According to a survey published by Mintel, one in three pets needs an unexpected visit to the vet each year. This means that you are more likely to claim on your pet insurance than on a home & contents policy or even your car insurance.

The word “unexpected” is important here. If you are looking for pet insurance to provide cover for routine treatments such as vaccinations or worming, forget it – policies that do that are as rare as hens' teeth! And you won't find cover for elective treatments, such as neutering, either. This means that the most common reasons for visiting the vet are uninsurable.

But don't forget it's those unexpected visits that tend to be the expensive ones! Developments in animal care mean that more conditions can be effectively treated and costs of emergency care can be horrendous. A cat that argues with a car could cost £700, even more, to treat. After all, a series of X-rays could cost £400 and a MRI scan will put you back £1,000. If Buster the Bulldog tore a ligament that too can be treated – but the cost? Don't expect change from £1,500! This is serious money!

Having appreciated that most reasons for a visit to the vet are uninsurable, what do we get for our money?

Well, insurance plans largely fall into three types. The first restricts the value of the claim for each condition or event; the second limits the total annual payout and the third and cheapest option, limits the payout per condition and ceases cover after 12 months of treatment. Most will make a payout if you pet dies. And with all policies you will have to pay an excess on any claim, usually between £50 and £100.

And the cost? That depends on which type of policy you want, the excess you want to pay, the sort of pet you have, its breed, its age and even your post-code (vets charge more in Chelsea). But as a guide, an industry estimate suggests costs between £30 and £200 per year for a cat and between £50 to £500 for Buster.

The best advice is start the insurance when your pet is young. Most pets can be insured after they're 8 weeks old and you can then maintain the insurance over the course of its life. If your pet is in it's middle age when you want to start the insurance, say eight or nine for a dog, then it may be difficult to get worthwhile cover. This is because treatments for existing health conditions will be excluded from the cover and in any case, a new policy at that age gets expensive.

So how can you lower the premiums? Sometime insurers will give you a discount if you pet has been identity chipped and quantity discounts do prevail! Discounts are widely available for your second and subsequent insured pet.

Then there's always the Internet. The Internet is taking an increasing share of the insurance market and no wonder – its simple, quick and easy. What's more it's probably the cheapest avenue for all your insurance whether it be for your home, your car or pet.

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At last you've retired. It's now time to relax and experience a slower pace of life. Even enjoy spot of gardening. But not all of today's modern over 65's have heard the message! Retirement is taking a new twist.

Less of the slower pace of life and substitute jetting around the world! International travel for the retired is here and booming!

It's all the result of a increased sense of adventure and willingness to experiment, combined with more money in the pocket. Cheaper air tickets have also helped! Even cruises, once the territory of the seriously rich and famous, have become affordable. An escape to Antigua and a fortnight in the Canaries or a weekend in Stockholm are now firmly on the over 65's travelling schedule.

Then a fly sticks in the ointment. Finding economical travel insurance when you're over 65 is not easy. Insurance companies recognise that people have healthier lives and are living longer, and in recognition the insurers are offering far more products for the older market. But with travel insurance, the over 65's are still faced with exorbitant premiums.

Premiums rocket as you get older and if you're looking for an annual policy for an extended holiday or a series of holidays, the problem becomes finding a policy at all rather than simply finding the cheapest price.


The dilemma revolves around the costs of medical claims experienced by the insurers. Over 65's are much more liable to make a medical claim and the claim size is well above average too. Against this, older travellers reportedly lose less luggage - but these savings are counter-balanced by the fact their belongings are liable to be worth more.

The result is that even if you are fit, the lowest priced annual policy for the over 65's could cost £1,000 per person – that could be more than the cost of the holiday itself. Faced with these charges, the solution is to buy a separate policy for each trip. But even with a good medical history, the cost of insuring a 3-week holiday in the South of France starts around £65, and rises enormously for destinations in America and further a-field.

What's the solution? You're recommended to shop around. Your travel agent may offer a quotation but don't snap his hand off until you've got competitive prices. You'll almost certainly find a much cheaper alternative through surfing the Internet and buying online.

