Squaremouth Identifies Six Tips for Summer Travelers to Consider When Purchasing Travel Insurance
St. Pete Beach, FL (PRWEB) May 23, 2008 -- Squaremouth, the USA's fastest growing travel insurance (http://www.squaremouth.com) comparison site, today announced six tips for travelers to consider when considering purchasing travel insurance to protect their vacation investment this summer. Not withstanding economic conditions, travelers are set to face other hurdles including hurricane season, which is only 9 days away.
"Considering the continuation of rising gas prices, recent airline cancellation issues and turbulent weather conditions, it is even more important than ever to ensure travelers are protected during their vacation" Squaremouth.com's CEO Chris Harvey says. "Travel insurance provides consumers with piece of mind that their investment is protected in light of very unclear and uncertain months ahead."
Memorial Day weekend officially kicks off the summer travel season and despite ever increasing economic strains on a traveler's wallet, it is reported by a TripAdvisor survey that nine out of 10 consumers are planning a leisure trip this summer. According to the travelhorizons survey co-authored by the Travel Industry Association (TIA) and Ypartnership, nearly 60 percent of Americans currently planning a trip this summer using a car, truck or SUV are not going to change their plans regardless of gas price increases.
Consumers with travel plans to hurricane prone destinations and international locales might especially want to consider purchasing a travel insurance policy, according to Harvey.
"Both hurricane probable areas and international destinations provide unique travel complications that travel insurance can address and remedy if needed," Harvey states. "Particularly overseas, a traveler needs to investigate if their health insurance covers international medical care. In case of a hurricane, there are very specific rules to what is covered and when travel insurance must have been purchased to provide protection."
On the international front, a AAA survey conducted by Global Insight reveals that 25.1 million Americans are expected to be traveling internationally this summer, an increase of 2.6 percent from 2007.
Each travel insurance (http://www.squaremouth.com) policy provides different coverage for different needs, Harvey cautions. To assist travelers in identifying which product matches their needs, Squaremouth has outlined the following six tips when purchasing travel insurance:
1. List the main reasons travel insurance is needed
Consumers could save a lot of money buying policies that only provide the coverage they need. If they do not require trip cancellation, enter zero for the trip cost. This will dramatically reduce the insurance premium.
2. Make sure the benefits meet minimum requirements
Each person's requirements will vary depending on their destination, age or health. If a person is young, healthy and going to the Caribbean, their medical requirements will be low. The opposite will apply if they are older or traveling to far flung countries. Nearly 100 percent of products provide similar cancellation coverage, so if a traveler does not require any other coverage, choose the cheapest product.
3. Purchase the policy within the time limits to get maximum cover
If pre-existing medical coverage is required, consumers will need to purchase the policy within the time limits set by insurers. Most insurers provide this coverage if teh policy is purchased within 14 to 21 days from the date of their first trip payment. A few insurers provide coverage if the policy is purchased before the final trip payment. Squaremouth shows an icon next to each policy to easily identify when pre-existing medical coverage is available. Squaremouth's travel insurance comparison site shows travelers the exact date they need to purchase their policy by in order to qualify for this benefit.
4. List reasons a trip could be canceled and make sure the policy covers them
Travelers may have a reason to purchase protection. It could be the illness or death of a relative or worries about hurricanes or terrorism. Make sure that coverage is provided for these circumstances. If reasons of concern are not listed, consider purchasing a policy with "any reason" cancellation. Squaremouth.com has a benefit column that can be changed to show the benefit most important to its clients for all policies at once. Travelers can also sort by benefit to find the best policy for their needs.
5. Do not over insure
Many people mistakenly believe paying more for a product ensures a better policy or faster claim payment. The reality is that each company and product is aimed at a different demographic. If a product seems cheap you could be hitting the sweet spot. Squaremouth.com maintains a zero complaint policy, therefore all companies on the site adhere to very strict standards for Squaremouth's clients.
6. Check the fine print
Most people do not check the fine print as it is way to time consuming and difficult to read. However it is very important to make sure there is nothing to restrict a possible claim. Squaremouth.com has easy drill downs for every benefit on every policy so consumers do not have to wade through the certificate. The certificate is one click away at any time should it be needed.
To easily and quickly learn which travel insurance policies best fit their needs, visit squaremouth.com.
