Oct 21st, 2011
Insuring A Great Trip
If you’re planning on heading off on a backpacking trip, there’s no doubt that good insurance is an absolute must. However, insurance can be extremely expensive for travellers, particularly those going to far flung, exotic places, so getting a good deal is an absolute necessity.
Thankfully, at the moment, there’s a lot of competition with big banks (for example Santander travel insurance) mixing it up with more traditional suppliers of insurance. This is great news, because it means there are deals out there to be found, but sometimes you have to do a little digging to find it.
These days, most people start their search with a comparison website, but these aren’t always a great idea. First of all, they don’t always have every deal on the market, and secondly, they often get paid through commission from the companies who sell policies through them, those commission fees are likely to come straight out of your pocket when you get round to buying the policy.
That’s not to say that comparison websites don’t have merits, just that if you’re prepared to put in a little extra leg work, you can turn a good deal into a really great one. Use the prices that you get from comparison websites as benchmarks to try and get under when you start negotiating.
The next thing to do is go to some of the companies directly, see whether they are offering special deals for comparison websites, or if they’re willing to negotiate with you directly, you might find that you get a real bonus.
Also, head into high street banks, sometimes it can be a little awkward negotiating with someone, but if you’ve found a better deal elsewhere, don’t be afraid to say so. If they can’t offer you a better deal, then there’s no harm in saying that you’ve found better elsewhere.
That said, with travel insurance, quality is important. So for that reason you might want to take a look at the Defaqto website. Defaqto is an independent body which certifies the quality of all things financial from credit cards to insurance. So, if you want really high quality cover, a good idea is to head to the Defaqto website and look for insurance policies which have four or five stars. That way you can be sure that you’re paying for quality cover.
Ultimately, getting a really good deal involves legwork and being prepared to negotiate, insurance is often flexible if you can talk to someone face to face. Most importantly, make sure that your policy covers you for everything you might want to do (and that you know what it covers you for), when it comes to insurance, quality is definitely more important than getting the lowest price.