But don't make your final decision simply on the basis of cost. Always examine the small print. Some travel policies will insure you for up to 21 days, others up to 31 days or 45 days. Some policies will only cover you if you're staying in booked accommodation rather than staying with friends or relatives. No good for visiting family in New South Wales! Then you need to ensure that you've got adequate cover for medical and hospital expenses and don't spare the horses – think of a high figure and triple it! You'll be amazed how expensive quality medical attention can be whilst you're abroad. Incidentally, it's important that your insurer will fly you home to the UK if your medical condition demands. And don't overlook comparing the excesses you have to pay per claim. Finally, check that the policy pays medical costs direct to the hospital rather than you paying first and having to reclaim.

And now comes the really good bit – jet off and ENJOY yourself!

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Hands up all those who remember the old E111 medical forms you were supposed to have if you travelled in Europe? I can see all those blank faces!

Well, great news is that it doesn't matter any more. The E111 form was replaced at the beginning of January 2006 by a new European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

This EHIC is valid for up to 5 years and entitles you to the same level of medical care in the country you're travelling in, as would be enjoyed by the residents of that country. The card covers discounted and free medical care including emergency treatment, and applies to all the EEC countries plus Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. But be aware that the treatment you're entitled to might not include all the treatments you get free of charge under the National Health Service here in Britain.

Nevertheless, we believe that it's wise to carry a EHIC as it could save you time, money and a great deal of hassle if you're unlucky enough to need medical attention. It can cut through some of the inevitable red tape you'd be faced with if you were relying just on the medical provisions of your travel insurance policy.

You should also be aware that in many areas of Europe, the best medical attention is still reserved for those with private insurance cover. Private insurance bypasses the long queues of local residents waiting patently in inhospitable corridors – after all who wants to spend days of their holiday not only ill, but queuing as well!

Another point is that nationalised health care is only available at nationalised hospitals which, in some countries, are hundreds of miles apart. They tend to be located where the local population work and live - not where you enjoy your holidays! Therefore, you may be a long way from the nearest nationalised hospital whereas private medical and dental clinics are to be found in many tourist areas catering primarily for holidaymakers. Their standard is usually good albeit in local terms, they're expensive.

Whilst we've been discussing medical care, don't forget that private travel insurance covers you for much more than just medical expenses. Most policies will even pay for you to be flown home to the UK if you're really ill. Holiday cancellation (due to prior illness), holiday curtailment, loss of luggage or individual items are all aspects normally covered by the insurance.

To be as safe as possible, we recommend that all travellers get a European Health Insurance Card and comprehensive travel insurance. After all, you've saved up for ages for the holiday and if something goes wrong the last thing you want is to be worried about the financial implications.

As with most insurance, the best travel insurance bargains are to be found on the Internet. Search on your favourite search engine for “travel insurance”. The brokers usually provide the best value for money as they will have access to a wide range of insurance providers and can pick the best for you. You can try the sites run by the individual insurance companies but they'll only offer you one option – their policy! A broker can offer you a range of solutions.

We say, no matter how you arrange it, get travel insurance and get peace of mind.

Information about the European Health Insurance Card

The European Health Insurance Card is free from any Post Office or by phoning the Department of Health on 0845 606 2030. You can also apply online at the web site run by the Department of Health. The web address is www.dh.gov.uk/travellers

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Last week my wife and I booked a two centre holiday on the Scottish Isles. Seven days on Skye and then a ferry over to Steornabhagh for a further seven days on the Isle of Lewis. Wonderful scenery, plenty of walks and masses of peace and quiet.

You could have blown me over when my local travel agent assumed that I wanted travel insurance for an additional £27.50. Not on your Nellie the Lock Ness monster, I thought. Who needs travel insurance for a holiday in Britain? The National Health Service is free and in an emergency, my son could drive up and bring us home.

Later in the relaxing setting of my sitting room I got to thinking …………..

