Here are the 3 top ways travelers find trip insurance:
- Referral A friend, relative, or co-worker directs you to a company they have used and liked
- Travel Agent When booking your vacation, a travel agent mentions insurance and offers you a travel insurance option
- Online Search Go to Google, type in “travel insurance”, and start clicking
Referrals from friends, family, or co-workers
Trusted advice from friends, family, and co-workers is always a comfortable way to make any decision. If everything went well for them, you figure it will for you too. The only problem, especially with something like medical insurance, is that everyone has different needs. Maybe they found the right company for themselves, but it may not be the right choice for you.
Travel Agencies
This is a very commmon way to begin the travel coverage process, because here in the US most travelers do not even think about travel insurance (only around 30% of US travelers purchase coverage, compared with over 90% in other countries)
You book your trip with a travel agent, and at some point they probably offer travel insurance. Some agencies offer their own line of products, and others simply obtain an insurance license allowing them to be an insurance agent selling insurance products. They make a commission from insurance sales because they are an insurance agent.
This is why most travel experts will advise against buying your travel insurance from your travel agent. A travel agent might have a deal with a particular insurance company, with the incentive of higher commissions. Do you want a travel agent making insurance recommendations based on the amount of money they make? No, you want to find the right product for your trip.
Travel agencies can also have higher overall prices for travel insurance. They build in more profit for themselves, knowing most travelers will buy from them directly instead of shopping around.
Online Search
Finally, you might go to Google and type in “travel insurance”. As of today, there are over 211 Million results for “travel insurance”. In the first page or two, you will find many of the leading insurance companies where you can buy direct. You will also find comparison sites that sell most of those same companies’ products. These comparison sites act as an agent for the companies, and earn a commission. Note: Buying directly from the insurance company will not be any cheaper, the comparison sites will have the same quotes as the insurance company.
