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

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).

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Millions of travelers will attend the summer games in Beijing, China
Later this summer, millions of travelers from around the world will descend on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China with hopes of seeing Gold medalists and exploring a fascinating new country. This can be a great adventure for travelers young and old, but there are a few things travelers need to be aware of before they go.

Olympic-bound travelers must consider their health and medical safety
Anytime you travel, your health and safety are a concern. Many travelers like to try new things; whether it’s new exotic foods, unusual activities, unfamiliar sights, and various other “foreign-land” adventures. If you are heading to Beijing to see the 2008 Olympics, you will absolutely experience a variety a “new things”. Some will be harmless, but some will increase your risk of getting sick, injured, or ill. New foods, unfamiliar surroundings, or a day-trip adventure could result in any sort of accident.

Health insurance from home won’t cover medical expenses while abroad
When traveling in your home country, a slight mishap won’t cause too much trouble as long as you have health insurance. Your insurance from your home travels with you as long as you are in your home country.

Travelers are surprised, however, to learn that the same coverage that protects them at home will not always travel with them overseas. In fact, most health insurance from the US does not provide coverage once you leave the US, including Medicare. That means that when you leave your home country, you are left with no medical coverage to protect you in case of accidents, illnesses, or sicknesses. An unexpected visit to a foreign hospital can be a scary (and expensive) experience.

Transportation to get an injured traveler home can cost $50,000 or more
The costs of having an accident or getting sick while overseas doesn’t end with the emergency medical care costs. The other downside of needing medical care while abroad is the problem of getting back home. In many cases, an injured or sick passenger cannot simply fly on a commercial airline. They might need a specially equipped medical flight, or even an emergency medical evacuation.

Travelers going to the Olympics in China need travel insurance
The answer is to purchase travel insurance for your Olympic trip to China. A travel medical insurance plan is a temporary policy that covers you for the length of your trip. A good travel medical policy will provide:

• assistance in finding a hospital
• transportation if needed
• translation assistance
• payment for covered expenses

Important! Most travel medical plans even provide coverage that pays for emergency medical evacuation and transportation costs, which can be staggering. Make sure the one you choose provides this!

Related China Olympics travel insurance articles:
How do I know my travel insurance company is reputable?
3 Steps to finding the right travel insurance
Who has the best travel insurance?

There is no easy answer to this question. It is hard to single out 1 travel insurance company as having the best deals. Each company, and more importantly, each policy, has different coverage and levels of coverage. Therefore, they have different prices.

Cheap is not always the best way to go

The important thing its to get the coverage you need. It will do you no good to buy the cheapest trip insurance plan, but not have coverage for that lost suitcase or missed flight.

Decide what coverage is most important to you, and how much. Every plan varies. If you are going abroad, and want to make sure you have medical coverage, you will want to pay special attention to the travel medical policies. If you are concerned with a last minute cancellation due to the illness of a sick family member, you will focus on trip cancellation insurance, or “cancel for any reason” coverage.

Here are the steps to finding the best deals for travel insurance:

1. Decide what coverage is most important to you and your trip
2. Compare travel insurance using a comparison site (see How to Compare Quotes with a Travel Insurance Comparison Site)
3. Find the policies with the coverage you are comfortable with, then look for a price that works for you

It’s that simple.

To give you an idea of how the different the premiums can be, here is a comparison chart of the rates from various companies and plans. This is a quote for a 30 day trip, trip cost of $10,000, medical coverage of $10,000, for 2 32 year-old travelers:

As you can see, there is a big gap between the cheapest and the most expensive plan. You can bet there is more coverage for the Deluxe plan from Access America, and less coverage in the Essential plan.

As an industry that is still growing, especially in the United States, there are more and more travel insurance companies emerging all the time. As of right now, there are roughly 2 dozen companies that market, administer, and issue trip and travel insurance coverage. They range from big-corporation spin-offs like AIU’s Travel Guard, to independent upstarts that have entered the market in the past 15-20 years, like CSA Travel Protection and Seven Corners.

Even though are a several companies to choose with many different policies, there are ways to help you figure out the best one for your trip. At the end of this article, we’ll provide you with some links to comparison sites that let you compare rates from all major companies at the same time.

What exactly do the insurance companies do?

The job of the individual travel insurance companies is simple: they design the product (the policy), they market and sell it, then administer and issue the policy. But it doesn’t end right there. They are also there for a very important reason; possibly the most important when it comes to insurance: support.

Imagine you are traveling in Laos on a 3 week honeymoon. While embarking on a cycling day-trip through the countryside, your new wife takes a tumble and breaks her wrist. What now? You are in the middle of a foreign land, where you do not speak the language, don’t know anyone, let alone the best hospital to take her to. Not to mention how you get her there. This is where good support plays a part.

