Research undertaken by Alliance & Leicester has shown that UK holidaymakers pay 1.3bn more than they need to on travel insurance each year. This is despite the fact that travel insurance appears to be relatively cheap – normally around £25 for each week abroad. So how are we managing to overspend so excessively?

About 60% of us are taking the ‘easy’ option and using travel agents to attain insurance at the same time as we book our holiday. In fact, insurance sold through agencies helps them boost their profits and can be up to five times the cost of buying it separately. In some cases travel insurance is promoted as a ‘free’ add-on with the package – but the reality is that you will be paying for it somewhere along the line.

The fact is that online travel companies have blown the holiday market wide open. Without the overheads of running high-street stores, online retailers can offer cheaper flights, hotels and car hire. This also applies to travel insurance.

By using moneysupermarket.com you can find the cheapest travel insurance quotes by comparing more than 500 travel insurance polices in minutes. Though there are other factors to consider – including the right cover for you – it is not safe to assume that the cheapest travel insurance is the worst as some of the more expensive policies on the market will not provide adequate cover. Use our price comparison tool to make sure you’re getting the best deal available.

Most travel insurance policies also include an excess – this is when you pay a set amount towards any claim that is pre-determined between you and the travel insurance company. This could be a standard (mandatory) amount or it could be voluntary, meaning that the higher the excess you take, the lower your premium.

By using our travel insurance comparison service you can find the cheapest Backpackers Travel Insurance quotes by comparing more than 500 travel insurance polices in minutes. Though there are other factors to consider – including the right cover for you – it is not safe to assume that the cheapest Backpackers Travel Insurance is the worst as some of the more expensive policies on the market will not provide adequate cover.