As incredible as it may seem, some people compare razor blades and tooth paste more carefully than they compare travel insurance.

Some travel insurance companies that were riding on a reputation established years ago in a less competitive market place have realised that they need to perform or die, opening the global market up to some great, comprehensive deals for savvy travellers and making it even more important to shop around and conduct your own comparison.

With the growing number of travel insurance companies, niche market companies have emerged. SnowInsurance.com.au and Ski-Insurance.com.au are classic examples of specialist companies servicing niche markets.

As the names suggest these companies offer complete cover for the skiers market and include everything from cancelled travel to overseas emergency medical assistance to lost traveller's cheques to snow ski equipment hire and piste closure.

At first glance the Ski-Insurance site holds trumps for clarity of information and layout but dig a little deeper as there may be slight points that are relevant to your unique needs from either company. The point is - take the time to compare.

Other major companies such as 1 Cover Travel Insurance, Travel Insurance Direct, Downunder Worldwide Insurance Services provide strong niche market insurance such as backpacker insurance while also servicing the broader travel market, and very often come in with stronger more comprehensive policy offerings.

For the business traveller global insurance company, Columbus Direct, provide specific Business Travel Insurance which offers some worthwhile considerations including membership to one of the world's largest airport lounge access programmes, Priority Pass, and of course the golf clubs.

You can't expect to conduct a comparison overnight. You need to allow yourself time before your holidays to consider what could be a critical issue.

Read the reviews - both online and in travel publications; talk to friends and associates about who they have used and their experiences; use the search engines to track down companies by keying in relevant search phrases such as:

• backpacker travel insurance tailored for the backpackers specific needs
  
• domestic travel insurance if you are travelling locally here in Australia
  
• annual travel insurance if you travel a few times a year this could be a good option for you
  
• group travel insurance if you are travelling with a group or club this could be the cheapest most convenient option
  
• extreme sports travel insurance for the adventurous
  
• ski travel insurance if you are heading straight for the slopes
  
• cheap travel insurance if you just can't get around a tight budget and you need a discount price
  
• When you compare travel insurance think about issues such as what back up will you receive in the event of an emergency or if you need to make a claim while still overseas, and what level of experience and dependability can you expect from the company who underwrites the policy.

Brainstorm your needs and do your homework. Travel insurance is not the last thing you should think about on your travel checklist, it should be one of the first.

If you are ever unlucky enough to suffer loss or injury when travelling you will soon find out why and will be glad you took the trouble to compare travel insurance companies and policies.