• Cutting it too fine between connecting flights, especially international ones. Make sure you have a well planned itinerary that allows for flight delays

• Not accounting for time differences. When booking flights, hotels and rental cars, stay aware of the time differences and schedule accordingly.

• Not making copies of important documents like your travel insurance policy and credit cards in case of theft.

• Not checking your Australian bank card is accepted overseas. Make sure you check in with your bank to make finding funds a breeze overseas, as well as alerting them to potential overseas transactions on your account.

• Forgetting to check the calender of your destination. Many cities have celebrations for public holidays that mean nearly all flights, accommodation and restaurants are booked out. Look over your destination’s public holidays before leaving.

• Making yourself an attractive target to pickpockets by displaying jewellery, credit cards and cash. Be discreet in public.

However, one of the most major mistakes you can make is travelling without travel insurance to cover you in the event of an accident. It doesn’t have to break the bank, but it is necessary.

The study, carried out in New Zealand, surveyed 250 cat owners and 250 dog owners across the country.

In the survey, over 3 in 10 women said that they thought their pet was a better listener than their partner.

In addition, over 50% of female cat owners said they shared their problems with their cat.

Across men and women, both dog and cat ownership, more than half of the respondents said that they considered themselves ‘Mum’ or ‘Dad’ to their pet.

This study brings to light how seriously we take our pet ownership, but not how expensive their pet care can be!

Pet bills can run into hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of dollars. So why not look at pet insurance provided by 1300 insurance today?

The costs of everyday items like electricity (up 18.2%), transport fares (up over 2%), housing (up 5.5%) means that our budgets are stretched more than ever.

The items experiencing a decrease when compared to this time last year were computers and audio (down over 19%), men’s clothing (down 6.2%) and domestic holiday travel (down 6%)

While there are some decreases on items like these, the argument is that there is no decrease on costs – like electricity – which really make up the large part of the everyday Australian budget.

It’s with this in mind that 1300 Insurance strives to offer affordable insurance policies that are friendly to your budget, and mean you don’t compromise on your level of cover despite the rising costs of living.

Often, our insurance policies are lower priced than you may expect. Make sure you check out our home, contents, car, travel, pet and life insurance policies that are available.

In a recent article by an Australian online news service, spending on pets and pet ownership put over 6 billion dollars into the Australian economy, several billion more than the year before.

The article took into account the various kinds of animals that Australians have – whether they be dogs, cats, reptiles, fish, rabbits, mice or more, there are now more pets in Australia (33 million) than there are people.

Another positive is that the petcare industry employs lots of Australians, with 47,000 people employed by the area.

Similarly, an interesting fact is that $111 million dollars a year is spent on kitty litter.

However, its on a more serious note that the cost of veterinary surgery and vet bills is revealed.

A massive $2.22 billion dollars is spent on Australian vet bills each year.

This means that whilst other costs incurred while keeping a pet can be relatively affordable, the costs from vet’s can be large.

One way to keep down the costs of vet care is to look into having pet insurance policies for your animals. From a low daily fee (as low as 38c a day), 1300 Insurance can keep you pampering your pets in affordable style!

Overall, the biggest tip is to try and keep your stress under control, and be courteous, pleasant and flexible. However, for more complex details, read below.

If your seatmate won’t stop talking to you – say politely, “well, it’s been nice talking to you, but i’m going to read now”

The rules of the middle armrest – The middle armrest is shared property. However, its courteous for the aisle and window seat passengers to give the middle passenger a chance to claim them first.

If a child is kicking the back of your seat – it’s okay to talk to their parents and ask them to stop. Say something like “I know travelling is tough for kids, but would you mind please telling them not to kick my seat? Thanks”

If someone is reading over your shoulder - look directly at the person. This should mean they get the message. If you’re tempted to read over someone else’s shoulder – Don’t!

And remember  - don’t travel without looking carefully at a Travel Insurance policy. 1300 Insurance has policies that won’t break the budget.

This means that in the event of  serious accident, disability or death, that their families income would halve if they were no longer able to work any more.

Its a sobering thought, but this means that 1 in 5 Australian parents wouldn’t be able to care for their family with secure financial support if an accident happened to them.

The report was based on a study of working families in Australia, and an analysis of the report reccommended that families look closely at their financial positions and work out a financial strategy for the event of a misfortune.

Life insurance is one way that your family can be financially prepared for an accident if one happened to you. In the tragic event of a death or accident, the last thing that a family needs is financial strain.

Brought to you by our pet insurance team, here’s a selection of some of the most unusual pet names that 1300 Insurance have come across.

For Dogs:

Dog Vader

Barnaby Bones

Virginia Woolf

Iggy Pup

Winnie the Pooch

For Cats:

Admiral Pancake

Clawed Monet

Bing Clawsby

Optimus Pants

Cleocatra

Whether you’ve chosen one of these unusual names, or if you have gone with something a little bit more common, the love we have for our pets is the same, and unfortunately, the vets bills just as large in the event of your pet needing surgery or medical attention.

Pet insurance is one way to keep these costs down. By electing a policy that covers your needs, you can sleep well knowing that the best in healthcare is available for your pet.

Underinsurance refers to having your home and contents insured at a level that is too low to cover the assets if something happened to them.

Here are a few of the most common ways that Australians tend to underinsure:

• Gradually accumulating possessions – often, the number of assets we have, and the value of the assets we have, accumulate over time. Adding up the cost of all of these assets on a room by room basis may often result in an unexpected figure.

• Not taking into account upgrades – We tend to replace our appliances, like TV’s and computers, every few years with better quality and often more expensive models.

• Financial priorities – its a fact of life that everyday costs mean we need to prioritise our finances. This may mean we chose a level of insurance cover that doesn’t really reflect the value of our possessions for the sake of a budget.

1300 Insurance understand the need for home and contents insurance that is budget effective and suits the level of cover for your purposes. It’s important to have a look at your home and contents insurance regularly and keep it up to date.

Why not have a look at some of our home and contents insurance online?

The study, where Australia topped the list, showed that Australians have access to good health care and amenities, and that we have great levels of general happiness.

The article was published in The Age Newspaper on June 23, 2010.

It’s easy to take these things for granted in our everyday lives. However, its also important to look at ensuring we have a great quality of life available for our family in the event that anything happens to us.

Life insurance can be one way of providing for your family in the event of death, accident or permanent disability.

Recently, life insurance has become more popular amongst Australians looking to introduce the peace of mind life insurance brings.

If you’d like to learn more about the services that 1300 Insurance offers in the area of life insurance, please visit our dedicated life insurance page.

The survey is based on customer feedback on things like airline comfort, food, quality of customer service and general experience. More than 17 Million Passengers participated in the survey over a period of 10 months.

Asiana Airlines rated the highest on these scales, followed by Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

With a local focus, Qantas won awards for their Premium Economy class, and Virgin Blue won best low cost carrier in Asia/Pacific region.

The top ten ranking of Airlines for 2010 was as follows:

1. Asiana Airlines

2. Singapore Airlines

3. Qatar Airways

4. Cathay Pacific

5. Air New Zealand

6. Etihad Airways

7. Qantas Airways

8. Emirates

9. Thai Airways

10. Malaysia Airlines

If you’re thinking of doing an overseas trip, don’t forget to pack your travel insurance!

As we know at 1300 insurance, all well researched travellers never forget to leave home without it.