UK residents who are planning to travel to local or foreign destinations should make sure that they are properly insured before their trips. Accidents can occur anytime, and travelers will be exposed to a greater risk of accidents when they are in a strange land. Travel insurance is important because it provides compensation for expenses that are incurred as a result of accident, loss, or theft.
There are many insurance providers that offer travel insurance policies to UK travelers, and they provide a wide range of coverage to suit the insurance needs of every traveler. Standard policies usually provide coverage for medical expenses, cancellation, loss of baggage or belongings, as well as personal liability. There are other coverage options that UK travelers can avail of, and these include coverage for high-risk activities, pre-existing conditions, travel provider default, repatriation, emergency evacuation, and valuable belongings. Travelers can get these extra coverage options by paying a higher premium.
The compensation amounts that are offered through travel insurance policies vary from one insurance provider to another. While some policies may provide compensation that is as high as £10 million for medical expenses, others may just offer £2 million. The compensation amount also differs for loss, damage, or theft of baggage and personal belongings. Travel insurance policies that offer higher compensation are more expensive, and those that provide better coverage and benefits are usually costlier, too.
The most common type of insurance for UK travelers is the single trip travel insurance policy. As the name suggests, this type of policy will provide insurance coverage for a single trip, and it is the best option for individual travelers who are making only one or two trips a year. Those who are planning to travel more than two times a year should opt for the annual multi trip travel insurance policy, because this type of policy will provide coverage for every trip that a traveler makes within a year, and it is much cheaper than the total price paid to obtain several single trip insurance policies.
UK travel insurance providers also offer discount travel insurance policies for family travelers. It is more cost-effective to get a family travel insurance policy than to purchase several policies to cover every individual in the family. A family travel insurance policy can be single trip or multi trip as well. Another type of travel insurance that provides good coverage at an affordable rate is the backpacker insurance policy. Those who opt for this policy will benefit from extended duration of coverage as well as special features that provide better protection for backpackers. This policy is also suitable for travelers who intend to stay in a foreign country for a long time.
There are also travel insurance policies for senior travelers from the UK. Senior travelers are not allowed to get a standard policy because they have a higher chance of falling ill during their travels. Insurance companies feel that they are taking a bigger risk if they offer ordinary insurance to senior travelers. As such, senior travelers have to purchase a special policy that provides better medical coverage and benefits, and such a policy is usually more expensive than standard policies.