Do You Need Annual Travel Insurance?

Will you book annual holiday insurance for your trip abroad this year or will you simply get a one off single trip policy instead? While the latter is invariably cheaper on the face of things, it could turn out to be an expensive mistake later on.

Let’s focus on the questions you need to ask to see if you should get the yearly policy or not.

How many trips do you plan on taking in the year?

It’s easy to look at the price of a travel policy and act on that alone. However the figure you see is only arrived at after a number of considerations are taken into account. For example, you would automatically think £10 is a lot cheaper than £15. Of course it is – it’s a third cheaper. However, if that £10 only covers one trip and the £15 policy covers multiple trips, you can see you only need to have one more trip to be out of pocket by £5 if you’re paying the same £10 every time. Make sure you have a good idea whether you will go away again in the same 12-month period – it could save you money if you know the answer and can purchase annual holiday insurance from the outset.

Will every journey you take be less than the maximum quoted on the policy?

Oftentimes you will see a maximum number of days you can be away for on a single trip. For example, it is usually 31 days (do check with individual policies though as they can vary), so providing you won’t be taking any breaks that exceed this maximum number of days, you can save money by getting annual holiday insurance instead of relying on a separate policy every time. It might require a little forward planning but if you know there is a good chance you will go away more than once and none of those trips will exceed the limit, you’re good to go with one of these policies.

As you can see this is worth thinking about. It might seem quick and easy to book a single policy for just a few pounds, but you could save money in the long term (not to mention time and hassle) simply by planning ahead now. Don’t forget your annual holiday insurance will cover any weekend trips you make too – and that even includes ones you make within your own country. After all you can still lose your luggage or have something stolen even if you don't leave the UK.

So, take a moment to check your real requirements before booking that all-important policy. You might look back on this moment and be very glad you did.

Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of Insuremore. We provide the best annual holiday insurance and offer a range of policies including single-trip, multi-trip and family insurance. For all your travel cover needs, Insuremore can help you in the quickest and most cost-efficient way.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.