal information page. Unfortunately, you are required to re-enter the dates of travel (this time there is a calendar function), traveler ages, and trip cost. This could be set up to auto-enter those fields.

You are also asked for name, address, destination, and several other questions regarding the trip. The problem here is that different companies ask different questions, and the customer doesn’t know what information is necessary are what is not. As travelers shop around, they are asked different questions at different sites.

After adding and saving the travelers, you can proceed to the payment screen, where they accept Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, and Discover. M.H.Ross and Tripinsurance.com emails confirmations to customers. At that point, the coverage is in place and you are ready to go.

Overall, TripInsurance.com is an easy site to use. They limit confusing choices by offering two plans: Global Alert! Basic and Global Alert! Enhanced. The site has a usefull FAQ section, as well as other resources.

Pros
“Cancel for any reason” coverage available
Site is usefull as a resource
Simple products, competitive pricing

Cons
Travel date picklists instead of calendar function
Some need to re-enter travel information

Read our Travel Insurance 101: The Complete Guide to Travel Insurance

How to buy travel insurance

1. Use a travel insurance comparison site- The best way to buy travel insurance is to use a travel insurance comparison site. Compare quotes and plas side-by-side, and buy instantly online.
2. Check reviews and buy direct- If you want a quote from a specific travel insurance company, visit our reviews pages. You will see links to purchase insurance directly from the company.