The insurance companies have support centers with trained insurance professionals that can answer your question; before and after the purchase. They will handle claims and claim questions as well. They provide assistance in foreign countries, help you find a hospital, and even to get through language barriers. They can arrange special transportation if the nearest hospital is not adequate.

The ability of a travel insurance company to provide great support is a very important factor in making your buying decision.

How do I know these travel insurance companies are reliable?

I have written another post on this specific topic; how can you know that you are buying travel insurance from a reputable company? There are a few trustworthy organizations that give credibility to the different trip insurance companies; here is a brief review of them.

The official rating company in the insurance industry is A.M.Best. A.M.Best is a full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial services industries, including the banking and insurance sectors. They have ratings for every reputable and trustworthy insurance company; on a letter scale (A+, B-, etc.) This a good place to check when you are not sure about a certain company.

The US Travel Insurance Association (UStiA) is a group whose mission is to, “…foster ethical and professional standards of industry conduct, cultivate effective state and federal government relations, inform and assist members, and educate consumers.” Representatives from various travel insurance related companies act as Officers, and travel insurance companies and related companies can pay a membership fee and be listed as members. UStiA does not rate companies, but their membership, and therefore inclusion in the group, helps credibility.

How can I compare rates from the different insurers?

There is actually a very simple way to compare different plans from the different travel insurance companies. In the “old” days (10+ years ago), booking airfare was a very different process than it is today? People typically used a travel agency, or spent hours on the phone with customer service representatives from United Airlines, Northwest Airlines, TWA, and others. You would writing down the different times, connections, and fares. Then you would compare all the prices; and figure out when you wanted to leave, when to return, etc. Sound familiar?

Then along came Expedia, Travelocity, and the other online travel sites. They took the role of travel agent, and made it easy for us to look at all the available airfares from several airlines, and compare prices side-by-side. Much easier, right?

The same thing exists for the travel insurance companies. Instead of using an agency, or calling the individual companies, you can go to comparison websites and see all the different plans, compare the coverage, and even compare quotes (NOTE: in the travel insurance industry, you are able to get instant, accurate quotes for your travel insurance premium. You don’t need to submit your information and wait for an email or call; you can get a quote for travel insurance in less than a minute.)

The other nice thing is that you can instantly purchase and bind coverage, right online. Using a credit card, travelers can get a quote and purchase their policy instantly. The companies generally mail the policy out to you, but you will also receive an email with all the important policy information. You can print this out and get right on the plane.

Related Links
How do I know my travel insurance company is reputable?
3 Steps to finding the right travel insurance
Who has the best coverage for lost luggage?

Figure out what kind of coverage you need. If you are worried about getting sick and missing your flight, you need coverage for missed flights. If your elderly mother is ill and might take a turn for the worse, you need trip cancellation coverage that covers illness to family members. If you just worried about getting sick while abroad, you need travel medical insurance. You get the idea.

Jot down your thought about what you want to cover. We’ll use this in a few minutes.

Be ready to purchase right away
There are big benefits to purchasing your travel coverage immediately after booking your trip. The biggest “problem area” in trip insurance, the issue that causes the most misunderstandings and aggravation, is the Pre-Existing Medical Condition. Essentially, travel insurance companies need to exclude illnesses and injuries that happened before their coverage began. If you are diagnosed with a condition in January, but buy insurance in March, that won’t be covered. You didn’t have insurance when it happened.

There is something you can do, however. Many travel insurance companies offer a Pre Existing Medical Condition Waiver. To qualify, you must purchase your insurance within a certain period of time of your first trip deposit. This period is usually 10-15 days.

So, if you are planning on buying travel insurance, there is a huge advantage in getting it right away, even at the same time as booking your trip.

Compare prices with a search engine
When you search for airfare, you probably use a search engine like Expedia.com or Orbitz.com, right? Most people do, because that way they can compare different airlines prices, flight times, layovers, and service. That’s the smart thing to do.

Well, the same is true for travel insurance. There are several websites where you can enter your trip dates, and a few other pieces of information, and get instant quotes from all major carriers. Then, while considering the prices, you can compare their coverage and find the right policy.

Use a travel insurance comparison site
Comparison sites have built  very simple sites, and made it easy to compare coverage. When you find the right company, just click “buy”. You can enter your credit card information and personal information in a secure site. Once complete, you will receive a confirmation email immediately. Then you’re ready to go (see How to Compare Quotes with a Travel Insurance Comparison Site)