Don’t be thrown off guard by a cheap travel insurance price

January 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

cheap travel insuranceMany people are thrown off guard by the cheap prices of travel insurance, but it’s important not to be. If you’ve done your research and selected a travel insurance plan that delivers the coverage you need and the price is reasonable, even cheap, it just means you’ve qualified for a good rate.

Travel insurance can be quite comprehensive for the price.

For example, if two travelers from Kansas, ages 32 and 36 find a great package deal on a week in Scotland for $3,000, they can have comprehensive travel insurance coverage for just $154 more. We ran these trip details through our travel insurance comparison tool and found a Travel Select plan from Travelex that includes:

  • 100% trip cancellation
  • 150% trip interruption
  • $50,000 per person primary emergency medical
  • $500,000 per person emergency medical evacuation
  • $750 per person travel delay
  • $250 per person baggage
That’s a lot of coverage for the price. And this particular plan covers terrorism, financial default, loss of employment, missed connections and more. Of course, this is just one trip example and one travel insurance example, and every trip and every traveler is different.
You can always see plan and pricing information with our travel insurance comparison tool by entering your basic trip details, and clicking go.

Our cheap travel insurance recommendations

The following are our recommendations for getting an adequate, but perhaps cheap, travel insurance plan:

  1. We recommend choosing an amount of travel medical coverage based on an assessment of your travel medical needs.
  2. We also recommend not over-spending on your travel insurance plan. See our 5 Rules for Saving Money on your Travel Insurance Plan for details.

And don’t worry if you initially purchase the wrong policy - travel insurance plans come with a review period of 10-14 days and during that time, you can make changes to your plan and even cancel it (for a small fee).

 

What is a ‘ticket protector’ plan and who offers them?

July 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Ticket Protector plansTicket protection plans are a little different than the traditional travel insurance plan. They are designed for budget-minded travelers who don’t want trip cancellation coverage, but want a little extra protection in the form of additional term life and AD&D.

One example of this type of plan is Flight Guard from Travel Guard, which offers flight accident AD&D of $100,000 – $500,000.

That being said, many travel insurance providers throw in a number of other benefits which can make a flight or ticket protection plan look a lot like a post-departure travel insurance plan.

Some of the reasons why fight protector plans are popular include:

  • Premiums are cheap, like life insurance is for many people
  • Your beneficiaries receive the benefit as tax-free money
  • You can get this insurance right up until the day your flight leaves
  • You can’t be turned down for your health or your age

Here is a quick benefit listing for one flight protection plan that includes some extra benefits with the expected term life and AD&D – the Flight Insure Plus plan from Travelex:

Flight Insure Plus

You’ve probably seen the airport kiosks selling similar flight risk plans and touting peace of mind as you travel and peace of mind if you’re gone. We hope you’ll avoid those situations and work with one of the travel insurance providers we review here. At least you’ll know what you’re getting that way.

A world in crisis means pre-purchasing travel insurance

April 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Buy your travel insurance early to avoid price increasesWith political revolutions in North Africa and across the Middle East, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and more, travelers across the globe are looking into purchasing their travel insurance plans early. Not only because most plans require you to purchase your plan soon after making your initial trip payment, but also due to recent payouts and the potential for rising costs.

Due to payouts from multinational companies required to cover the losses due to the latest round of disasters and bad weather this past winder, prices of travel insurance products you may need to cover your vacation in the coming months may go higher.

Consider buying an annual plan at today’s prices

Under annual travel insurance plans, multiple trips are covered with the same benefits without having to have your travel plans locked down tight. You’ll be covered for the next year for any trips you want take.

In addition, multi-trip plans are available in many duration periods, so if you only want to cover the coming summer travel months, you’ll be set.

 

How to Travel Europe for Cheap

May 19, 2010 By 1 Comment

travel-europe-cheapThe European continents encompass many diverse and enchanting nations. Many people think of a trip to Europe as only a dream trip, because of the outrageous expense. However, you can now travel to Europe more cheaply than you can to some U.S. destinations. You just have to know how to make it happen. Traveling cheaply doesn’t mean you have to backpack and hitchhike, that is, unless you want to.

Cheap Airfare
Scheduling your flight from a major airport will help you in booking a much cheaper flight to Europe. Look to the Internet to find cheap travel deals to Europe. If you don’t reside near a major airport, consider taking a flight to a major one, like LAX or JFK out of New York, then pick up your budget flight out of there. This will save you a ton. British Airways is good bet for lower price air travel to many European countries.

Hostels
Staying in Europe’s hostels is the way to go, that is if you don’t mind bunking up and sharing a bathroom with strangers. Usually, you either bunk up in a dorm room, a double room, or there are single rooms at a bit higher price. There are cheap hostels across Europe and many accommodations can be quite nice for a bit pricier stay, or you can stay in a no-frills hostel for about $8 a night depending on location. They offer common rooms for entertainment and socializing. Some hostels have curfews, for the protection of their guests, and are the quietest and safest in the hostel world. It is guaranteed to be a cheap way to stay in Europe.

