Wednesday 15 July 2015

Travel Insurance, Does It Have To Be So Expensive? Apparently Not

I've moaned on several occasions about the extortionate prices companies charge to provide travel insurance to those with pre existing medical conditions, as an example I recently priced up 5 days in Barcelona and was quoted £1,800+ even though I am probably more likely to break a bone than I am to have a problem related to my condition. This ridiculous price was not only from your generic travel insurance companies but it was reflected across the so called "specialist" insurers that should theoretically offer better prices.

Based on this price and quotations from one insurer I was expecting to pay upward of £5,000 to insure my travels.

This was until one evening a couple of weeks ago when someone shared a Facebook status written by a woman who has previously had cancer and had had similar experiences price wise, being quoted around £2,500 for a 10 day trip to Santorini. In the post however she mentioned finding another company called InsuranceWith through a friend at work who quoted her an astounding £23 for the same trip. I had never heard of these people before but with quotes that good they had to be worth a phone call.

I was prepared to be denied insurance or given inflated prices due to the fact I still have cancer whereas the woman that shared the status was a few years clear but still I phoned them the following morning and enquired about insurance for my trip to Japan and Australia next year. Firstly the woman on the phone was friendly and helpful (vital as I can't stand chatting to moody idiots on the phone), secondly the prices I was quoted were far from what I had experienced elsewhere.

The following quotes were given to cover my trip to Australia via Japan:

Both quotes are based on a 93 day duration (3 months) for worldwide cover excluding America & Canada.

Cover TypeBackPacker CoverLong Trip Cover
Medical Cover£1m£2m
Item Cover£500£1500
Regular Excess£75£75
Condition Specific Excess£300£300
Price£297.57£298.63

This is obviously far better than the prices I've been quoted in the past and the prices shown on all the comparison websites.

While on the phone I enquired as to why I hadn't heard of them before this Facebook status popped up, and they said that they had little to no marketing budget (I would assume mostly due to the fact that they are the only company I've found that doesn't exploit those with serious medical conditions) and relied on referrals for business. Hopefully this post will  help others who've struggled to find travel insurance to get a reasonable quote as well as introducing the company to an audience that otherwise may never have discovered them otherwise.

10 comments:

  1. Have facebooked and tweeted that news, others I know may find it useful. Have you got dates for the trip yet?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! No not yet, need to arrange it. Going to leave in Feb though we've got that far with arrangements.

      Delete
  2. Ahhh thank you for this! I will be calling them on Monday morning :-) Xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. The advantages of turning into a home travel business are numerous. The travel business has a notoriety for dealing with travel experts by making it amazingly moderate to travel. Bacalar

    ReplyDelete
  4. Here and there, it's a side interest. At different circumstances, it's an energy or a managing power. Call it anything other than the travel-desire does not abandon you sit out of gear for a solitary day. You would get insane for wearing your travel shoes and start on the splendid excursion ahead. Vivid Occasions

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well, this blog is for you! We're going to touch on the highlights of travel nursing jobs and who may be best suited form them and hopefully encourage you to apply for nursing jobs online today. Kuala Lumpur airport transfer

    ReplyDelete
  6. Really I agree with you, Travel Insurance is not very expensive. Your article is very informative in reading. I was looking for this type of blog for the last couple of days because I was little confused about this. If anyone looking for the best Trip Insurance company in Mexico, Visit trytravelcaremexico.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nowaday, without travel insurance you can't travel other country. If you want to remain on budget and avoid travelling hassles via pre-booking Heathrow park and ride

    cheap park and ride Heathrow

    ReplyDelete
  8. No, olet jakanut uskomattoman blogin ja sen informatiosta on hyötyä myös turisteille. kun tarjoamme taloja vuokrattavana. lisätietoja käy verkkosivustollamme.hirsisauna

    ReplyDelete