How To Get The Cheapest Travel Insurance Quotes In Kenya

Travel insurance is one of the last things that most people think about when planning their trips and vacations. The most exciting part is booking the flights, hotels and recreation activities! However, increasingly most people are starting to appreciate the importance of travel insurance. This is in addition to foreign embassies and consulates in Kenya requiring visa applicants to buy travel insurance plans before they can be granted visas. Using new online companies like PESABAZAAR.com, customers can save up to 50% on their travel insurance quotes.

Most of the travel insurance taken in Kenya are overseas travel insurance plans, ones that cover residents and citizens from Kenya while they are travelling outside of Kenya. The other smaller segment is the inbound travel insurance which covers foreign travellers on their trips to Kenya. Finally there is the local travel insurance that covers individuals and groups travelling within Kenya.

These types of travel insurance generally cover different risks and liabilities and a few of the major ones include :

• Travel delays and cancellations
• Baggage loss or delay
• Emergency medical expenses, this is the biggest component of the insurance plan. The risk of having a medical emergency while overseas is the most significant and expenses can shoot into the hundreds of thousands of dollars very quickly. You will find plans that cover up to USD 1 Million for this liability. Most Schengen countries require insurance cover for at least 30,000 Euros for travellers visiting the Schengen region.
• Repatriation of mortal remains
• Kidnap, hijack and wrongful detention
• Loss of travel documents like passports, national ID and driving licence
• Public liability cover

With Your Ticket

Many people regularly buy their travel insurance with their flight tickets. Most flights websites sell travel insurance plans as an add on to the flight ticket. By purchasing the plan ticket, one can get a small discount on the travel insurance. The main downsides of this avenue are that there is limited choice of travel insurance plans and providers to choose from. Little information is also provided on the policies and in case of claims, it may prove difficult for the insured to easily find the right channels to contact the insurance providers.

Travel Agencies

Most Kenyan travellers still buy their flight tickets and hotel reservations through travel agencies. Travel agencies offer convenience as they take care of the entire itinerary leaving the traveller with complete peace of mind. These agencies also have tie ups with insurance companies thereby selling travel insurance products to travellers. As we can see they have clear advantage in terms of service and convenience. The only downside is that they are not insurance experts and therefore can not advise customers on complex matters on the travel insurance plans, secondly they don’t offer a wide choice of products for customers. This means that customers may end up paying up to 30% more for their insurance covers.

With Your Medical Insurance

Many Kenyans and foreigners also have travel insurance cover as part of their medical insurance plan. This is common on most local and international medical insurance plans. This travel insurance is there ‘free’ of charge since it comes already included in the cost of the medical insurance plan in Kenya. However, there are many downsides for this type of travel insurance.

Firstly most of these plans will only cover the insured for a maximum of 40 days of overseas travel. This means that any trip extending over this is not covered. Secondly, this type of plans will only cover for emergency medical expenses. The standalone travel insurance product covers medical expenses in addition to a lot more liabilities as mentioned above namely: delays, baggage loss, kidnap, public liability, loss of travel documents, hijack and many others.

Perhaps it is for this reason that most foreign embassies and consulates in Kenya do not accept travel insurances from medical insurance policies. Most medical insurance companies especially local ones in Kenya don’t have the required network of international service providers required to offer assistance to travellers worldwide. Such providers include Mapfre, Linkham, AIG worldwide and a few others.

With Your Existing Provider

Most travellers also opt to user their existing insurance companies, brokers and agents to buy travel insurance. Because they already have insurance covers with these existing companies/individuals, they find it very convenient to get the travel insurance there. This is a common approach that has its own merits. Several insurance companies in Kenya have also developed online portals allowing customers to process these covers completely electronically. The main downside is that one may be able to save up to 50% on their travel insurance quotes in Kenya by comparing different insurance providers.

Online Comparison Sites

Insurance comparison sites are increasingly becoming popular in Kenya. Featuring a large number of insurance companies and travel insurance products, the insurance has a large number of get a quote in less than 30 seconds from over 10 different companies. One can conveniently compare different products, providers and understand the benefits and liabilities covered all from the comfort of their mobile, tablet or computer. In addition one can save up to 50% on travel insurance quotes in Kenya, with multiple options available for price and insurance coverage. In addition, online comparison sites offer the convenience since travel insurance covers in Kenya can be issued completely electronically. One is able to compare quotes, make payments online and receive their policy completely electronically in less than 5 minutes.