Holiday misfortunes don't only happen abroad. So with my pessimistic hat on, I made a note of the risks:

Some rotter might steal our luggage

Last week I bought an all singing and dancing digital camera especially for the trip. Got it on the Internet. I might lose it whilst away.

If either of us were hospitalised we wouldn't want to be marooned on Skye. We'd want to transfer to our local hospital in Warwickshire.

My wife's parents are getting on. God forbid, but I'd have to cancel the holiday if something happened to them just before we're due to go.

One of us could be taken ill before we depart and we'd be forced to cancel. As the ferries and the hotels were non-cancellable, we'd lose everything we'd paid.

There may be a major delay at the ferry going over to the Isle of Lewis. Besides the inconvenience, we have to arrange an extra overnight stay on Skye.

One of us might be called up for jury service.



Then it struck me. If I were holidaying in the Britain, my existing Home and Contents policy might cover me for loss of my camera or luggage. I dug out the policy document. Lucky I did. I was only insured for “personal possessions” if they were listed and as I'd just bought my digital camera I hadn't got round to listing it as a valuable item on my policy.

Another aspect struck me. I'd lose my no claims discount if I made a holiday related claim on my Home & Contents policy. That wouldn't be a good idea. I've got a ten year claims free record that policy and it still cost me £310 a year. I jotted down a another note – remember, when the policy comes up for renewal, see if I could get it cheaper on the Internet.

By now a travel policy at £27.50 for was looking worthwhile after all.

Now my wife says I'm a bit of an old skin flint. So keep up the image! I know, get back online and check out the travel agents' policy at £27.50. Is it competitive?

Not all the web sites I surfed could offer me a single trip travel policy for a holiday within the UK but within ten minutes I'd found what I wanted - and a saving of over £10!

Time to study the small print to confirm I had the cover I wanted. Great, all the risks I had noted were covered. The insurer would even pay out £30 if my ferry was delayed for up to 12 hours and then give me the option to cancel my trip to the Isle of Lewis and get my money back.

Now what wouldn't they pay for? I wasn't covered if my holiday was for less than two nights or my hotel was less than 25 miles away from home. I also had to meet the first £30 of any claim. Seemed fair to me.

The decision was made. Simply type in my credit card details and I was insured in a CLICK.

Peace of mind restored!

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Probably the biggest factors when calculating travel insurance premiums is the length of the cover required. If you are taking a two-week vacation, there is a much lower risk than if you are making a yearlong voyage around the world. That said, there are many annual travel insurance policies that cover all the trips you make in a single year and if you make more than a couple of separate trips, annual protection may work out cheaper. Often family protection policies are not too much more expensive than a single person’s policy so if you get the whole family insured together you are also likely to save.

Another big factor is where you are travelling. While some countries represent more health risks, as they are more dangerous, it is also a fact that poorer countries often have far lower medical costs so insurance tends to be highest for travellers in North America and Europe, with the US specifically recognised as having high health care costs. If you plan special high-risk activities such as skiing or mountain climbing you will either need separate insurance for this occasion, or to have the activity specifically added to your policy, as there is a good chance it will be excluded.

Insurance premiums are calculated according to several risk factors. These are the factors identified by the insurance company as most likely to have an impact on the insured against risk occurring. Insurance is a significant cost associated with the item insured and should not be rushed into. It is always a good idea to shop around for the best price available. Insurance premiums will vary considerably from insurer to insurer so do your homework.

Look up the various insurance companies you are interested in and ask them for a quote. They can usually give you a rough estimate fairly quickly and even more exact quotes should also be possible if you provide more details and wait. You should also look up insurers online and get instant quotes from their website. This is a very fast and effective way of shopping around. You will get a good idea of what prices to expect. You can also experiment with the quotation websites to see what effect it makes to your premium price if you select different options. With all insurance policies you will have a number of options that affect the price of the policy. Therefore you should think about these options and if there are risks that you do not wish to cover then let the insurer know as your premium should become cheaper.

