Travel insurance is not something a lot of people think about when they’re preparing to take a trip however spending a little money ahead of time, can save a traveler lots of money if something goes wrong.
Nowadays, most airfares are non-refundable. Hotels, vacation packages and cruises require prepayment or a hefty deposit and they usually carry cancellation fees. Travel insurance will protect you and reimburse you in the event that something goes wrong and you either cannot travel at all or must return home due to an emergency.
Who needs it? Vacationers, student travelers, business travelers, in fact, everybody who travels especially to a foreign country should have some type of travel insurance.
Travel insurance might cover the three basic major expenses that can occur during
a vacation or business trip:
a) Trip cancellation
b) Medical insurance and medical emergency evacuation
c) Accidental death
In addition, it is available in many forms these include, single trip, multi-trip, annual travel, business travel, family or personal, senior citizens and winter sports or ski insurance.
As you can see, purchasing travel insurance can be confusing so it is important to evaluate your needs before buying the insurance you need. Here are some travel tips:
Trip Cancellation & Interruption: The most used type of travel insurance generally covers non-refundable trip costs if you cannot travel due to unforeseen circumstances, such as illness death, sickness, airline strike, travel company bankruptcy, etc.
This coverage will not only include airline tickets, but also hotel, tour, or cruise cancellation fees.
Often these plans include travel assistance services, coverage for lost or damaged baggage
Medical Insurance: You may not know this, but chances are that your medical insurance might not cover you while traveling.
If something happens to you and you are in foreign country, travel medical insurance may cover some of the following:
Emergency evacuation and repatriation, medical or legal referral, guaranteed hospital admission, translation services, inoculation information, emergency cash advance, eyeglass replacement and much more.
Emergency Medical Evacuation: In the case of accident or illness, covers land, air ambulance and/or air transportation to the nearest appropriate hospital or medical facility, or in some cases all the way home.
Some plans might include AD&D insurance
Accidental Death & Dismemberment: This type of insurance will pay you or your beneficiary the full amount of the insurance whenever there is a death or the loss of a body part due to an accident.
AD&D might comprise of accidental death or dismemberment due to a flight accident or it may have broader terms that cover any type of accident that might occur during the entire trip.
Protect your investment, and travel with peace of mind knowing that no matter what happens, help will be available should something go wrong.
Alice Flowers is a former airline employee and now writes articles
on travel. Visit the author’s website at:
NO USER COMMENTED IN THIS POST
Leave A Reply