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Seth Said:

If i claim on my travel insurance does this affect my annual premium?

We Answered:

It depends on who you are with. I am with Flexicover and they either reduce my premium for no claim or do not increase it the following year. If I make a claim the premium is effected. They will charge any increase necessary but they do not load it.
Try them next time.

Andy Said:

why should my travel insurance be so high?

We Answered:

Depends on the company though.. Probably you must have picked up the wrong brand. You would have looked for the companies like: hdfcergo.com, icicipru, etc...

I have owned the policy with hdfcergo.com and I am completely satisfied with that. Though many friends of mine have bought from different companies depending on their salaries.

Those companies are meant for Indian people

Eddie Said:

How should travel insurance be judged?

We Answered:

The insurance companies don't only charge premiums when you reach 50 years of age. Many will either not offer insurance to those who have pre-existing medical conditions that put them at a higher risk than other travellers, or they will charge them a significant amount for insurance. Similarly, travel insurance costs increase depending on the country being visited (high risk countries where something is more likely to go wrong) and the activities being undertaken on a trip. For example, a winter sports trip, which puts a traveller at much greater risk of injury (or possibly even death) will cost an awful lot more.

I'm not sure that penalising those who have claimed in the past is a reasonable suggestion. Don't forget, people travel for different reasons and some travel a lot more than others. For example, if you have somebody who enjoys lots of holidays a year and somebody else who has just a week in the sun to look forward to each year, one of these people is much more likely than the other to make a claim.

I think many travel insurance companies do a good job of pricing up insurance for the many types of people that want to travel. These days, even baggage cover and loss of money (due to carelessness or theft) are two optional extras. Extra charges are often made if travellers want to be covered for them.

Clarence Said:

How much do Australian insurance firms charge for travel insurance premiums?

We Answered:

That depends on various factors such as length of your trip, destination, age of travellers, how much excess etc.

I work for Cover-More Travel Insurance and we offer single trip insurance starting from $29 (for 2 days) and annual travel insurance from $219.

However, be aware that the price should not be the only decider when choosing travel insurance.

I would obviously recommend my company ;) but here are also a few general tips on what you should look out for when buying travel insurance:

There are several factors that help you judge the quality of a travel insurance policy.

To get the best travel insurance your money can buy, it is important to look at what insurance policies DON’T cover. Many policies will give you a list of what is covered, which seems great and offer a lot of protection. But in return that means that anything NOT on that list will not be covered.

A good travel insurance plan will offer cover for certain extreme situations, such as hijacking etc. The best insurance plan, however, will go even further and cover you when affected by natural disasters, civil unrest or acts of terrorism. These issues seem unlikely to happen, but if you think of recent events in Bangkok, Mumbai etc. they are not too farfetched. Therefore it is important to know that your insurer is backing you up no matter what.

Another example is travel provider insolvency. What does this mean? Imagine you are booking a trip with a particular tour operator or a flight with a certain airline and just before your trip that operator or airline goes bankrupt. In tough economic times like these, it could happen to anyone. Most travel insurers won’t cover you in this case and you will lose your money invested in your trip.

So when you are looking for the best travel insurance, check if they cover for natural disasters, civil unrest, acts of terrorism and travel provider insolvency. In addition, make sure they have a reputable 24/7 emergency assistance centre in place and are backed by a respectable underwriter.

Hope this helps!

Shannon Said:

In Travel Insurance why is there a large difference in premiums when the policies are similar?

We Answered:

As someone who's a qualified underwriter and once actually wrote the small print ..................

Travel insurance as sold by travel agents is one huge scam.

Once one sets aside the stuff sold by travel agents, the difference tends to hinge on three things:

1. the method of selling: companies geared up to selling on the internet have very low overheads compared to others

2. the strictness of underwriting i.e. how they treat "substandard lives." Some policies are only offered at standard rates to people who in effect have never had a day's illness in their lives. If you've ever been near a hospital for anything or if your parents died before they were 80 you aren't covered, even if they've taken your premium. It's all there in the small print, if you could understand it.

3. the claims policy of the company concerned. Some companies keep the premiums low by contesting every last penny of every claim and in effect paying out next to nothing. Others charge more but pay out more readily.

Read the small print VERY carefully.

For what it's worth -- and it's decades since I worked in insurance and there's nothing in it for me! -- I've used
www.simpletravelinsurance.co.uk
with considerable satisfaction. It's an example of the sort of company that keeps the price down by using the internet via a well-designed website.

No one company is best for everyone, though, so do your homework thoroughly.

If you absolutely must use a travel agent's insurance, then Trailfinders are as good as any of the travel agents' insurance offerings.
www.trailfinders.com
Nothing at all wrong with it, but there's cheaper out there on the web that's just as good.