Money Saving Tips When Buying Travel Insurance, Advises Squaremouth

<p>St Pete Beach, FL (PRWEB) <chron>September 30, 2011</chron></p><p>With the upcoming holidays, many travelers are looking for ways to cut back and save. For some, <a href="http://www.squaremouth.com/">travel insurance</a> will be the first expense to go. According to <a href="http://Squaremouth.com">Squaremouth.com</a>, a site for comparing and purchasing travel insurance, trimming a vacation budget by skipping the travel insurance could turn out to be an expensive mistake. To ensure protection and savings when purchasing travel insurance, follow these tips.</p><p>Don’t Assume You Need Cancel For Any Reason <br /> According to Squaremouth, Cancel for Any Reason is one travel insurance benefit most travelers do not need. <a href="http://www.squaremouth.com/travel-insurance-benefits/cancel-for-any-reason">Cancel for Any Reason</a> is an upgrade option that allows travelers to cancel a trip without explanation and receive a refund up to 75 percent of the trip cost. Since the Trip Cancellation benefit covers travelers to cancel their trip and receive reimbursement in the event of illness, injury, inclement weather or terrorism, Squaremouth usually does not recommend upgrading a travel insurance policy to include Cancel for Any Reason.</p><p>“In almost all cases, people want to take their trip, and the reasons they would need to cancel are already covered under Trip Cancellation,” explains <person>Sarah Byrne</person>, Marketing Manager at Squaremouth.</p><p>Before purchasing a travel insurance policy, travelers should review the covered reasons under the Trip Cancellation benefit. If a potential reason for cancelling is not listed, they should then consider upgrading the travel insurance policy to include Cancel for Any Reason.</p><p>Don’t Pay Extra for <money>$2 Million</money> of Evacuation Coverage <br /> “Some travel insurance policies offer several million dollars of evacuation coverage, however, it is rare for an evacuation to cost more than <money>$100,000</money>,” advises <person value="APIN:4171083082">Chris Harvey</person>, CEO of Squaremouth. “Don’t spend more for a travel insurance policy thinking multi-million dollar coverage is necessary.”</p><p>Instead, travelers should become aware of how much evacuation coverage they really need. Squaremouth recommends choosing the amount of medical evacuation insurance based on the destination. For example, <money>$100,000</money> in evacuation coverage should be enough protection for visiting <location value="LR/eur" idsrc="xmltag.org">Europe</location>, however, travelers visiting <location value="LR/asp" idsrc="xmltag.org">Asia</location> or <location value="LR/afr" idsrc="xmltag.org">Africa</location> may want to consider a travel insurance policy with at least <money>$250,000</money> in evacuation coverage.</p><p>Don’t Buy Rental Car Coverage <br /> Since many car insurance companies and credit card providers offer protection while driving a rental car, most travelers do not need to buy travel insurance to cover a rental car. Car insurance companies, including <org>State Farm</org>, <org value="NYSE:ALL" idsrc="xmltag.org">Allstate</org> and Progressive offer protection, however, not all policies will cover “loss of use” fees if the rental car requires repairs. Most <org value="NYSE:AXP" idsrc="xmltag.org">American Express</org>, <org value="NYSE:MA" idsrc="xmltag.org">MasterCard</org> and Visa credit cards provide a collision damage waiver, but travelers must purchase the rental car on the card for coverage to be available.</p><p>If travelers do not have the option to receive coverage from their car insurance or credit card provider, and do not have the need for a comprehensive travel insurance policy, rental car protection is available from Travel Guard or <org value="NYSE:AXP" idsrc="xmltag.org">American Express</org>. Both travel insurance companies offer rental car collision insurance ranging from <money>$7 to $9</money> a day.