Taking the Bus
Traveling to multiple European countries means you’ve got to obtain a means of transportation. Going by bus is going to be your cheapest option over the Rail. Going by individual bus systems in Europe can be confusing, and not a lot of fun. However, there is a service called Busabout. It offers a hop on/hop off policy and covers 11 European countries and 41 cities. Travelers may purchase a travel pass for a time duration of 2 weeks to six months in order to save even more money. You can find more information about Busabout on the Internet.

Cheap Travel Insurance
One way to travel Europe safely is to make sure you pick up a cheap travel insurance policy before your trip. Travel insurance covers a range of possibilities, including travel medical insurance, trip cancellation coverage, and additional trip insurance coverage. Just because you are traveling on the cheap doesn’t mean you should go bare bones without travel insurance. Things happen and you have to be prepared in case of an emergency or any unforeseen glitches in your trip plans.

What is the cheapest way to travel to Europe?

May 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

cheapest-way-travel-europeThe cheapest way to travel to Europe is going to depend on where you are to begin with. If you are in the United States, then the cheapest way to travel is to fly. There are many ways you can save on airfares to Europe by following a few simple tips.

  1. Use sites like Kayak.com. Sites like Kayak.com offer a feature that searches multiple airlines, multiple dates and multiple flights at once to find the best rate on the Internet. These sites can save you a lot of money if you don’t have a specific date in mind, but rather a general idea of when you want to travel. You can watch the site over a period of weeks and snag a flight when it is the most affordable.
  2. Contact a travel agent. Let them know you are looking for the cheapest way to jump the puddle to Europe and they can keep an eye out in their pooled airfares for you. They are experts in travel and know how and where to look for good deals.
  3. See what airlines are competing for your business. Some airlines undercut certain travel routes to Europe. Keep an eye out for what is going on in the airline industry for a clue about when the right time is to purchase a ticket.
  4. Buy as soon as you establish a departure date.  If you buy early on you can sometimes save a bundle, but this can be a gamble, if flight prices drop. You’ll miss out on better deals. Sometimes paying a little more to make sure you have a seat when you want it is the cheapest way to go.
  5. Travel in Europe’s off-season. If you wait to travel between September and May your flight price can drop by as much as half. The other advantages will be that you save on accommodations, there are not nearly as many tourists as there are during high-season, you get to have a more relaxed vacation and some of the attractions that charge fees, lower these as well. So, if you decide to go during the slow season, then you will get the cheapest price on most of your trip expenses including the flights.

No matter when you travel to Europe or how much you are willing to spend to get there, you mustn’t forget to get a cheap travel insurance policy before you go. An inexpensive travel medical insurance policy will save you a ton of headaches and money should you have an accident or get injured during your travels. If you are looking for the cheapest way to get to Europe, then you probably don’t want to pay out of pocket and up front for emergency, hospital and doctor’s care or for a medical evacuation flight back home if you should need it. Travel insurance will be the least of your worries and expenses.

Overseas Travel Insurance While Volunteering Abroad

October 2, 2008 By

overseas-travel-insuranceVolunteering overseas can be an incredibly rewarding experience

It’s a chance to step out of your normal surroundings and become part of something much bigger. Although making an impact through volunteering is great, it does carry some extra risks, so it’s helpful to have overseas travel insurance while volunteering abroad.

Volunteers sometimes work in particularly volatile environments, so it can be important to have coverage for emergency evacuation in case the situation in the country becomes overly hostile or dangerous.

Some volunteer organizations provide overseas travel insurance

Depending on the type of volunteer work you are doing (for instance, if you are a medical volunteer or if you are engaging in construction projects) you may be particularly vulnerable to illness or injury.  The program that you are volunteering with may offer some type of travel insurance, but read all of the information carefully to make sure that it meets your requirements.

Sometime the countries that need the most help from volunteers are those that are the most dangerous or volatile to volunteer in. Whether a country is undergoing political change or unrest, or some sort of natural disaster relief it is always good to have coverage for emergency evacuations when heading into such environments.

It’s sometimes hard to know just how volatile a situation really is. Perhaps a country may seem perfectly stable before the trip, but suddenly it takes a turn for the worse. Many types of overseas travel insurance for volunteers have coverage for these kinds of possibilities.

Of course, the other common threat that comes with overseas volunteering is illness and medical emergencies. Overseas countries are not only a different world culturally, they are also very different in terms of viruses and bacteria that cause illness. It is important to have travel insurance for overseas volunteers that covers possible medical expenses.

Even with warnings not to drink the water,  volunteers may forget and get sick from the local water. A volunteer’s immune system often isn’t equipped for the many new kinds of disease and illness it can be exposed to.  In some areas, the right kind of medical care may not be easily available, but travel insurance will often cover medical evacuation.

Volunteering vacations are an increasingly popular option for travelers of all ages; it’s important that potential catastrophes can be alleviated with travel insurance.

Photo by: dlbezaire

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