The Government is expected to announce soon whether it will accept the recommendation of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, and ban tour operators from offering holiday discounts which are only available if you buy travel insurance from the tour operator.
This week a MORI poll of 1000 people who bought holidays in the past year found travel agents and tour operators are skimping on detail when discussing travel insurance. In Scotland, 33% of holidaymakers reported being given ''only a brief explanation of cover'', while 23% were simply referred to information in the back of the brochure.
The survey for Direct Line Travel Insurance found 37% of men and 43% of women who were travel agent customers in Scotland ''didn't discuss insurance, just signed a bit of paper''.
According to independent research organisation Datamonitor, more than three-quarters of all travel insurance is still bought through tour operators or travel agents.
The mark-up on policies bought through the travel industry is often as high as 50%.
The recent Which? report on travel insurance revealed that tour operators and travel agents often charge twice as much as some other companies and that some charge children the full adult rate or only offer a small discount.
Which? found that Lunn Poly is charging #248 for the insurance on a three-week family holiday in the USA compared with Which's best buy Churchill which only charges #96, a saving of #182.
The message is simple: if you buy your travel insurance through your travel agent or tour operator, you can expect to pay over the odds.
However, if you do decide to do the sensible thing and shop around for travel insurance, don't leave it too long after buying your holiday.
Travel insurance covers you for the cost of having to cancel or curtail your holiday, but if this happens after you have booked your holiday but before you have got round to taking out insurance, you could find yourself seriously out of pocket.
Make sure the cancellation and curtailment cover is sufficient to reimburse the full cost of your holiday. You can claim if you have to cancel your holiday because you or a close relative has fallen ill, or you are called up for jury duty. Look for cover of at least #3000 for single trip insurance, and between #3000 and #5000 for annual insurance which covers all the holidays you take during the year.
Most policies cover delayed flights out of the UK. If your journey involves connecting flights make sure the policy covers this.
Aim for baggage cover of at least #1500. This covers your belongings if they are lost, stolen or damaged. You are usually restricted to a claim of #300 for any single item, so if you are taking expensive items with you may have to pay extra. However, if you have an ''all risks'' home contents policy, your luggage and possessions are covered under this, and you may be able to negotiate a discount on your travel insurance.
Not all companies offer a discount for deleting luggage cover. Those that do offer between 10 and 30% off.
Most policies cover luggage and possessions left out of sight in a locked car during the day, but not all policies offer the same cover at night. If you are travelling around and don't want to unload your car at each stop, you must check that your policy covers your car at night.
Travellers in the EU should take an E111 form with them. This entitles you to free or reduced price health care in the EU. You can get the form from your local post office. If you use Form E111 in Europe, you don't really need the medical expenses cover included as standard with travel insurance. However, it still might come in handy if you fall ill and have to be flown home in an emergency.
Most policies offer up to #2m worth of medical cover, which should be sufficient to meet the high cost of medical treatment in the United States.
Public liability insurance covers you if you injure someone or damage their property and they sue you. Look for cover of at least #1m, or #2m if you are travelling to the United States.
Remember also that many credit cards offer free travel accident cover of between #100,000 and #250,000. This covers you if you have an accident while on a holiday booked through your credit card, but it is no substitute for a proper travel insurance policy.
However, a number of banks do offer free comprehensive travel insurance to their gold account customers.
These accounts charge a high-annual fee and offer discretionary overdraft rates operated in conjunction with a gold charge card. If you have a gold account service with your bank, check to see if free travel insurance is part of the package.
This is a benefit well worth having, especially if you like taking frequent holidays. Which? best buy annual travel policies for a family travelling anywhere in the world cost between #70 and #87 a year, which is on a par with the annual cost of running one of these accounts.
However, you do need to study the small print.
For example, the Lloyds policy only covers the card-holder and spouse, whereas the other policies cover the whole immediate family. And in some cases all, or at least 50% of the holiday must be paid for on the card.
Tricks from the deck lie in the small print
Free travel insurance available on gold accounts
NatWestNatWestLloydsMidlandBarclaysBank of
Gold PlusAdvantageBank GoldGoldPremierScotland
ServiceGold ServiceServiceMastercardCardPremier Card
Annual cost of service#80#96#96#70#80#70
Personal accident cover#25,000(1)#15,000(2)#100,000(3)#20,000#25,000(2)#250,000(4)
Cancellation/curtailment#3500#3000#5000#3500#3000#5000
Medical expenses#2m#2m#5m#2m#1m(4)#1m(5)
Legal expenses#25,000na#25,000#25,000#10,000na
Baggage#2500#1500#1500#2000#2500#1000
(1) #100,000 during journey. (2) #25,000 during journey. (3) #4000 for children. (4) #5000 for children. (5) #2m in US and canada.
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