For the past three years I have been purchasing travel insurance online from Direct Travel Insurance. Their website can be found at www.direct-travel.co.uk or you can ring direct on 0845 605 2700.
Prior to purchasing my travel insurance from here I had always just taken out the insurance recommended to me by the travel agent or website, not realising that I could save myself some money if I shopped around and purchased it myself.
The realisation came when I was browsing through cashback offers on a favourite cashback site of mine : Topcashback.co.uk which gives you cashback on many online purchases.
It was there I noticed that various travel insurance was available online which also gave you a little cashback too.
Intrigued, I looked up Direct Travel Insurance which was one of the few available. They had good feedback from customers on the cashback site which also gave me reassurance about purchasing online.
Direct Travel Insurance were established in 1993. Since then, they claim to have insured 8m people and provided winter sports travel insurance for 1.4m skiers. Their policies include up to £20m medical cover and offer a variety of options. Single trip cover and annual travel insurance for holidays and business travel is available. Also a wide variety of sports and activities can also be covered and policies can be tailored to suit your individual needs – meaning lower premiums and the best-fitting cover.
Their website I found to be well laid out and very easy to use. I have recently been booking single trip cover for my summer holiday this year and it really is very simple. The whole process taking only a couple of minutes.
Clicking on single trip insurance brings up a box with drop-down selections, where you select the dates of your holiday, the area you are travelling to and how many adults, children etc are travelling. After submitting your details the prices and different levels of cover are shown.
There are 3 types of standard cover and a Premier Plus option. The prices ranged from £16.25 – £36.00 for my trip. £16.25 gives you medical expenses, personal accident and liability cover and loss of passport. The next two standard cover options offer the same cover, plus cancellation cover, loss of money and possessions.
The premier plus option includes all of those plus concierge service and scheduled airline failure. Full details of all the cover is provided for each option, so you can decide which is best for your needs.
Each time I have purchased cover it has been quick and without problems. I paid with my bank card and received email confirmation right away. I have also been impressed by the speed at which they sent out my documents. They arrived the next day the last time I purchased cover, which is great service. Individual insurance cards arrived plus a pack containing full information on my cover.
I have literally paid half the price for my travel insurance than I used to when purchasing at the travel agents and actually received a better level of cover for my money. Of course there is the added cashback bonus too. By going through Topcashback I received 17.5% cashback, which is still available now. My cashback tracked quickly and I received it with no problems.
Of course, you never know how good an insurance company actually are until you make a claim. And whilst thankfully I have never had any major problems on holiday I did have a minor one, which resulted in me ringing the phone number provided for help and advice.
I was very pleased with the help and advice I received. My problems were dealt with quickly and ensured I could carry on my holiday without any worries. If they deal with major problems in the same way, then I cannot recommend them highly enough.
Direct Travel Insurance also offer a service called ‘Holiday Extras’ which assists you to find and book airport hotels and parking. They offer this service with a Best Price Guarantee, where if you find the same products for less within seven days of booking, Holiday Extras will match the price or refund the difference.
I haven’t used the Holiday Extras service, but it is handy to know you can purchase insurance and book some extras all on the same site.
The site also provides you with Country guides. These contain all the useful information you may need to know about visiting a certain country or area. Risk ratings and recent alerts are all featured on the site as well as checklists on what to do before you travel.
I am very happy with the cover, price and service I have received from Direct Travel Insurance over the last three years and have no hesitation in recommending them for travel insurance.
The website is easy to use and their service gets full marks from me. They are definitely worth taking a look at if you are needing travel insurance and with the added cashback incentive you could find yourself making quite a saving!
www.direct-travel.co.uk