Detailed information on the hurricane benefits for all policies can be found at: http://www.squaremouth.com/travel-insurance/information/travel-insurance-hurricane-&-weather-benefit.html
About Squaremouth
Founded in 2001, Squaremouth helps travelers easily and instantly compare and buy travel insurance from every major carrier. To ensure customer satisfaction, all carriers are rated based on an internal system and also ratings from insurance industry watchdog AM Best. Companies have to maintain a zero complaint level to meet Squaremouth's strict requirements to stay on the system. Along with its unique research capabilities and zero complaint guarantee, the site provides instant quotes, immediate purchase and instant confirmation. Squaremouth is headquartered in St Pete Beach, FL and has offices in Fort Wayne, IN. Squaremouth has websites dedicated to both US travel insurance and UK travel insurance as well as international medical insurance for any nationality traveling outside their home country. Squaremouth is also available through thousands of travel sites around the world. Visit squaremouth.com for more information.
Squaremouth offers products from the following travel insurance carriers:
AIG Travel Guard, CSA, Elvia, Global Alert Admin, Global Underwriters, HTH Worldwide, ITravelInsured, Medex, Medjet Assist, MH Ross, Multinational Underwriters (MNU), Seven Corners, Travel Insurance Services, Travel Insured, Travelers Liberty, Travelex, TravelSafe and USA Assist.
Available Topic Expert:
Chris Harvey
charvey @ squaremouth.com
Toll Free (800) 240-0369
Direct Line (727) 490-5802
Press Room http://www.squaremouth.com/press-room/
US Travel Insurance - http://www.squaremouth.com
UK Travel Insurance - http://www.squaremouth.co.uk
International Medical Insurance - http://www.squaremouth.com/international-medical-insurance
###
Related Articles:
What You Don't Know About Travel Insurance - Squaremouth Answers Some Nagging Questions
What you don't know about travel insurance! Squaremouth answers some nagging questions.
FSA To Regulate All Sales Of Travel Insurance From 2009
On January 1, 2009, major changes will take effect to alter the way travel insurance is sold The changes will apply to companies selling it as part of a holiday package, such as travel agents, tour operators, coach companies and airlines
The Easy Way To Find Cheap Backpacker Travel Insurance In The UK
If you plan on going on a backpacking trip outside of the country you are going to need backpacker?s travel insurance. It might feel like a pain to go through the rigmarole of obtaining the insurance, but if something happens to you while you are outside of the country?s borders, you will be very glad that you have it. Now, having insurance doesn?t mean that you need to pay an arm and a leg for it. There are plenty of ways to find cheap backpacker travel insurance in the UK.
On purchasing travel insurance direct
Benefits are inclusive of the cover for luggage, travelers checks, plastic money, alternate travel, hospital, and medical cover and, if you require evacuation, to return to your home country.
Visitor Health Insurance and Visitors Medical Insurance
Visitor Travel Medical Insurance plans sometimes referred to as Visitor Medical Insurance or Visitor Health Insurance plans can be purchased anytime even during the middle of a trip.
Cheap High Risk Medical Insurance in Arizona
The high cost of medical insurance here in Arizona is driving thousands of individuals and families to scramble frantically for cheap high risk medical insurance If you are among those frantically searching for it that you can afford there is some good news
Top Tips When Buying Annual Travel Insurance Online
arching for annual travel insurance, is thought to be an easy decision but in todays word of the Internet, people have found it be a more difficult decision with so many insurers online. From an online search on Google.co.uk, it brings back 91,200,000 and94,900,000 for those searching in the US on Google.com, so how does a customer search through these results Whether you are in the UK, USA, Australia, Ireland or New Zealand people want to ensure that their holiday or vacation goes trouble free, so there is no reason why a traveler should travel without insurance when policy quotes are getting cheaper in a highly competitive market.
Travel Insurance Companies Will Not Let You Claim Frequent Flier Miles Warns Squaremouth
With this month's decision by major airlines, including Delta, United and American, to cut capacity by double digits, experts predict it'll get even harder to cash in on frequent flier miles.
Travel Insurance For Skiing In The Southern Hemisphere
Avid skiers will be turning their thoughts to New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, and Chile for summer skiing as the snow thaws in European resorts Like water draining out of a bathtub their flight instincts will kick in and send the snow-addicted on a migration south
When To Buy Travel Insurance
Buying travel insurance is something that should definitely be on your to do list, before you leave on your trip It?s no good buying it at last minute, since many insurance policies take a little time to kick in and there is a risk that you will just completely forget with everything else that you need to get done before a big trip