Alternative to Travel Insurance

I took two long trips in 2009, to Alaska and to Sichuan. Each trip was for more than a week. I decided not to take travel insurance, and to bear my own risk. My wife wanted to take travel insurance (as she is more risk averse) but finally decided against it.

I already have a large cover under a personal accident insurance. If there is an accident, it will be covered under this annual policy.

The travel policy covers loss of luggage, flight delay and other risks. But the amount of compensation is quite rather small, say $100 or so. It will be quite troublesome to make a claim for such a small sum.  If I fall ill during the holiday, the medical expenses may cost a few hundred dollars. But the chance of making a claim is rather low.

I have taken more than a 100 trips during the past years and have never had the need to make a claim. I do not buy travel insurance for these trips. If the chance of a claim is 1 in 100, it is worth taking the risk. The premium saved on 100 trips would more than cover any future claim.

Tan Kin Lian