Travel Guard vs Travel Insurance Center

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And, even if you do have that kind of protection, travel insurance policies can amplify your benefits. For example, if you choose a plan that offers $500,000 in primary medical coverage, you might not need to touch your regular health insurance: your bills will be reimbursed up to that amount, no matter what your everyday health plan includes. Car rental insurance can go above and beyond what's paid for by your credit card company or even your own vehicle's coverage - and that can be critical if you're driving in another country and have an accident.

What type of travel insurance do you need? Naturally, that depends on your trip, your travel party, and your budget. A single-trip policy will be more affordable than multi-trip coverage - but if you're traveling internationally more than once in a year, the annual policy becomes much more economical. Do you need to be able to cancel for any reason? Is it important to you to have a waiver of the pre-existing conditions exclusion? Are there any children under 18 in your party that might be included at no extra charge, depending on the insurer you select? These are all factors that will influence your decision when picking a travel insurance plan.

Confused yet? You do have a lot of options. Here are some criteria to help you sort through them and ultimately wind up with the travel insurance coverage you need:

• Quote process. How easy is it to get a quote that matches your insurance needs? Does the site explain the questions it asks, and does it display all of the possible plans in a way you can understand? Can you buy your policy right then and there, or do you have to click through to another site?
• Value. What's included for your premium? From one site to another, you will probably see the same price on any given plan because the states regulate travel insurance prices. However, it's worth your time to compare premium prices and benefits among different insurers, so that you get the most for your money.
• Reputation. It's easy for an insurance company to get high marks from customers if they never had to make a claim on the policy. What do clients who've filed claims say about the way they were treated? Were they reimbursed quickly? Did they get updates about the status of the claim? It's also good to check the Better Business Bureau's rating of any travel insurance service you're going to use.

To help you get the protection you need on your next adventure, TopConsumerReviews.com has evaluated and ranked today's most popular sources of travel insurance. We're confident that this information will make it easy to protect yourself and what you've spent on your trip - and to have backup if something goes off track on your journey. Bon voyage!