Where to buy travel insurance ???
The 2 best places to buy travel insurance:
The best option is to buy a policy direct from the insurance company website. This is a good choice if you already have a good idea of the type of policy you need, a specific plan, or a specific company based on their rating.
Buying direct from the company ensures you are choosing from their full selection of products, and you will have full customer support for those products.
All travel insurance companies sell their products online, and most have developed very user-friendly websites. You can get an instant price quote, buy with a credit card, and get immediate email confirmation of coverage.
The second option is to use a comparison website to compare quotes from several companies at the same time. This is similar to using Expedia.com for buying an airline ticket, as opposed to visiting each individual airlines website. You simply enter some trip & travel information, and get instant comparative quotes from many companies and for many products.
The main benefit in using a comparison website is getting to analyze different plans, side-by-side, and seeing how the different coverages and prices compare to each other.
However, this can also be overwhelming, since you’re comparing up to 100 plans from 20 different companies.
Only buy from reputable companies
Purchase your travel insurance plan from a reputable company with a good rating. A.M. Best is a company that rates insurance companies based on many factors. They assign a grade rating (A+, B-, etc.) for each company, and provide other details like financial stability and size.
The following link goes to a chart with all A.M. Best ratings for the different travel insurance companies. They are all reputable; earning scores of A- and higher.
View A.M.Best ratings at http://www.ambest.co.uk/.
The 2 best places to buy travel insurance:
The best option is to buy a policy direct from the insurance company website. This is a good choice if you already have a good idea of the type of policy you need, a specific plan, or a specific company based on their rating.
Buying direct from the company ensures you are choosing from their full selection of products, and you will have full customer support for those products.
All travel insurance companies sell their products online, and most have developed very user-friendly websites. You can get an instant price quote, buy with a credit card, and get immediate email confirmation of coverage.
The second option is to use a comparison website to compare quotes from several companies at the same time. This is similar to using Expedia.com for buying an airline ticket, as opposed to visiting each individual airlines website. You simply enter some trip & travel information, and get instant comparative quotes from many companies and for many products.
The main benefit in using a comparison website is getting to analyze different plans, side-by-side, and seeing how the different coverages and prices compare to each other.
However, this can also be overwhelming, since you’re comparing up to 100 plans from 20 different companies.
Only buy from reputable companies
Purchase your travel insurance plan from a reputable company with a good rating. A.M. Best is a company that rates insurance companies based on many factors. They assign a grade rating (A+, B-, etc.) for each company, and provide other details like financial stability and size.
The following link goes to a chart with all A.M. Best ratings for the different travel insurance companies. They are all reputable; earning scores of A- and higher.
View A.M.Best ratings at http://www.ambest.co.uk/.
Buying direct vs. through a comparison site
As far as price, there is no difference between buying direct or using a comparison site. The price of your policy is the same whether you purchase direct from the company, or if you use a comparison site. A comparison site is simply an agent, and they earn a commission from the policies they sell, just like your regular insurance agent. It doesn’t cost you extra; it simply means the insurance company pays a portion of the premium to the agent for selling the plan.
Do not buy from travel agents or cruise lines
Buy from the insurance company or an insurance agent, but do not buy from a travel agent or cruise line. Over the years, travel agencies have seen the potential profit in selling insurance to their clients and it has become very popular.
Travel agents are not insurance agents, and they will not know the products thoroughly enough to make a good recommendation. They might make more commission on certain products, and direct you towards them. Oftentimes, the insurance coverage offered by a cruise line is very limited, it doesn’t provide adequate protection, and it is priced too high. Always buy travel insurance from a third party such as an agent or the company itself.
Do not shop based on price alone
It is surprisingly common for travelers to seek out “cheap” travel insurance, even though they are attempting to protect their health, well-being, and finances. If you are looking to save some money on your trip, look for ways to save without risking your health and finances.
Instead of shopping based on price alone, decide what coverage is important to you and your trip, then compare policies that provide this coverage. Adter you have narrowed the selection down to a few, then consider price. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples; don’t pick the cheapest policy only to find out it lacks an important coverage.
The best time to purchase your policy
It is best to purchase travel insurance as early as possible, meaning as close to the time of booking as possible. There are several benefits to purchasing your plan right away.
First, you take advantage of insurance coverage for the longest possible amount of time. If you book your trip and buy the travel insurance at the same time, you are covered for trip cancellation immediately.
So, for a trip in 10 months, you would enjoy 10 months of coverage. On the other hand, if you booked a trip now and decided to wait to buy insurance, something could happen between now and then.
Furthermore, many policies include extra benefits if the plan is purchased within a certain numbers of day of booking. For example, some policies provide supplier default/bankruptcy coverage under this condition.
Also, most policies have a grace period for purchasing where you can still take advantage of these additional coverages. For example: a company might cover financial default if you purchased your plan within 14 days of the initial trip deposit.
Source: www.travelinsurancereview.net
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