Cairngorm National Park

Eilean Donan Castle at Dornie

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Choosing The Right Holiday Insurance Deal

Holiday Insurance is often the last purchase made during the planning process for that well deserved holiday; and understandably, many of us don’t spend too much time looking at the options.  You may be tempted to take the first policy offered to you by the travel agent who sold you your holiday, and if so, you could be paying over the odds – many travel agents turn a greater profit selling insurance then they do selling holidays!  A little time spent shopping around can save you a significant sum, and before you start looking, here are a few points to consider...

Travel agents will typically try to attach a single trip policy as an add-on to the package holiday bundle.  Before taking such an offer, you need to consider how many times you might be travelling in a year.  If you are going to be away more than once – whether in Britain or abroad – it will more than likely be most cost effective to take out an annual holiday insurance policy.

Where you are travelling is also a significant factor; and for U.K. residents, this breaks down as inside or outside Europe.  As a general rule of thumb, an annual policy will be cheaper than multiple single trip policies if you will be staying in Europe, and going away more than twice a year.  If you will be travelling outside of Europe, and away more than once, an annual travel insurance deal will generally be the cheaper option.

A notable exception to this rule of thumb is travel to the U.S.A. – even a single trip to the U.S.A will usually be cheaper on an annual holiday insurance policy than single trip insurance.  The potentially high medical costs in the U.S. have a bearing on this peculiarity, and without getting too technical about it, this advice generally holds true – make sure that you check this out before being tempted to take single trip cover from your travel agent when you are heading off to the States.

However, as with all general advice, there are exceptions to the rule; if you are only going away once during the year, there are several providers that can offer a good deal on single trip insurance -  especially if you avoid the packages offered by travel agents, and will be travelling within Europe.  Have a look online at what established brokers like AA travel can offer to get a basic idea of the prices on offer for different types of holiday insurance.