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Cheapest travel insurance: Five ways to spot the best holiday cover

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Taking out travel insurance isn’t compulsory but it’s wise if you want to protect your holiday, your belongings and yourself.

Single person policies start from £14 for a year's cover, but these cheap deals are sometimes to good to be true.

Whether the cover is priced high or low there are still catches to avoid.

Choosing your cover: Annual vs single

Firstly you need to decide what kind of insurance you need. If you're going abroad more than a couple of times then it's probably worth taking out an annual policy.

If you book a package holiday then your travel agent may offer you travel insurance - this may be easy but it's also likely to be more expensive. The key is to do your research and shop around.

If you have travel insurance as part of your bank account then make sure that you have adequate cover. For example the cancellation cover could be around £1,500 but if the cost of your trip is more than this you’d need to take out a policy with high enough cover so you could claim if you were unable to travel.

You may prefer to use a comparison website to compare the cover to see which is cheapest. (You can use This is Money's travel insurance finder.)

When you're searching for a policy you might be tempted to go with a well known brand and this is fine if it gives you peace of mind.

As well as checking the terms and conditions you should also see who underwrites the policy - often they will be provided by the same host insurance company, so the brand name make little difference to the level of cover.

Watch your excessWhat kind of cover do you need?

MoneySupermarket.com recommends at least the following level of cover:

£2million for medical expenses;

£1million personal liability;

£3000 cancellation - or enough to cover the total cost of your holiday;

£1500 baggage;

£250 for cash;

policy excesses under £100;

cover for scheduled airline failure and end supplier failure as desirable;

delay cover (e.g. £20/hour for first 12 hours).

When you're choosing your insurance policy you should check the excess - the amount you pay if you need to claim. The higher your excess the cheaper your policy will be but this doesn't necessarily make sense if you need to claim for medical treatment or loss of your possessions, as the excess may be more expensive then your claim.

You should also check the limit on your possessions cover - is it enough? Similarly you should see how much you're covered for in cash if your wallet is stolen.

The small print

This sounds like obvious advice but when you're comparing travel insurance policies ALWAYS read the small print or terms and conditions.

For example, if you book a joint policy with your partner and you don't live at the same address you may not be covered. Bob Atkinston, travel expert for MoneySupermarket.com, said: 'If couples would like to take out a joint policy to keep costs down they should bear in mind that if they live at separate addresses some insurers don’t class them as insurable as a couple and the policy may not be valid.'

You should also check that your destination is covered - it sounds silly, but it's common for the USA and Caribbean to be excluded. Other places like the Cuba require you to have a travel insurance to enter the country - so sometimes they may be excluded from policies.

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Also if you have any kind of pre-existing medical condition including things such as diabetes, asthma and depression you should have a specific policy designed to cover those already diagnosed and treated for a condition. It is unlikely general travel insurance will cover you and may be void if a condition hasn’t been declared.

GET AN EHIC CARD

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is free (watch out for bogus websites asking you for a fee) and entitles you to medical treatment in state run hospitals in any EU country, plus Iceland, Norway & Switzerland at the same cost as a local.

The card gives you valuable protection for emergencies but it should never be seen as a substitute for travel insurance.

Travel insurance covers much more than an EHIC card as treatment isn’t always free – also without holiday cover you are not protected against cancelations, delays, baggage loss and theft.

The good thing about the EHIC card is that you can use hospitals and doctors signed up to the scheme – so for an appointment that might usually cost you money if you were abroad it could be free.

Make sure you double check that they are signed up to the scheme before starting treatment. 

To apply for a card use the NHS website.

Protecting your holiday from cancellations

When you book your holiday it's worth paying at least the deposit with a credit card. This gives protection for the whole cost of the holiday, under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, as long as the initial payment exceeds £100.

The rule is that the card company is liable for the entire cost of your holiday if the travel website or agent you book through goes bust.

If you book a package holiday through a member of the Association of British Travel Agents you will get your money back if the tour operator goes bust.

If you are putting your own holiday together make sure you book accommodation with an ABTA travel agent and flights with a provider which holds an Air Travel Organiser's Licence - if either go bust your money will be refunded.

Cashback and exclusive offers

If you go direct to an insurer you may find that they do not offer as good a rate as you will find on a comparison website. This is because they sometimes arrange 'exclusive' deals with comparison websites.

However,if it worth checking cashback websites like TopCashback and Quidco to see if they have the insurance you want at the same price.

This means that you will earn the commission which is usually paid to the comparison website for directing you to the insurer in the form of 'cashback'.

TopCashback is free to join but Quidco takes £5 a year out of your earnings.

The rate you earn back in cash varies between insurers - as some offer up to 25 per cent, while others offer a flat rate of £25 per policy. Don't be tempted to take out an inadequate travel insurance policy because of the cashback - all the rules above still apply.

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