You should also try to make sure you do not double insure. It is a principle of insurance that you cannot benefit from the insured event’s occurrence. So you cannot get paid twice even if you have two insurance policies. So if a risk is already covered by one policy, again let your insurer know so they can remove it from their calculation.

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Just over a month ago, my boyfriend and I decided to visit the beautiful city of Edinburgh for our 5 year anniversary. We live in Dorset, so we didn’t want to spend the whole time travelling. To make the trip easier on ourselves, we decided to fly there, and used a travel agent to organise the week long holiday. Imagine my surprise when I saw an additional £27.50 on the quote for travel insurance! We were only going to Edinburgh, not Pittsburgh!

I was offended that they thought we would be so stupid as to get travel insurance for a trip within the UK. They have hospitals in Edinburgh, and it really isn’t very far away. But later on, over a cup of hot chocolate, I put some more thought into it.

Holiday disasters can happen anywhere, not just abroad - so I made a list of what could feasibly go wrong:

· One of us could fall ill before we depart, we’d have no choice but to cancel the trip. The flights and the hotel were non-refundable, so we’d have to pay anyway.

· My Grandfather has been ill lately, if he got suddenly worse then I wouldn’t be able to go on holiday. Again, the trip would have to be cancelled.

· Either of us could be called up for jury service at any time.

· Flights are delayed and cancelled all the time. On top of the inconvenience, we may need to arrange an overnight stay near the airport.

· Anything could happen to our luggage, airlines lose suitcases all the time.

· My boyfriend bought me a wonderful digital camera as a present, if I lost it, it would be very expensive to replace.

Hang on a minute, what about our Home & Contents insurance policy? I bet that would cover us for loss of luggage or my camera as long as I was in the UK. I found the policy and read the small print. No such luck, only ‘personal possessions’ that were listed on the policy counted, so everything in the luggage wouldn’t be covered, and I’d need to make a phone call to get the camera included on the policy.

I remembered something else – we had over 4 years of no claims discount on our Home & Contents policy. If we had to make a claim, we’d lose the no claims discount. Our premiums would go sky high after that, they were already high enough as it is, at £305 a year. I realised that I really should look for a cheaper Home & Contents policy at the time of renewal, and promised myself to do that in future.

After the investigations I had made so far, I realised that £27.50 for a travel policy wasn’t actually too bad.

I’ve never been one to rest on my laurels though. I might have decided that travel insurance was a good idea, but it didn’t mean I was willing to accept the price quoted by the travel agent.

I went online to get some more quotes. The first two or three sites I looked at couldn’t give me what I wanted, but 10 minutes later, I struck gold. I found a single trip travel policy for the UK, and it was a good £10 cheaper than the travel agent’s quote.

I read the small print, no point signing up without knowing all the facts. I was pleased to see all the points I had listed were covered.

Now the exclusions – was it all too good to be true after all? Phew – no need to worry. If the holiday was less than 25 miles from our home address, or for less than 2 nights, then we wouldn’t be covered. No problem there. Otherwise the only downside was that we’d have to pay the £30 if we needed to make a claim. Fair enough.

Happy with the policy I’d found and with the decision that we did need travel insurance after all, I bought the travel insurance policy there and then.

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You may think that travel insurance isn’t necessary, and that you have planned your vacation perfectly. Things like when to board the flight, where to stay, and when to come back would have been included in your plan; but what if you have to change your plan and get back early? Or what if you met with an accident or fell ill, which of course you were not prepared for? You would end up paying all the medical expenses that are not covered by your health insurance. This is when having travel insurance could save you. It is important that you purchase travel insurance to protect your travel investment.

Types of Travel Insurance:

Most travel insurance companies offer the same packages which include basic travel insurance, and comprehensive travel insurance. There are a few general types of travel insurance, however, depending on the insurance company, the coverage and limitations will be different. Given below are some of the common types:

Trip Cancellation: This is the most common and the most important type of travel insurance. Incase your trip gets cancelled because of any unforeseen circumstances, you don’t have to worry about your tickets not being refunded or bear the burden of the money spent, as this type of insurance will cover all these non-refundable payments or deposits.

