Online insurance abroad: how to choose

For travelers, a smartphone is the main companion. With it, you can solve all the issues related to the trip: book accommodation, buy bus or plane tickets, choose insurance.

Insurance companies have long created the opportunity to purchase their services directly on the website. After all, it is also convenient for them: you do not need to hire a lot of employees to service offices, pay for the rent of several premises, and mess with paper documents. Everything is simple - one website, clients from any city, sending a policy to your email.

We tell you how online insurance abroad differs from regular insurance and how to choose it.

• Advantages of an electronic document.
• Where to look for a travel policy.
• How to find out the cost for your trip.

Advantages of an electronic document

The advantages do not end with the fact that you can buy the service without leaving home and save time. Also, it is simply irreplaceable if you forgot about insurance and need to buy it right before departure. But what's more, once you have arrived in another country, you can insure yourself via smartphone. If you have stayed in another country longer than planned and the old policy has expired, you can also save the situation remotely.

Another difference that insurance for traveling abroad has is the price. We have already written about how much more convenient paper insurance is for insurance companies. They save money and, accordingly, sell it at a lower price.

It is convenient to choose such a document. You can compare prices from different companies, choose the most favorable conditions, read customer reviews before buying. No one is trying to advertise the policy so that you buy it immediately. You can look at different options, think about how much you need, and only then make a purchase.

A paper document can be lost, torn, wet, or damaged in some other way. Whereas an electronic version remains in the mail and can be downloaded again, even if the phone is lost. You do not need to spend time restoring the document.

Where to find a travel policy

Each insurance company has its own website where you can issue an electronic document. But if you search all the websites of all companies and compare them separately, it will take a lot of time. That is why it is worth using an insurance service where all companies are collected at once.

How does it work? Think of a popular accommodation booking or ticket search service. There, different companies that provide the same service are gathered together. The insurance service works in the same way, you search among dozens of options at once, but on one site.
Such a service will definitely have an insurance calculator for traveling abroad. In this calculator, you enter all the data that can affect the cost:

• Duration of the trip.
• Type of insurance: for active sports, just tourism.
• In which countries should the document be valid: these are the countries of the Schengen zone, any other country, or the whole world.

Next, you will see a list of companies through which you can issue an electronic policy.

But do not rush to buy a cheap document right away. You also need to consider the following factors:

• Do you have any chronic diseases or features that insurers should know about?
• Do you need regular medical insurance or an extended package of services?
• It also doesn't hurt to study reviews so as not to get cheap but poor-quality services.

Only then can you choose the cheapest document from those that are completely suitable for you. Agree that taking into account all these criteria by going to each site separately is not a very quick procedure. Therefore, it is convenient to do all this using the insurance service page.

How to find out the cost for your trip

The online calculator is designed to calculate the price of the service and buy travel insurance online. The price will depend on the duration of the trip, the country you plan to visit, and your age. Also, there will be significant differences in prices between different companies.

Also, it all depends on the coverage limit of services and their variety. For example, for a medical insurance policy for those traveling abroad, the cost will be lower than for a document with which you also insure luggage with documents.

Let's consider a specific example: a 10-day trip to Europe. The cheapest insurance will cost approximately 100 hryvnias. The cheapest, but with an excellent rating - approximately 200 hryvnias. The most expensive will cost 250 hryvnias, considering that it will be a paper document.

For 500–600 hryvnias, you can get a document with an extended package of services for 10 days. It will include:

• Increased service coverage limit, not 30, but 50 thousand euros.
• All standard medical policy options.
• Monetary compensation if the plane is delayed for 4 hours.
• Compensation if your luggage is lost.
• Payment for the arrival of a relative if the client cannot return to the country alone.
• Payment for mobile communication, transportation, and rental extension costs.

Which of these policies to choose? It depends only on the client's wishes and their vacation plans. But if you are going to return to Europe at least 2 more times, it will be cheaper to issue a document for 1 year at once. Take this fact into account to choose the truly most profitable option.