Travel Insurance

To work out the best travel insurance package for you. First you must evaluate what it is exactly you want to be covered for, there is no point in purchasing cover on things you may not need. Secondly, work out how much you are willing to spend and finally terms of insurance payout.

A family friend of mine recently booked a flight for her family to Asia. They were prompted if they wanted to purchase travel insurance, however they weren't sure on what cover to get.

So, what I did - I gave her a list of Australia's top travel insurance firms and listed their policies and covers.

As they were going for a 8 months vacation, I suggested that she should consider getting a 'aussie travel cover' package - which basically covers Personal Liability, legal cost up to $5,000,000 and unlimited medical expenses.

Another option I suggested was a saver cover. This is considered as the default travel insurance cover - covering all the basics such as Dental, loss of income, personal liability and travel delay. This form of travel insurance cover is far cheaper, but will not cover for all incidents. So if you are planning on a budget vacation, i strongly recommend the saver cover, just for the fact that it covers your basics on your holiday with out leaving you out-of-pocket.

For information on why every Australian traveller should get travel insurance, please read the Australian government travel insurance policy.

People on a travel budget - is it worth getting travel insurance? The simple answer is yes.

If you look at the statistics of an accident or mishap happening whilst you are overseas are quite high.
Here are some stats that were published by a leading Australian bank.

* One in three people suffer some kind of problem whilst on holiday
* Eight per cent had lost their luggage
* Six per cent had to cancel or cut short their holiday due to unforeseen circumstances
* A number of people had personal items or their money stolen
* Eighteen per cent of people suffered a holiday disaster but could not claim because they had no insurance

Basically, if you can't afford the insurance, then you can't afford the trip.