Five Things You Need To Know About Travel Insurance
Flight delays. Lost luggage. Take your pick of viruses. There are SO MANY factors that could disrupt your well thought out travel plans, most of which are completely out of your control. The last thing you want is to be stranded in a foreign country with no luggage and to shell out hundreds of dollars for replacement items, right?
The best thing to do when traveling is to purchase travel insurance to protect yourself from the unknown. However, even the most seasoned travelers sometimes feel confused about travel insurance. Common questions I receive are about what’s out there, what it covers and whether or not they need it.
While coverage and policies vary from state to state here are some basics of travel insurance to get you started.
Types of Travel Insurance
What you might need depends largely on what kind of trip you’re taking, what kind of traveler you are, and how frequently you travel.
Here are the five main types of travel insurance
Trip cancellation and interruption. This gives you full or partial reimbursement if a trip needs to be canceled prior to departure, if a trip gets canceled because a tour company or resort goes out of business, or if a trip gets cut short for a wide variety of reasons.
Medical. Coverage for health issues that occur outside the scope of your normal health insurance.
Evacuation. When disaster, dangerous weather, political emergency or medical emergency occurs.
Baggage. Reimbursement for lost, stolen, or damaged baggage.
Flight insurance. Also known as “crash coverage,” this is basically a life insurance policy that covers you while you’re on the plane, in the event of a statistically-rare crash.
Most policies have some or all of these options packaged together with varying levels of coverage. There are options for individual coverages, like medical, and supplemental add-ons are typically available as well depending on your needs.
Health Insurance May Not Cover You While Traveling
Prior to traveling, check the specifics of your particular health insurance policy. It may cover you while you travel, but many do not. In fact, some insurance policies don’t even cover health emergencies experienced on “foreign-flagged vessels,” which in essence is a cruise ship. Check with your provider, ask your travel agent for suggestions, and of course direct any insurance-related questions to the provider. As Steves puts it, “Before purchasing a policy, ask your insurer to explain exactly what’s covered before and after you get to the hospital.”
Avoid purchasing travel insurance from the company that’s also hosting your trip
Simple. If that company goes out of business, chances are, so does their insurance.
Check to make sure that if a company is offering insurance, they are working with a credible insurance agency to provide that coverage.
For example, when booking a Disney vacation, travel insurance can be added on to a package. However they work with an outside insurance company to offer the policy, so they are not providing the insurance themselves.
Comprehensive coverage can serve as primary coverage while traveling
This is beneficial because the insurance company will pay first, regardless of what other insurance you have. They don’t even inquire about additional insurance, saving you tons of paperwork and out-of-pocket expenses. TravelGuard and Travelex are two such companies that provide these policies as an option, which is what I generally offer my clients.
You May Not Need Insurance
Every trip is different, so weigh the cost of the trip with the cost of insurance.
For example, if you just bought a $79 ticket for a quick weekend in Chicago, is it worth it to pay for travel insurance? Maybe, maybe not. However, if you’re headed out on a once-in-a-lifetime international trip that you’ve been saving for for months, travel insurance is likely a great idea.
If you’re looking to maximize your fun and minimize your risk, travel insurance might be just the right option for you. Take your time reviewing policies, ask tons of questions, and find what works best for you and your family.
Have questions about insurance or any other travel-related topic? I’d love to chat to get to know you and your travel plans better. To get in touch, just click here or send me an email.
Happy Travels!