</p><p>Don’t Buy Travel Insurance From Your Travel Supplier <br /> Buying <a href="http://www.squaremouth.com/">travel insurance</a> from your airline, cruise line or tour company could result in a higher premium with lower benefits. This is a common mistake many travelers make and can be the result of the lack of travel insurance options provided by the travel supplier. Squaremouth recommends searching for travel insurance on a comparison engine. This will provide more options with better travel insurance policies for less money.</p><p>Don’t Cover Refundable Trip Costs <br /> Since travel insurance only lets travelers recoup non-refundable cash losses, travelers should not include expenses that can be refunded.</p><p>“Adding those values to a travel insurance policy will increase the cost of your premium without adding additional coverage,” warns Byrne. When buying a travel insurance policy, only insure the trip costs that would not be refunded if the trip was cancelled.</p><p>Don’t Confuse ‘Cancel for Work Reasons’ With ‘Employment Layoff’ <br /> “If someone is laid off, travel insurance gives them the option to cancel their trip and receive reimbursement, instead of taking a trip they may not be able to afford anymore,” says Byrne.</p><p>Although many travel insurance policies offer this coverage under the standard <a href="http://www.squaremouth.com/travel-insurance-benefits/trip-cancellation">Trip Cancellation</a> benefit, it’s important to read the fine print. Some travel insurance policies require you to be employed with the same company anywhere from one to five years to qualify for a refund, while others restrict coverage to full-time employees.</p><p>Squaremouth warns travelers not to purchase the benefit Cancel For Work Reasons assuming it is the same as employment layoff coverage. <a href="http://www.squaremouth.com/travel-insurance-benefits/cancel-for-work-reasons">Cancel for Work Reasons</a> can cover someone if they are called back to work suddenly, if their company merges, if they have to relocate or if work is affected by fire, flood or other natural disaster. This benefit is an upgrade in many travel insurance policies, however, doesn’t apply if you lose your job, whereas most standard cancellation coverage does.</p><p>About Squaremouth <br /> Squaremouth is America’s fastest growing <a href="http://www.squaremouth.com/">travel insurance</a> comparison site, helping customers instantly quote, compare and buy policies from every major carrier. Squaremouth has web sites in the US and <location value="LC/gb" idsrc="xmltag.org">UK</location>, and an extensive network of partner sites worldwide. The company is headquartered in St Pete Beach, FL., with offices in <location value="LU/us.in.ftwyne" idsrc="xmltag.org">Fort Wayne, IN.</location> Visit <a href="http://Squaremouth.com">Squaremouth.com</a> or Squaremouth.co.uk.</p><p>About our Zero Complaint Guarantee <br /> The cornerstone of our commitment to customers is Squaremouth’s guarantee to remove any company from our website if there is a customer complaint that cannot be resolved to our satisfaction. Squaremouth offers the broadest selection of insurance with an emphasis on quality and follow-up care in companies featured. We also factor in independent evaluation from the insurance industry watchdog AM Best.</p><p>Squaremouth offers products from the following travel insurance carriers: <br /> Air Ambulance Card, CSA Travel Protection, Global Alert, Global Rescue, Global Underwriters, HCC, HTH Worldwide, IMG, ITravelInsured, <org value="OTC-PINK:MDXX" idsrc="xmltag.org">Medex</org>, Medjet Assist, MH Ross, <org>On Call International</org>, Seven Corners, Travel Guard, <org>Travel Insurance Services</org>, Travel Insured, Travelex, TravelSafe and <location value="LC/us" idsrc="xmltag.org">USA</location> Assist.</p><p>AVAILABLE TOPIC EXPERT: <br /><person>Sarah Byrne</person><br /> sbyrne(at)squaremouth(dot)com <br /> Toll-free (800) 240-0369 <br /> Direct (727) 498-2866</p><p><person value="APIN:4171083082">Chris Harvey</person><br /> charvey(at)squaremouth(dot)com <br /> Toll-free (800) 240-0369 <br /> Direct (727) 490-5802</p><p>U.S. travel insurance – <a href="http://www.squaremouth.com">http://www.squaremouth.com</a></p><p>###</p><p>Read the full story at <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/9/prweb8842225.htm">http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/9/prweb8842225.htm</a></p>