Travel Insurance Put at Risk by Lone Travellers

A rapidly increasing number of Britons is putting their travel insurance at risk by booking different parts of their trip separately, a new study carried out by Marks & Spencer (M&S) Money has recently revealed.

According to the research, an increase in internet availability and usage is responsible for the new numbers: an entire half of British holiday makers book their travels independently instead of using a travel agent. But the drawback of shunning the traditional package holidays is that travel insurance policies may not cover all aspects of an individually booked trip, says M&S.

Commenting on the popularity of self-booked holidays, M&S Money revealed, perhaps unsurprisingly due to the recent surge in internet use, that as many as 78% of people with internet access use it to research holiday costs and destinations. According to the study, the most popular reason for a trip abroad is now to see family and friends, rendering the package holiday obsolete.

The research revealed that 29% of Brits now book every element of a holiday separately, meaning that no one company holds overall responsibility: the flight, hotel, and activities are all individually and separately organised. Consequently, travel insurance becomes less reliable. In the past, a travel agent would have been responsible for the entire holiday and, if a flight was cancelled or delayed causing a traveller to miss a later flight, the travel agent would organise alternative travel. However, taking control of booking means taking control of cancellations and delays and can result in extra costs – travel insurance does not properly cover a DIY holiday in the same way it would do a package deal.

According to M&S Money, 35% of UK travellers encountered a cancelled or delayed departure during their last trip, 21 per cent of whom were travelling independently and were not covered by insurance. These statistics highlight the importance of adequate travel insurance for solo holiday makers.

The recent chaos at Heathrow's Terminal Five is an example of how travel plans can unexpectedly change. When at the opening day of Heathrow’s new £4.3 bn terminal was blighted by countless cancelled flights, baggage delays and a temporary suspension in check-in, many travellers’ insurance deals did not cover the situation.

Following this unfortunate episode, some insurers have downright stopped offering cover for lost luggage or delayed flights to travellers going through Terminal 5 at Heathrow.

“We cannot insure for events that have already happened," explained a spokeswoman for Direct Line, one of the insurance firms that have taken this stance. She then added: "Insurance only covers events that the customer is not aware of at the time of purchase. People calling up on our travel insurance quote line were told this specifically.”

In response to this gap in the market, M&S Money has decided to introduce an insurance policy specifically for holiday makers who book it themselves.

"As independent travel has grown we have identified changes in how customers travel and book holidays. This has changed what they need from travel insurance." said Brendan Cook, chief executive of M&S Money.

M&S’s innovation seems to stand alone however, in a sea of insurance companies which are not answering to the current needs of modern travellers. A possible affecting factor may be the recent increase in budget holiday use. Budget flight companies offering unbelievably cheap deals are notorious for ‘giving you what you payed for.’ In other words, they often loose baggage, delay and even cancel flights. This has caused an upsurge in travel insurance claims which the insurance companies have found difficult to follow.

What Type of Travel Insurance Fits You Best?

Before leaving for a trip many individuals will take great care in planning all aspects of their vacation. They will often carefully research their travel options and choose everything to make sure it fits within a scheduled itinerary so that nothing is missed.

However, there are certain unexpected events that can happen on any trip which cannot be planned for. Unexpectedly your vacation may be ruined by severe illness, accidents, robbery, natural disaster or any other number of events. However, if you purchase travel insurance before leaving you will be able to deal with these situations without losing a lot of the money you invested in your trip. Consider the types of travel insurance available to you carefully so that you can get adequate coverage without having to pay for something you won't need.

Single Trip

This form of travel insurance is ideal for those who don't travel frequently since it provides coverage only for a specific trip. However, there are still many other policies available for those who don't fit into this category. If you don't need single trip coverage then your decision for travel insurance coverage can become a lot more difficult with the options you have to choose from.

Annual

The most convenient and cost effective option for those who take more than one trip each year is annual or multi-trip travel insurance. You should read the policy carefully when purchasing this type of travel insurance as some of these policies may have limitations on the trip length such as excluding trips over thirty days. There are some policies that may also exclude holiday travel. It is always important to read the fine print before purchasing any insurance policy.

Family

Family travel insurance is good for those who are traveling with kids or their parents. The benefits of this policy are that you don't have to buy separate travel insurance policies for each member of the family since everyone is covered as whole. There are different premiums depending on the family travel insurance policy you are choosing. Some companies vary premiums based on the number of children covered on the policy, while other charge flat rates.

Business Traveler

Another travel insurance policy that assumes you travel several times a year is business travel insurance policies. The typical business traveler should choose this policy option. One feature of this policy that isn't found in other insurance policies is the fact that should you have an emergency that prevents you from taking the trip; the company can replace you with another employee under the colleague replacement coverage.

Cheap Travel Insurance: How to Save Big Time on Coverage

When you plan to travel abroad nowadays, you might be totally surprised how abundant cheap travel deals are being offered both online and offline. That is, if you haven't contacted your travel agents lately or if you have been hibernating in your own country for years or simply don't feel the need for traveling. Anyway, the bottom line is that traveling abroad today is not very expensive as it was before.

Surely, it can be the reason for a celebration. But before you start contacting your travel agents for a quick booking of your trip, you have to realize that when travel is being offered at cheap prices, more and more people are traveling. And when people travel, it increases the risk for people getting involved in an accident. It should not be a problem if these traveling population buy travel insurance to protect them in case things would not go as planned. But the bad news is, travel insurance is neglected - the very reason why people lose their appetite for traveling in case something happen.

Normally, when people talk about travel insurance, they are speaking about wings falling off in mid air or plane unable to properly secure its landing gear. Although these kinds of scenarios are possible during travel and need to be taken into consideration for buying travel insurance, there are more minor incidents where you need to be prepared with and be covered like trip cancellation, trip interruption or delay, medical emergencies including doctor's fee, hospitalization, and emergency evacuation, and property damages and losses.

In addition, the general perception of the travelers with travel insurance is that it is expensive. This causes travel insurance to loose its appeal to travelers. But this thing would stop because like travel fares becoming cheap, insurance are getting the right price it deserves.

And to know more on how to maximize you trip while providing you with peace of mind here's how to get cheap travel insurance you need:

1. Check online for your cheap travel insurance. Usually, the Internet has more to offer when you are looking for cheap travel insurance. One great advantage of searching here is that you can compare instantly the quotes, different cheap travel insurance sites offer. You can check all the available coverage and single out your best choice. With a little time and work, getting cheap travel insurance is not a hard task.

2. Avoid buying cheap travel insurance directly to travel agents. Instead buy it directly from insurance company. Since travel agents earn big commissions, the cheap travel insurance you though was cheap, it not cheap at all. One more point: you can get travel insurance from travel agents twice as high compared to travel insurance companies.

3. Check your existing insurance. Usually, your home insurance would cover your trips abroad. If it does, identify the coverage you need to have that is not included in your existing insurance. This would give save you a lot.

4. Ask for the cheapest rates. Oftentimes, people tend to settle for the insurance that is suggested by the representative of the company. To get the cheapest rates, all you have to do is ask for it, chances are it would be given to you.

These are some of the best ways you can do if you are shopping for cheap travel insurance. But of course, there is no better way to save is to be careful all the time.