Choice Of Travel Insurance

Now that my trip is approaching, I need to figure out which travel insurance to get. I must admit so far all the trips I have been to, I have never taken out travel insurance. I am referring to the trips I made on my own, not the one with my parents, because for those, I think my parents would have gotten insurance for everyone.

I know people will be shocked to know I did not take out travel insurance all these while. I always thought it is not necessary, because firstly the insurance is not cheap, and secondly, I feel as if I was paying for nothing. It is not the same as life or health insurance, where definitely one can utilise it one day, but for travel insurance, if nothing happens, it is like throwing my money away.

Still, the idea of travel insurance started growing on me, especially since I realise anything can happen. I have been lucky all those times, but always have to expect the unexpected. Especially for this trip, the travel agent kept reminding us to get travel insurance.

So I went to check out the travel insurance available. Our travel agent ties up with two insurers - Chartis (under the American Insurance Group), and Tenet, a Japanese company. If we book via the travel agent's website, we can get about fifteen percent off for Chartis but not Tenet.

I checked out both, and realise that Chartis is a whole lot cheaper than Tenet, even without the discount. But still I wanted more options. So I contacted my second insurance agent and he recommended me Liberty, which is about the same price as Chartis.

All three have the same coverage. Afterall, for travel insurance, what other coverage can there be? My agent told me he would recommend either Liberty or Tenet, because in case of anything, it is easier to claim from there, whereas Chartis has lots of procedures to go through (perhaps because it is a typical American insurance company?).

Honestly all three look good. But in terms of pricing, Tenet is out. So it is between Chartis and Liberty. Since I still have some time left before the trip, I can take the time to think, consider and consult my mum since she will also be utilising the insurance too. Meanwhile, these two insurance packages are both equally attractive, which makes it hard to come up with a decision. Oh well, I will deal with that later.