Heading off on your next adventure? Before you jet off, taking the necessary steps to protect yourself and your travel investment is crucial. In a world filled with numerous travel insurance options, exercising healthy caution is ideal and ensures you don’t fall victim to potential scams. Unfortunately, fraudulent insurance providers are everywhere, meaning anyone can become a victim of a travel insurance scam.
Here are 4 tips to help you know how to look for fraudulent travel insurance providers and ensure you have the best trip possible.
1. Buy policies from well-known brokers and providers
Before you purchase travel insurance, researching the broker/agent is essential. Looking into reputable insurance companies with a good industry record will help and can provide you with the best coverage at the right price. Research their background and see what their customers have said in the past and how long they’ve been providing travel insurance services. Gather as much information about them as possible, including their contact details, before purchasing a policy.
2. Make sure the agent is licensed
As important as it is for your policy to be legitimate, the agent selling it must also be regulated. While travel insurance may appear to some as a costly add-on, it’s much more expensive to have a claim denied and having to pay out-of-pocket expenses. Also, there are always other ways to save on travel insurance, without taking the risk of no coverage for your trip. Take your time before committing, and ensure you have all the information you need about who you’re buying from and what you’re buying.
3. Carefully read the policy
Don’t be tempted to skim through your policy documents or solely trust your broker claims. Simply reading your policy can help you avoid a lot of hassles. Whether you submit the wrong information, leading to your claim being denied, or misunderstand what’s covered, it can all lead to travel insurance fraud. Many fraudulent insurers can sell you a policy that looks legitimate, but has clauses that ensure they won’t have to pay out in the event of a claim.
4. Check the policy names and ask questions
Do your research while choosing your plan to make sure that it’s a legitimate travel insurance policy. Also, knowing a few questions to ask can help; here’s a blog with questions to ask an insurance broker or advisor when purchasing coverage. Some fraudulent travel insurance policies may have misleading names to trick you into purchasing. Take the time to make sure everything seems clear and concise to you.
Hopefully, this post helps you spot scams and that you find the right insurance you need. If you want more information on purchasing travel insurance, here’s a complete guide to all things travel insurance.
Have questions? Ask in the comments below!
Safe travels,
Monique
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in October 2015 and has been updated for freshness and/or accuracy.
