Planning a holiday... Travel Insurance

Here's a hot tip: Don't skimp on travel insurance, go for a reputable company that offers different types of cover. I always go for a mid-range cover for smaller trips and if you are travelling to dangerous countries opt for a full-cover package. Safety is the most important thing when travelling so don't risk being caught out without proper coverage.

We've all heard the stories of people travelling abroad having an accident, getting sick, being snowed in, being robbed, falling down a well... Heaven for bid anything bad happen to you or someone you know but unfortunately unforeseen circumstances do arise and if you're not adequately covered it can end up not only ruining your holiday but can even impact your life.

I know it all sounds a bit dramatic, and what are the odds that it'll happen to you? Here's just a couple of things that can happen to even the cleverest traveller;

My mum, my friend and I went to Bali several years ago, now we all know how much a of bad wrap Bali gets for being 'dangerous'. Honestly, just like any other place in the world, whether you're in your home town or in a foreign country, if you break the law, drink to excess, forget all your inhibitions and carry on like a crazed teenager 'you're gunna have a bad time' -  in the words of South Park. 

So anyway, having said all that, no, we didn't get into trouble with the law. What actually happened was my mum got a minor case of 'Bali-belly' and ended up at the doctor. If it weren't for her travel insurance then she would have had to pay through the nose for treatment and medication.

On another holiday, my husband and I went skiing in New Zealand. I'm a terrible skier and although I didn't fall and hurt myself, we did skid on ice while driving at night on the way to Queenstown and puncture a tyre.

Our travel insurance covered the cost of the replacement tyre, and saved us having to pay the car rental company $200.

So as you see, even if you don't get into a bad accident, anything can happen and it's definitely worth having yourself covered if they do.

In Australia some good travel insurance providers are-

http://www.nrma.com.au/travel-insurance

http://www.travelinsurancedirect.com.au/

International (You can select your country of origin)

http://www.travelguard.com/