Trip Delay: This type of insurance is also very helpful incase of any break in your travel plan, for example, say you have to take a connecting flight only to find that it has been cancelled or delayed for a few hours, what do you do? You take the next flight to get home. You don’t have to worry about the extra money spent by you on the ticket. In this case, if you have trip delay insurance, your money will be reimbursed.

Trip Interruption: If your trip gets interrupted due to any unexpected calamity, you don’t have to bear for the lost vacation. Your money will be reimbursed if you have trip interruption insurance.

Baggage/Personal Effects Loss or Delay: This is also a very common type of insurance. It will cover losses if your baggage is lost or delayed, or if any of your stuff gets damaged.

Travel Document Loss: Having this type of insurance will save you from situations such as a stolen or lost passport. Staying in a foreign country without your password would create problems, but you need not run places looking for emergency cash to get it replaced, as this insurance will take care of that.

Accident/Sickness Medical Expenses: If you fall ill anywhere during your travel, you don’t have to worry about the extra expense. This insurance will cover the cost for you.

Medical Evacuation/Emergency Transportation: In the case of a medical emergency during your travel, this insurance will cover expenses such as the transportation charge to the hospital.

Supplier Default: This insurance will cover any payments or deposits lost because of the bankruptcy of a travel supplier.

So next time you plan a trip, do get travel insurance to ensure a safe trip and peace of mind.

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Before planning your summer vacations,think at great length if it needs to buy a travel insurance. There are situations that can make you cancel your ttravel,or to return to your house before time or to force to look for yore medical attention while traveling.

Travel insurance can give you extra protection that you needs. Before buying the cover, review the policy of your medical insurance or home, to avoid any confusion. For example, expensive articles like the camcorder, your personal computer or jewelry shop can be places setting by the insurance of your home, if they were robbed while in travels. In case that the airline loses your registered luggage, they have the obligation to reimburse your suitcases ( by a certain amount of money). Or if you become ill or suffers some injury while traveling, your personal medical insurance can cover the amount with your medical costs.

In agreement with the Magazine of the Consumer (Consumer Reports) travel insurance policy includes several types of protection. Be sure to read what it is written in the small letter: These establish if your travel insurance covers what you need. The policies and insurance agencies vary in their cover, so make sure to ask. Some of the different types of insurance available include:

Cancelación/Interrupción of Travel (TCI) - If your plans are altered suddenly and you must cancel or give by finished your travel before time, TCI will cover you by all this. But only it will reimburse you in case that you have a reason including in the list of the insurance, like for example, injury, disease, death or of a member of the family, of a partner or fellow traveller. Some travel insurance policies will include some reason for medical type solely and others will not cover preexisting medical conditions. It is important to read what it is written with the small letter.

Transfer by medical emergency - If takings vacations type venture or to moved away from a hospital center that counts the necessary thing yet, would be good idea to buy this type of cover. If the suitable treatment is not available in a local hospital,You will be transferred to the appropriate medical facility that is nearer.

Loss of luggage - This cover reimburses to you by the lost of one or damage to your luggage.Make sure to make a list of everything, because if you lose your suitcases, they will reimburse to you part of the content. BBB, altogether with the Magazine of the Consumer, advise the following thing to do:

Read what it is written in the small letter. Know exactly what type of cover is or is receiving.Considers to acquire travel insurance of a separate company, instead of buying it from your travel operator or cruises. Secure even more, paying with a credit card. The protection by loss of luggage is necessary solely if it takes in your suitcases, articles with a greater value to $2,500. Verify the policy of your house insurance .

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There are many different types of traveller. There are business men and women who are flying from one city to another for brief meetings, then there are families taking a two week holiday to the sun with young children, then there are students or gap year travellers who will be backpacking around exotic locations on extremely low budgets. There are really about as many different types of traveller as there are different types of person.

