How can I save money when purchasing travel insurance? This is a commonly asked question among international travellers. Keep reading to learn how you can find an insurance plan that meets all your travel needs without taking more money out of your vacation fund than necessary.
1. Don’t insure refundable trip costs
When paying for your travel insurance policy, only cover the trip costs that are non-refundable and pre-paid. Refundable costs are not only unnecessary, but they also raise the price of your premium, making your policy more expensive.
For example, if your flight gets cancelled and the airline offers you a voucher for the cost of the flight, you can easily take it, eliminating the need for flight cancellation.
2. Avoid over-insuring emergency evacuations
Most insurers offer millions worth of coverage for medical evacuations, which is too much. On average, you’re more likely to spend no more than a couple of hundred thousand, and this is for extreme cases. So, don’t over-insure emergency evacuations, as it only raises your travel insurance costs.
However, don’t forgo it altogether either, as evacuations are too expensive to cover out-of-pocket.
3. Take an annual policy
If you travel multiple times in a year, consider purchasing an annual travel insurance policy, as it can save you a lot of money and time over covering individual trips with separate plans. Furthermore, annual policies are convenient, as you get one plan with the same coverage and assistance all year long.
4. Only buy add-ons when you really need them
Add-ons, such as Cancel for Any Reason, rental car coverage and pre-existing conditions, make your travel insurance more expensive than it should be. Therefore, you should carefully consider what add-ons you want to get and why before including them in your policy. For instance, if you’re sure you won’t rent a vehicle when travelling abroad, there’s no need to buy rental car coverage.
Try spending a little more time with your policy, reading the fine print, and understanding what’s covered or not. You can also compare policies from different providers to determine whether they cover what you need at no extra cost.
To aid the process, use our tools and resources at Compare Insurance to find your cheap schengen travel insurance plan.