Earlier this month we reported that Norwich Union had conducted research which found that 51% of British holidaymakers were considering leaving travel insurance off of their list of holiday essentials this year due to the increased pressures resulting from the credit crunch(News article: ‘Scrapping travel insurance ‘isn’t worth the risk’’).

When we reported this story, we knew that we would have to bring our readers methods to cut the cost of their travel insurance, as well as reasons why it’s not wise to leave for a holiday without this cover. We thought this is especially important considering we have just entered the peak holiday season.

The Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) says “Don’t travel without insurance…take out adequate Travel Insurance or you could face a huge medical bill if you fall ill and need treatment”.

Norwich Union reported that in 2007, over £60m was paid out in insurance claims with the cost of the average medical claim at £1,200 and the average luggage claim at £220.

The FCO reports that it costs £35-45,000 for an air ambulance from the East coast of the USA back to the UK.

There are several ways you can cut the cost of your travel insurance and some even mean that you shouldn’t lose out on the amount of cover you receive.

• If you are really struggling to find the money for travel insurance, and are thinking of forgetting it altogether, choose basic cover over more comprehensive policies because some cover will be better than none at all.
• Compare travel insurance to find the cheapest deals and look out for online discounts.
• Try to compare like for like and don’t scrimp on basics such as medical cover and repatriation costs. Try to get the same amount of cover for a lower price not less cover for a lower price.
• Look for free child places. Currently, insurers such as Go Travel and Endsleigh offer free child places. For more information on travel insurance for children read our blog article ‘Children need travel insurance too’.
• Only buy cover for the days you are on your holiday. Make sure you include the date of departure and arrival but not the days before and after because this will unnecessarily increase the cost of your premium.
• If you are travelling in the EU make sure you send off well in advance for your free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which will entitle you to reduced or free emergency care in other EU countries. However, you will still need full travel insurance because it may not cover all of your health care costs (depending on which country you are in) and other things such as repatriation. Some insurance providers stipulate that you must have an EHIC as part of the terms and conditions of the insurance policy.
• Increasing the amount of excess you will pay in the event of a claim will normally knock a little off of the price of your policy. This will mean that you will have to pay slightly more towards the cost of each claim but could save you a bit of money on your policy. At the end of the day paying £150 towards the cost of a huge medical bill, instead of £50 is still going to be a lot better than facing the whole medical bill.

We hope you have a really good holiday and don’t need to use your travel insurance. For helpful travel advice you can visit the FCO website.

Click the link to start comparing cheap travel insurance