There are many different approaches you can take to booking your travel arrangements. Your main priority may be convenience, for example if you have a meeting near the airport you will need airport accommodation and little else, however, if you are travelling for pleasure, you are likely to have far less restrictions and will be willing to consider all types of arrangements. You can have these arranged for you by a travel agent or you could do it for yourself online. Or alternatively, you may wish to simply travel to a city or country with absolutely no plans and just see what happens when you get there.

On of the things you should always travel with is proper health and travel insurance. Obviously your requirements will again vary depending on what kind of travel you are undertaking. If you are travelling for business, full travel insurance that will provide you with alternative flights if yours is cancelled or delayed will be important. For most holiday travellers, this may not be quite as important. If you are travelling with children you may wish to consider it, but otherwise you may be quite flexible and tolerant if delays do occur. But you may be more worried about your luggage and belongings and wish to have good coverage for loss or damage to your property. All these options are available today with the various travel insurance companies that are operating in the market.

Generally speaking, you will always need health insurance when you travel. You cannot afford to take the risk that an accident or serious injury occurs and you do not have proper coverage. There are many parts of the word where free national health insurance is not provided and if you do require medical treatment, it will only be provided if you can pay for it. Particularly if you are travelling with children, you should always arrange adequate travel insurance with medical coverage. This is simply a risk that you do not want to be bearing yourself especially when the cost of travel insurance is so affordable.

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Are you considering about traveling overseas? It is something quite common these days. A trip overseas can be a great experience a once in a lifetime adventure. It would be a great tragedy if something went wrong, so it’s better to be prepared. Not only will it beneficial to you but your loved ones.

Besides the obvious things to have when you travel like passports, and tickets, you should get travel insurance. It is something many people might over look, but it is essential when traveling overseas. But don’t go for the cheapest insurance you can find. Make sure you find a policy that will cater to all your needs and take care of you incase anything happens to you or your family. Look around at different policies and see what is out there.

You should know what is in the policy and what is not included. Read what the policy covers. A good example is terrorism; some insurance policies can not include those kinds of incidents to be claimable. Find out about this and other incidents that are claimable and not. You should ask as many questions that you want, don’t be shy if you don’t exactly understand what is said in the policy, and ask before you sign it. Make sure that your insurer knows and cover adventure activities, like water rafting or things of that nature. Make sure you can participate in those types of activities before getting the insurance because sometimes they aren’t covered in some polices. Ask if you can claim for your luggage if it is left unattended, you should know all the little deatiles.

So save yourself some unforeseen trouble and get travel insurance. Because you never know what will and can happen. Anything is possible. So be prepared, you’ll be glad you did.

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It is really fun going on a holiday trip. You will be so busy strolling around, doing what you do not usually do, like skiing, windsurfing and other activities worth spending your holiday with. Outdoor trip is really fun and entertaining. You are enjoying snow boarding but suddenly you broke your leg. We don’t know when accidents may happen. It is just practical to get a travel insurance plan.

Travel insurance plan is a way to minimize the considerable financial risks of traveling. These risks include accidents, illness, and missed flights, canceled tours, lost baggage, emergency evacuation and getting your body home if you die.

Each traveler’s risk and potential loss varies, depending on how much of the trip is prepaid, the kind of air ticket purchased, your state of health, the value of your luggage, where you’re traveling, what medical coverage you already have and the financial health of the tour company or airline. For some, insurance is a good deal; for others, it’s not.

What are the different types of Travel Insurance?

1. Interruption insurance and trip cancellations. It covers financial penalties or losses you encounter when you cancel a prepaid tour of flight for an acceptable reason. These might include you and your family members who can’t travel because of sickness.

It might also include you business partner or airline that goes out of business or can’t perform as promised. It is also possible to cancel if you have a family member who is sick. For a good reason such as a car accident or inclement weather, you miss a flight or need an emergency flight. In other words, if you or your travel partner breaks a leg a few days before your trip, you can both bail out and neither of you will lose a penny.

And if, a day into your tour, you have an accident, both of you will be flown home and you’ll be reimbursed for the emergency one-way return flight which usually costs far more than your economy round-trip fare and whatever portion of the tour you have not used.

