Cheap and cheerful not stingy cover!! (JourneyWise.co.uk)

Member Name: jo1l

Product:	JourneyWise.co.uk
Date:	17/03/03 (514 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap

Disadvantages: none

Now some of you might be aware that I'm finally going to get to meet a very dear online friend when I attend her wedding in Pittsburgh this May. Flights have been booked and next in line was that all important travel insurance. The bargain hunter in me wanted some thing very cheap but not stingy on the cover. Especially not on that miss departure cover - the eternal pessimist in me has this phobia about missing planes,trains and other forms of transportation. I'm the kind of person who's late for a train if I'm not sitting waiting at the Station some 30 minutes before departure. For anyone who has to use Kings Cross Station the cappuccino in the pub isn't too bad!

After hunting on Google, I got quotes for the 11 days varying from £63 to £24,with some great cover and some laughable cover. I was nearly going to give up when I thought one last click and went to take a look at www.journeywise.co.uk.

Journeywise is a UK based company, trading under the name of AIG Europe(UK), they are also members of the general insurance standards council. their trading address and telephone number can be found on their website with a minimum of hunting!

Journeywise, is not an attractive site, it's functional and easy to navigate around. The site only sells travel insurance, so you will not be able to book a flight,hotel room or hire a car from this site unlike other sites. Journeywise sells 3 main types of travel insurance, single trip insurance, annual insurance and extended stay insurance. The company then quotes you for either a European trip or a worldwide trip. Unlike other companies they do not penalize you for traveling to the USA or Canada, these destinations are in the basic worldwide cover. They then offer you a choice of either economy or super cover.There is a winter sports option as well.

Journeywise offer an instant quote facility which is simple to use. You will have to declare any medical problems and unfortun
ately I believe that special terms are applied for the over 65's and to anyone with a pre existing medical condition, this is the norm for travel insurance.

Getting a quote is a painless procedure, by clicking on the very visible get a quote link you then have a choice of what type of insurance you want, after a medical declaration you then taken to a page which asks you your destination -either Europe or Worldwide, how many travelers and level of cover wanted.Next you have to give the dates of travel ( for the single trip cover) and your premium comes up. The difference between economy and super cover is normally a few pence.

The premiums are very competitive examples being: Single trips: Europe 14 days in May £12.35, Worldwide 11 days in May £22.60. Annual Insurance ( allowing multiple trips of up to 60 days of cover a year): Europe: £31.45 Worldwide: £49.35.

Given the price of premiums,you're probably wondering what kind of cover are you going to get and how much is the excess going to be on a claim! In all honesty having hunted for a couple of nights for cheap insurance I didn't think that the level of cover was going to be any good and the excess would be a real stinger! The cover compares very favorable with a lot of the sites I visited and in some cases is a lot more generous! Below is an example of some of the level of cover offered by Journeywise

Medical expenses: Economy cover (EC) £1million Super cover (SC) £10 million excess £35
Personal liability: EC - £1million SC - £2million Excess: £150
Missed Departure: EC: £500 SC: £1000 Excess: £35
Personal Belongings: EC: £500 SC: £2000 Excess: £35
Canceling trip: EC: £1000 SC: £5000 Excess:£35.

Purchasing the insurance is done via the sites secure server, once the transaction is completed you are given a reference number and the policy document is then emailed to you. Mine was in my inbox within 5 minutes. You are advised to read t
he policy, a rather lengthy document which explains all about what's included and what isn't. A variety of telephone numbers are given within the policy should you need to claim whilst on holiday. Journeywise operate a 14 day 100% money back guarantee should you not be happy with the level of coverage.

Given that my insurance is for a holiday in May, I am unable to comment on how well they handle claims. Positive signs being that a variety of numbers are given within the policy document and on the site within their Any Questions and Help links makes me think the process would not be too cumbersome. Obviously I hope that I do not have to come an update this opinion in early June with my claim tale of woe!

The site also has links to a variety of helpful travel links for areas such as Immunizations, passports, Foreign Office warnings and National tourist boards.

Having searched high and low for a cheap insurance with a decent level of coverage I personally have found it, especially since that Missed Departure cover should get me on the next plane out of Heathrow to the US and if my luggage should go missing I'm sure there'll be a shop or two I can buy replacements in! Now one important question does anyone know where they sell decent cappuccino in Heathrow?

Summary: