It seems like such a small add-on to the price of the overall holiday and it hardly seems worth it to start pinching the pennies now, when you know you're probably going to overspend once you arrive at your tourist spot of choice.
Travel insurance is the classic product that consumers buy without shopping around, either taking it out through their travel agent when booking or with their bank when securing a holiday loan.
In the case of holiday packages many travel agents will automatically insure you with the tour operator's insurance company of choice unless you state otherwise at the time of booking.
Travel insurance should cover any medical expenses you might need in the event you become ill or have an accident on holiday, as well as any personal liability or legal expenses that arise.
It should also cover lost baggage and pay some compensation for long travel delays or holiday cancellation in certain situations.
No two policies are exactly the same and it is important to check that you are satisfied with the terms of any policy you buy, but it is possible to buy broadly the same or even wider cover than that available through your travel agent for a lot less.
Cover for a two-week holiday in Europe can cost around €37 if taken out through a travel agent, but €31.50 if you are a member or book online through AA Ireland, €30.47 at AIB, €28 at ebookers.com, €24 at Ulster Bank and €17.78 on special offer at Getcover.com.
A worldwide policy for the same length of time costs €63.50 at AA Ireland, €53.33 at AIB, €52 at Ulster Bank and €35.56 at Getcover.com.
Cover from Ryanair Direct, available on Ryanair.com, for 14 days in Europe costs €57, but if you are flying by Ryanair the cover costs just €13. Worldwide policies for the same length of time for a ticketholder costs €51.
Financial institutions and intermediaries will also offer annual, multi-trip policies that can prove more cost-effective for consumers who plan to add to their main holiday with a few bank holiday weekend mini-breaks.
For example, gold card customers can benefit from annual family travel insurance packages, although these policies may only kick in when the card is used to pay for some or all of the fare. Optional travel insurance on AIB's gold card recently more than doubled from €50.79 to €125, but this still costs less than AIB's regular family multi-trip policy at €196.30 and its individual annual multi-trip policy, which costs €150.84.
Again, booking through some online specialists can result in a saving. A worldwide annual policy at ebookers.com costs €135 for one person, although this is limited to 60 days in total per year.
At Getcover.com, a worldwide annual policy costs €95.23, including winter sports, while a family multi-trip policy costs €120.63.
This site, run by Crotty Insurance Brokers, also offers policies for specialist holidays or hazardous activities.
If you want to try your hand at parachuting or snow boarding during a 10-day holiday in Europe, Australia or New Zealand, for example, the insurance premium will cost €46.40. If your capacity for extreme sports stretches to hang gliding, rock climbing or scuba diving, then expect cover for the same territories to cost €58.00.
To include just winter sports cover, most single trip policies will roughly double in price. So visitors to mountain slopes who also enjoy the sun can particularly benefit from a range of annual multi-trip policies available on the market.
Winter sports enthusiasts may need to shop around to find the right type of insurance. Policies will pay out in the event the policyholder's own or hired ski equipment is lost or damaged and cover medical expenses and personal liability arising from accidents on the slopes.
You should also look for full avalanche cover and policies that pay out if pistes are closed for more than 24 hours or if illness or injury on holiday prevents the policyholder from making use of pre-paid ski lessons, ski hire and lift passes.