2. Medical insurance cover medical and dental emergencies. Check your health plan before getting a medical insurance because you may be already covered by it. Search for benefits and deductibles and the procedures for reimbursement of the emergency expenses.

3. Baggage insurance is included in the most comprehensive policies, but is rare to buy separately. This actually the insurance for your items such as jewelry, eyewear, electronics and photographic equipments. If the airline checked your baggage, it is already covered by the airlines. Homeowners’ insurance is cheaper and you’ll have coverage even after your trip.

4. Flight insurance is crash coverage, is a statistical rip-off that heirs love. It's basically a life insurance policy that covers you when you're on the airplane. Since plane crashes are so rare, there's little sense in spending money on this insurance.

5. Comprehensive travel insurance it covers all, airfare, car rentals, tour etc. it depends on you age. This can be a better deal for travelers with less of the trip prepaid because coverage is the same regardless of the premium you pay. Some comprehensive policies also cover collision damage, which allows you to avoid paying your car-rental company for collision damage waiver CDW insurance.

Never buy travel insurance from companies with no names. Not all insurance companies are licensed. You do not have a case if you claim problems with a licensed company with no license. Most of the licensed insurance companies are open 24 hours.

Getting travel insurance is as good as securing your family’s health. It is making sure that everyone is properly protected, including the loss of your passport, money or luggage, travel delays, missed departures and incurring legal expenses. It is like you are sure you are having a safe trip.

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Recent changes to the UK’s quarantine laws mean that it is now possible for you to obtain a pet passport (under the government’s ‘passport for pets’ scheme) and take your family pet away with you on holiday. However, before you run off down to your local travel agent and book tickets for the whole family to that exotic seaside tropical location you have always wanted to visit but have to put off because everyone else at home didn’t want to leave Fido in the kennel, you might want to consider getting you and your family some travel insurance – including that all important travel pet insurance.

A number of leading pet insurance providers now offer pet owners travel pet insurance to give pet owners the comfort of knowing whether they are far away in exotic places enjoying the sun and sea or closer to home enjoying the cultural delights of Europe, their pet will be insured against any illness or mishap that may unfortunately befall them.

Typically, included in the travel pet insurance is:

- x-rays
- injections
- lab tests
- prescriptions
- costs while they stay at the vet and recuperate

Keep in mind, however, that as with other types of insurance, travel pet insurance usually comes with what is known as an excess. In short, what this means is that you – as the owner if the pet – will be required to pay a certain amount until a threshold amount is reached. Thereafter you can claim for a reimbursement against the insurance provider. However, unlike humans, travel pet insurance premiums are usually calculated on the type of animal you have and the age of the animal. As such, it is possible to leave arranging the travel pet insurance policy until the last minute, then purchasing this online once you have decided that you will definitely be taking your family pet away with you on your family holidays!

Moreover, as with human travel insurance policies, pet travel insurance can be purchased either as annual policy or as a one-off travel policy. If you get an annual pet travel policy, this means you can take your pet with you whenever you travel one of the 25+ countries outside of the UK which the UK government currently has arrangements for the ‘passport for pets’ scheme, or any of the European Union countries (which are all part of the ‘passport for pets’ scheme already). Alternatively, with one-off pet travel insurance policies you need to name the country you are going to visit and the dates you’ll be there and the policy will only cover you for the duration and place stated.

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Few things in life are as satisfying as a trip abroad, and most of us can hardly wait until we leave on our great adventure. Anticipation of things to come merely heightens our delight. Planning our trips is part of the enjoyment. Running around, buying our tickets, luggage, clothes and other items that we plan to take with us don't even seem like chores. It's not even painful to pay for these things because we know that soon we'll be exploring places we've never been before. However, there is one "fly in this ointment", one more expense that we'd rather not have because even though it costs us money, we receive no tangible benefit. What am I talking about? Why, travel insurance, of course!!!

Is Buying Travel Insurance at the Last Moment Okay?

