Travel agents tell tourists to insure themselves

Luo An'dan, assistant to the general manager of liability insurance department at People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Ltd, Shanghai branch, added that there is great flexibility in the types of policy available.

Temporary travel insurance can usually be arranged at the time of the booking of a trip to cover exactly the duration of that trip, and a "multi-trip" policy can cover an unlimited number of trips within a set time frame.

Many global insurance companies now provide local services.

For instance, US giant AIG Insurance Co China Ltd can create customized travel solutions.

"More expensive plans do not necessarily provide better cover. The key is to choose the right product and identify the disclaimers of liability," said Daniel Cheung, AIG's vice-president for travel insurance of China.

The number of Chinese outbound tourists rose for the third year in a row in 2012, hitting 83.2 million, up 18.41 percent year-on-year, according to a report released by organizers of the World Travel Fair in Shanghai, which opened on Thursday.

The percentage of business trips declined to 7.37 percent of all outbound travelers.

About 28 percent of travelers went abroad on organized trips last year, indicating the pursuit of more diversified and personalized travel experiences, said Xu Fan, a member of the panel of tourism experts at the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Ninety percent of outbound travelers were heading for destinations in Asia, which remains the most attractive continent for Chinese travelers.