Travel insurance is an added expense tacked on to the end of your vacation tab, and most people waive the fee without learning the details of what the travel insurance covers. The most common coverage is for medical emergencies, lost luggage and a full or partial reimbursement for any cancellation fees. However, before you add a travel insurance policy, evaluate your unique situation as to how much coverage is prudent, or if you need any at all. So is buying travel insurance worth it? The answer depends on where you are going and what you have planned for your itinerary.

When traveling overseas, its a good idea to purchase some kind of coverage. Travelers who will participate in an escorted tour will be given the option to buy the minimum travel insurance coverage, usually just a few hundred dollars due at the time the balance of the tour is paid. This type of coverage is checked out by the tour operator and one of the safest coverage plans you can buy. Nothing fancy and no frills, just solid coverage for loss of life or limb, stolen baggage and excursion cancellations scheduled for your tour. In addition, the tour group policy will usually cover an emergency flight back home after obtaining medical treatment.

If you are traveling domestically or overseas and planning to stay with a friend or relative, you probably do not need to invest in travel insurance. The insurance plan is offered from tour companies, not only for the traveler’s benefit, but peace of mind for themselves should any snafu arise. However, if your next vacation includes a ski trip or other intense sport where there’s a possibility of taking a tumble, you want to be sure you have basic medical coverage, especially outside of the United States. It makes good sense to buy some kind of coverage for medical emergencies, no matter how proficient you are in sports.

Some travel insurance companies specialize in coverage for high risk sports and activities, and such companies often carry the best rates. If your itinerary includes mountain climbing, white water rafting, etc you may opt for full coverage to cover the cost of evacuation, as well as any medical treatment received. Some industry giants, such as worldtravelcenter.com, allow their clients to pick and choose exactly what they wish to be covered for, thus keeping the policy bill to a bare minimum.

A common misnomer is that when you travel to countries using socialized medicine, that you will be treated for free. No. The citizens of that country must show a national I.D. card for treatment and foreigners will be billed a hefty fee. The savvy and seasoned traveler knows the risk of injury and will plan ahead with a premium policy to cover all the bases.

When choosing your travel insurance plan, be sure to get one that offers good protection for your luggage. If anything is going to go awry, it will most likely be lost or stolen bags. However, beware that there are hundreds of travel insurance policies on the market, each containing fine print that must be understood. So to make it easy, you may wish to let your travel agent assign you a policy from a vendor that they know and trust. In addition, some of the major credit card companies offer travel insurance, and if you are using their card, you have a head start already with your coverage.

You may decide to hire a car from London Heathrow Airport or London Gatwick Airport, after you land in the UK. Or you perhaps catch the London Heathrow Express and collect a car from London down town.

Depending on your travel plans. You may choose to stop over in London for a few days and visit the many tourist sites on offer in the capital.

One of the options may be to stay just outside the main hub of the city. A little over thirty minutes drive away in an almost straight line is London Edgware. From here you can rent a car, take a bus, the metro or a train into the centre of London.

If you are renting a car from the London Edgware district of London. The post code or zip code of the branch is HA8 7EF. The car rental branch can be found on High Street of Edgware, London, England, UK.

A short drive down Edgware Road which is on the A5 road will lead you eventually to Oxford Street in London.

Visitors travelling by public transport can catch a metro located at Edgware Tube Station, which can be found off Station Road. Travellers can board a train at Edgware Railway Station which is located close to Broadwalk at Station Road in Edgware. Both of these modes of transport are within a few minutes of the High Street in the district.

Hotels in the area are the Premier Travel Lodge Edgware, Holiday Inn Edgware, Comfort Inn, Hilton London Edgware.

Premier Travel Lodge Edgware can be found in Burnt Oak Broadway. The lodge offers wifi access, family rooms, free parking, disabled facilities. Customers are asked to double check with staff if they have any special needs requirements while staying at the premier lodge.

Hilton London Edgware is located on Edgware Road close to Oxford Street in London. From March this year 2010 the hotel is starting to undergo a face lift reporting to be costing just under two million pounds. I can’t wait to visit when the renovations are complete.

If you would like to practice your golf swing whilst on holiday. Then the areas of Burnt Oak and Edgware are the place to go as they offer an abundance of golf courses and parks to avid golfers.

Stanmore Golf Club is a picture postcard course which has been in existence since 1893. You can find the course on Gordon Avenue, Stanmore, London, HA7 2RL.

The course has eighteen holes. Each varying in par and length but a challenge all the same. You can ask for golf lessons for your birthday, fathers day or as a Christmas present. Lessons can vary and include junior group or individual depending on your game plan.

There is a variety of memberships from a 5 day to 7 day membership. There is also a gift shop if you wish to purchase waterproofs, clubs or shoes for your enjoyable day out.

If you are staying for pleasure or business in London Edgware. There will be something for you to do each day to keep you amused.

Role of a travel agency is to perform as an intermediary between the producers and consumers of tourism services. Suppliers in tourism industry such as airlines, tourist transport operators, tour operators, hotels etc work with travel agency for distribution of their services. Tourists also avail the services of travel agency for buying the services of the major suppliers. This does not mean that the travel agencies follow the strategies of the principal suppliers for marketing purposes. They have to chalk out their own strategy for promoting themselves.

Travel agencies make effort to add value to the products/services of the major suppliers. They go for their own market research to set the target market. They have to decide on discounts or service charges and finalise their product mix as well as sales and promotional strategies.

Understanding the Market
A travel agency has to take decision which market segment to target. The prospective market needs to be properly segmented. This segmentation could be done on the basis of the motive of travel or their budget. Timing of the travel decisions or services required by the customers could also be the base of segmentation. A customer could require services like tour packages, travel consultancy, ticket booking, handle travel documents (visa, passports etc), airport transfers, hotel bookings etc.

Product Design
Travel agency business is more or less confined to sole proprietorship or partnership firms. Majority of businesses are of small level. A travel agency has to decide on the target market, determine on customer requirements and generate ideas to develop the product. One also has to do the business analysis considering costs, estimate future sales, and profit potential.

A travel agency could have product oriented or market oriented approach in the business. It could emphasise on products and services of tourism supply, disregarding customer needs. However, in a multi-player market, this approach will not work. A market oriented approach would always be better for an agency. It must look at the customer needs and accordingly design its products. Market survey has to be conducted to understand the customer needs and get information about the practices of other agencies. Only when a manager knows about market needs, he can take a decision on the product design of the company. For example, services provided to walk-in customers could be different than those offered to repeat customers.