I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned, paying for travel health insurance is not exactly my favorite way of spending money. Could it be because travel insurance is not exactly sexy? Or is it because it just adds to the cost of an already expensive trip? Whatever the reason, I'd rather not spend the bucks on travel insurance. However, because I know that it really is a necessity, I buy it. Nevertheless, I tend to put off the purchase as long as possible because it still feels like an "extra". Am doing myself a favor or not?

Are You a Gambler?

Is keeping my money in my pocket for as long as possible helping me or hurting me? By delaying my travel medical insurance purchase until the day I leave, I'm actually hurting myself. This is because I'm actually gambling that nothing will happen to me before I buy my insurance. I'm betting that I or someone in my family won't fall ill or get injured prior to departure. Also, if I haven't bought it and something bad does happen, I won't have any insurance coverage and I'll be out of luck. Wouldn't I be smarter to get my travel insurance ASAP in order to minimize my risk and maximize my potential benefits?

Don't Lose Your Pre-Existing Condition Coverage

There is another reason to buy travel insurance without delay. Sometimes we make our travel arrangements in stages and don't book our flights at the same time. We travelers are eligible for pre-existing medical condition exclusion waivers provided we buy our travel insurance from 7 to 21 days (depending on the policy) of making our arrangements. If we wait longer, we may not be eligible for those benefits, especially if a previously unknown health condition should materialize.

Don't Wait To Finalize Everything Before Buying

Whenever I have traveled, I have known in advance what my plane tickets were going to cost, but what about you? Maybe you've made travel plans but have not yet bought your plane tickets. I suggest that it's a good idea to buy your travel insurance even if you haven't bought your tickets because doing so will ensure that you will qualify for the pre-existing condition exclusion waiver. If you don't know what your flight will cost, estimate the cost and include this figure in the total cost of your trip. Later, when you have purchased your flight tickets, you can advise the insurance company. That way you will not risk being ineligible for coverage for a medical conditions that crops up prior to departure.

What If You've Already Left on Your Trip?

I happen to be one of the world's greatest procrastinators. My motto is, “Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow because you might get lucky and not have to do it at all!” Maybe you, too, are a Great Procrastinator and you avoid buying travel insurance before you leave on your trip. What happens if you have delayed buying your travel insurance or expatriate insurance until AFTER your departure? Are you out of luck? Are you ineligible for insurance because you didn't buy it before you left home?

Fortunately, the good news is that, even if you decide to buy after departure, you are still eligible for insurance. If you can get access to the internet, both travel insurance and expatriate insurance can be found and purchased online, even after you've left on your trip or taken up residence abroad. As the old saying goes, "Better late than never," especially in this case!

Can You Get Insurance for Someone Else Who Has Already Left?

Here's another scenario. What if there is an emergency and a family member (including minors) or a friend or employee has not bought travel insurance but has already left on their trip? Do they have to travel uninsured? The answer is no, they don't have to go without travel insurance. You, or someone else they designate, can go online and purchase travel insurance on their behalf. It's good to know that when friends, family or employees are too busy to get their own travel insurance, they don't have to go without it.

In this case, all you need to do is fill out an online application and make the required online payment. You'll get instant confirmation and can even print out a copy of the policy. There is one cautionary note though. If you're purchasing travel insurance on behalf of a minor, you'll first have to register as an adult in order to get the insurance. It is also important to note that they will not be eligible for coverage for pre-existing medical conditions that occur during the trip after departure and prior to purchasing their insurance. This is merely another reason why purchasing travel insurance should not be delayed.

In the World of Travel Insurance, Timing Definitely IS Everything

Timing is everything, they say. Purchasing travel or expatriate insurance was probably not on the mind of whoever coined that phrase. Nevertheless, those words apply as much to buying travel insurance as they do to anything else. Given the potential for financial ruin if you're not insured, the time to buy yours is before you need it because buying it after you need it is impossible and much too late. Learn from the "Great Procrastinator" and get the insurance you need before you need it.

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