Most of the travel insurance taken in Kenya are overseas travel insurance plans, ones that cover residents and citizens from Kenya while they are travelling outside of Kenya. The other smaller segment is the inbound travel insurance which covers foreign travellers on their trips to Kenya. Finally there is the local travel insurance that covers individuals and groups travelling within Kenya.

These types of travel insurance generally cover different risks and liabilities and a few of the major ones include :

• Travel delays and cancellations
• Baggage loss or delay
• Emergency medical expenses, this is the biggest component of the insurance plan. The risk of having a medical emergency while overseas is the most significant and expenses can shoot into the hundreds of thousands of dollars very quickly. You will find plans that cover up to USD 1 Million for this liability. Most Schengen countries require insurance cover for at least 30,000 Euros for travellers visiting the Schengen region.
• Repatriation of mortal remains
• Kidnap, hijack and wrongful detention
• Loss of travel documents like passports, national ID and driving licence
• Public liability cover

With Your Ticket

Many people regularly buy their travel insurance with their flight tickets. Most flights websites sell travel insurance plans as an add on to the flight ticket. By purchasing the plan ticket, one can get a small discount on the travel insurance. The main downsides of this avenue are that there is limited choice of travel insurance plans and providers to choose from. Little information is also provided on the policies and in case of claims, it may prove difficult for the insured to easily find the right channels to contact the insurance providers.

Travel Agencies

Most Kenyan travellers still buy their flight tickets and hotel reservations through travel agencies. Travel agencies offer convenience as they take care of the entire itinerary leaving the traveller with complete peace of mind. These agencies also have tie ups with insurance companies thereby selling travel insurance products to travellers. As we can see they have clear advantage in terms of service and convenience. The only downside is that they are not insurance experts and therefore can not advise customers on complex matters on the travel insurance plans, secondly they don’t offer a wide choice of products for customers. This means that customers may end up paying up to 30% more for their insurance covers.

With Your Medical Insurance

Many Kenyans and foreigners also have travel insurance cover as part of their medical insurance plan. This is common on most local and international medical insurance plans. This travel insurance is there ‘free’ of charge since it comes already included in the cost of the medical insurance plan in Kenya. An example of an international provider which can offer a combined travel insurance is the BUPA internation cover . However, there are many downsides for this type of travel insurance.

Firstly most of these plans will only cover the insured for a maximum of 40 days of overseas travel. This means that any trip extending over this is not covered. Secondly, this type of plans will only cover for emergency medical expenses. The standalone travel insurance product covers medical expenses in addition to a lot more liabilities as mentioned above namely: delays, baggage loss, kidnap, public liability, loss of travel documents, hijack and many others.

Perhaps it is for this reason that most foreign embassies and consulates in Kenya do not accept travel insurances from medical insurance policies. Most medical insurance companies especially local ones in Kenya don’t have the required network of international service providers required to offer assistance to travellers worldwide. Such providers include Mapfre, Linkham, AIG worldwide and a few others.

With Your Existing Provider

Most travellers also opt to user their existing insurance companies, brokers and agents to buy travel insurance. Because they already have insurance covers with these existing companies/individuals, they find it very convenient to get the travel insurance there. This is a common approach that has its own merits. Several insurance companies in Kenya have also developed online portals allowing customers to process these covers completely electronically. The main downside is that one may be able to save up to 50% on their travel insurance quotes in Kenya by comparing different insurance providers.

Online Comparison Sites

Insurance comparison sites are increasingly becoming popular in Kenya. Having become big hits with the likes of CompareTheMarket, GoCompare in the UK, Policybazaar in India, Kenyans are slowly taking a shine to this new way of buying insurance online. Featuring a large number of insurance companies and travel insurance products, the insurance has a large number of get a quote in less than 30 seconds from over 10 different companies. One can conveniently compare different products, providers and understand the benefits and liabilities covered all from the comfort of their mobile, tablet or computer. In addition one can save up to 50% on travel insurance quotes in Kenya, with multiple options available for price and insurance coverage. In addition, online comparison sites offer the convenience since travel insurance covers in Kenya can be issued completely electronically. One is able to compare quotes, make payments online and receive their policy completely electronically in less than 5 minutes.

When planning to travel, everyone is constantly trying to get a better deal, keep costs down so that you are left with extra cash for spending on the trip, it is no different from travel insurance, by comparing different quotes and providers, you can save big on the different covers available. Get in touch with us to find out how much money you can save on your travel insurance!