Travel

Everything You Need to Know About Travel Insurance!

What is Travel Insurance?

In short: Travel insurance is a kind of insurances that covers the risk of cost and losses when traveling.

The main aspects that are usually covered by travel insurance are:

damage to personal property
trip cancellation and interruption
rented equipment and cars
personal effects and baggage coverage
flight accidents
accidental death
medical travel insurance

Travel Insurance usually has to be bought alongside the booking of a trip. Some major credit cards however actually offer some sort of travel insurance if used for the booking, so be sure to check.

Usually there are two different kinds of travel insurance: basic travel insurance – which does not include medical costs, evacuation accidental death and comprehensive insurance, which lets you relax, sit back and know you are covered.

Who Needs Travel Insurance?

Anyone Who is Thinking About Traveling Internationally Needs Travel Insurance

Why should you get travel insurance for international trips?

Well, first off these trips are usually much more expensive than domestic travel.

Secondly, they are usually planned in advance, meaning a lot can happen between the booking and the actual date of travel.

Those are the issues that are covered by travel insurances.

Anyone Going on A Cruise Should Also Invest in Travel Insurance

Cruises are a very popular way of traveling, but the ongoing crisis in the travel industry has shown just how important it is to cover such expensive trips with travel insurance.

Many people are looking at losses for having already booked cruises, which are often sold out months in advance and now have to find a way to recover all the money that went into a trip that was supposed to be a great holiday.

Of course the current situation is not what you usually plan for, but cruises are likely to be influenced by the environment. Storms, hurricanes and unrest in destinations could impact your travels.

Therefore it definitely makes sense to be insurance with a cruise.

One Reason Why Everyone Should Consider Travel Insurance

Well, the most fun trip can turn into disaster in a matter of seconds.

Nobody plans on getting in an accident or getting sick while on vacation, but nobody is save from having that happen to them either., so travel insurance is always a good call.

Check the policy of your travel insurance before you purchase it, but not having to worry about medical costs can be a true lifesaver in dire situations, which sadly nobody is save from.

When Can You Forego Travel Insurance?

Well, even though there are plenty good reason to get travel insurance as mentioned above, there still are instances when there is no reason to do so.

If Your Credit Card Already Comes With Travel Insurance

As already mentioned, credit cards offer travel insurance if the booking is made through them.

Check with your provider and make sure what all they cover.

Oftentimes aspects like lost luggage, delays and the cost of rebooking and even health insurance are already included.

If the Cost of Travel Insurance Larger than the Benefit

How can that be? Well take for example a national flight. If you were to cover it through extra travel insurance because your card doesn’t cover it, the insurance may exceed the price for rebooking even a non-refundable ticket.

Be aware of where you are going. is your medical insurance going to cover you there? Maybe it’s not worth investing into additional travel insurance.

Always examine the situation you are facing before deciding to purchase any form of travel insurance.

Talking about money:

How Much Does Travel Insurance Cost?

That’s probably a pretty important factor in this whole discussion about whether travel insurance needed or not.

If your credit card does not come with travel insurance, the price for a policy is usually between 4%-12% of the whole trip.

The average travel insurance in the U.S. is about $ 150 per person for the basic coverage and about 60% more for the comprehensive – bringing it up to about $ 240.

Depending on how much your trip is, that is actually pretty affordable.

Keep in mind though that the cost for travel insurance rises up with age however.

What to Pay Attention to When Purchasing Travel Insurance

So, let’s get into some detail, shall we?

What really matters when you are trying to decide on what travel insurance policy to purchase?

Make sure you give your provider the right timeframe
Let them know about preexisting conditions
Let them know all your destinations
Make sure all your planned activities are covered by your travel insurance (bungee-jumping anyone?)
Pay attention to your luggage and be aware that you might be responsible for paying for part of it if it gets lost
Always file claims straight away
Buy it early

That’s is quite a list, let us get into some details

Make Sure Your Travel Insurance Has All Relevant Information Ahead of Your Trip

If we are honest it shouldn’t really matter if you leave a day later or add a day in the end, right?

Well – it does. Should your dates change, let your travel insurer know straight away or your insurance may become void

Same goes for preexisting conditions, as the insurer is unlikely to cover the cost of medical treatment should you keep such a condition a secret.

Let them know where you are going and if you are planning any dangerous activities obviously is a given. This influences the price of the travel insurance and is therefore relevant information.

What Are Your Responsibilities?

You are responsible for filing any claim you may have with your travel insurance. This starts with lost luggage, includes theft and of course medical treatments.

Let the travel insurance know straight away and be aware of any copay you may have to cover.

Especially in a strange country it can be important to know you have someone on your side and your insurer will most likely give you valuable support.

Why Should You Buy Travel Insurance Well Before Your Trip?

This one is actually pretty interesting.

Obviously many trips had to be canceled with the ongoing pandemic and people who had purchased travel insurance early enough were lucky.

But even if it is just you coming down with a bad flu or breaking a bone weeks before the trip – you are covered. Most insurers simply require a doctor’s note saying that you are unfit to travel.

Always Read the Fine Print

With the ongoing pandemic many people who actually purchased though had to figure out the hard way that their insurance did not in facht cover their losses during a pandemic.

That’s not to say that there were no providers of travel insurance that covered the losses.

The fine print on these policies actually lists the reasons one may claim coverage by the policy and a pandemic is not included.

Now is this going to change in the future? It might, we don’t know yet.

Fact is: Once a risk becomes foreseeable many newly bought insurances will exclude it.

When the pandemic first started in China many people went and bought insurance. Since the threat was already born many insurers sadly went this way and excluded it as a valid reason for cancellation.

We will have to see and wait what happens with that.

To Purchase or Not To Purchase Travel Insurance

That is entirely up to you in the end.

Many domestic flights and even domestic trips are not worth the additional investment.

It never hurts to be safe though, so it is entirely up to you.

Purchasing travel insurance when going abroad however should be a give.

It will give you peace of mind and let you enjoy your trip to the fullest, without a worry in the world!