Summer Peak Season: Don’t Skip Travel Insurance — How to Choose Right

Summer is peak travel season: more travellers, more pressure on safety. The national tourism authority calls travel safety the industry’s lifeline; each year in the last week of June it co-hosts a “Travel Insurance Publicity Week” with the insurance regulator to raise awareness.

The numbers on who’s uninsured

In 2012 mainland trips hit 2.96 billion, outbound travel over 80 million — squarely in the high-risk window for travel accidents. A Ctrip survey: over a third of tourists rank safety their top concern; Ctrip travellers’ voluntary insurance rate rose from under 30% in 2005 to over 60% now.

Two golden rules for buying

What travel agencies say

CYTS vice-president Li Jing advises: choose a big agency or one in the “insurance demonstration programme”; independent travellers must buy travel accident insurance and keep all receipts if something happens. He adds: pick a financially strong insurer — willingness to pay and communication speed show their true colours when disaster strikes.

Safety is no accident; preparation matters. Buy the right cover before departure, then travel easy.