Travel Insurance

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What does Travel Insurance Cover?

Travel insurance can protect you in the case of lost or stolen luggage and personal effects, trip cancellation, personal liability, funeral expenses (without wanting to sound morbid, dying overseas can be very expensive), emergency dental treatment and evacuation back to your country of residence.

While you're battling your way through the small print, keep in mind the following potential pitfalls of Travel Insurance.

• ∵Medical/dental expenses
• ∵Emergency evacuation/Medical Air Evacuation/repatriation of remains
• ∵ Return of a minor child
• ∵ Trip cancellation/interruption
• ∵Accidental death, injury or disablement benefit
• ∵Overseas funeral expenses
• ∵Curtailment
• ∵Delayed departure, missed connection
• ∵Lost, stolen or damaged baggage, personal effects or travel documents
• ∵Delayed baggage (and emergency replacement of essential items)
• ∵Legal assistance
• ∵Trip Cancellation
• ∵Flight Connection was missed due to airline schedule
• ∵Travel Delays due to weather
• ∵Medical Emergency and hospital care (Accident or Sickness)

Pros & Cons of Travel Insurance

Simply put, the pros of travel insurance are complete coverage and peace of mind. The cons of travel insurance are the high costs that may turn out to be unnecessary. There are also a few other technicalities which we will consider.

Who can deny that holidays and vacation evoke excitement? The very idea of traveling away from home and the hunger to feast one’s eyes on beautiful scenery, new foods, different cultures and places of interest is exciting! Use the data that follows to determine if travel insurance will make your trip a stress free vacation, or simply drain funds from your travel trough.

Pros: Basic Travel Insurance Coverage

The pros of travel insurance are in the basic and additional protection you can receive when things go awry away from home. However, the decision to travel also requires important decision-making. Hindsight is 20/20, but foresight is often lacking.

Therefore, it′s important to give attention to the safety side of your care-free trip. The most basic coverage options of travel insurance involve medical coverage as well as quick transport back to your country of origin. (You definitely don′t want to pay cash for an emergency helicopter ride!) Some policies may also include protection against trip cancellation, lost baggage and other possible casualties.

If you are investing tens of thousands in a cruise that would be ruined by illness, or traveling overseas, medical travel insurance coverage is considered a wise investment. Most health insurance plans will not cover out of the country medical care.

You must also consider:

• ∵What activities you will participate in
• ∵Your destinations
• ∵The time of year that you are traveling
• ∵Your overall health
• ∵Any medications you require

Cons: What is Not Included in Travel Insurance Coverage.

There is no shortage of insurance companies offering travel insurance products. Travel agencies usually do offer insurance policies, but many believe it is best to shop around ahead of time to compare prices and coverage. Yes, these contracts can be lengthy but it′s important to know what is covered and what isn′t. You might get a little discouraged at first when contemplating the “cons” of getting travel insurance. Besides the cost of travel insurance, the following technicalities are concerning to some travelers.

There are definite items for which you will not be covered:

• ∵Changing your mind for personal reasons
• ∵Outbreak of war (although terrorist threats may be)
• ∵Pre-existing medical conditions
• ∵Damage by customs
• ∵Self-induced illness
• ∵While you might be able to leave the country via helicopter or private plane during an emergency, a refund will probably not follow. However, other policies do cover acts of terrorism, if the event causes you to miss your preferred method of travel.
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Unfortunately for many travel insurance policies, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered. Some insurance companies will make exceptions but with stipulations attached; for example, the insured must be declared symptom-free for a certain amount of time.

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