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Travel Tips
Imagine planning and saving up for months for an epic getaway in the tropics. Your itinerary for each day is listed down in detail. You have a list for every item and piece of clothing you’re bringing. All your tickets are purchased and organized in a folder. Everything is ready and you’re all set to enjoy your wonderful vacation. travel health insurance
But as soon as you get to the airport, you learn that your flight is cancelled. The airline offers you another flight for the next day, but you hesitate because you’ve already scheduled and paid for a tour package and a night’s stay at an expensive hotel which are nonrefundable. So you decide to take pocket money and purchase another airline ticket for that day.
When you arrive, you’re met with another problem. For some reason your baggage never shows up in the conveyor so you contact the airport staff. After a couple hours of investigation, the airline tells you that your baggage is untraceable and they’re not taking responsibility for it.
To make things even worse, as you’re driving the rental car to your hotel, you get into a small accident. The car has a huge dent which you’re told to pay for and you have a broken wrist and other minor injuries. This forces you to spend your entire vacation in a foreign hospital with your money depleted. travel health insurance
How could you have lessened the damage of this nightmare vacation? Travel insurance.
If you had purchased travel insurance before this trip, all the unexpected expenses from your cancelled flight to your hospital bill would have been covered by the insurance company. It still wouldn’t have ended as the perfect vacation but it would have been a lot easier to bear.
Travel insurance is extremely important if you want to travel with peace of mind. You’re likely not going to spend a penny of it most of the time, but having that peace of mind is well worth the cost of the insurance policy.
2 Types of Travel Health Insurance
There are two basic types of travel insurance. There’s the regular travel insurance and the medical travel insurance.
Regular travel insurance usually covers things such as trip cancellation, flight delays, lost luggage, emergency medical and dental expenses, emergency evacuation depending on your policy. It typically does not cover basic medical needs such as prescriptions and checkups.
Medical travel insurance, on the other hand, covers comprehensive medical and dental expenses. It covers prescriptions, maternity, and day to day medical needs, but does not cover trip issues.
Important Things to Consider When Purchasing Travel Insurance
Purchasing travel insurance is extremely important if you want to protect yourself and your belongings when travelling. In order to ensure that you get the right policy, you should consider the following things.
Policy Duration
There are three subtypes of travel insurance. There is the single-trip travel insurance, which will cover any damages only for one trip. There is the multi-trip insurance, and the long term insurance that’s perfect for avid travellers. travel health insurance
One thing you absolutely need to make sure of, especially if you’re getting a single-trip policy, is that your dates are set right. If you miscalculate by even just a day, and you experience something unfortunate on the day your policy doesn’t cover, your insurance company isn’t going to give you a cent to help with the damages.
Ensure that Your Policy Covers All Your Destinations
Before purchasing a policy, make sure that it is going to cover all the locations you are visiting or stopping over at.
Some insurance companies will not cover damages that occur in certain countries. So be sure to let them know all your destinations and stopovers. You may purchase additional coverage from your insurance company if you want to include destinations not covered in your original policy.
Declare Pre-Existing Medical Conditions
If you have any pre-existing medical conditions, you will have to declare them to the insurance company before you travel.
Medical conditions such as asthma, atherosclerosis, diabetes, anxiety, depression, extreme obesity, and cancer should be declared early. If you fail to declare any pre-existing medical conditions, your policy may become invalid.
Extra Coverage for High-Risk Activities
Most insurance companies will ask you to purchase extra coverage if you are going to engage in risky activities on your trip.
Skydiving, bungee jumping, whitewater rafting, skiing, snowboarding, and other extreme activities are usually not covered on a standard policy. You will need to let your insurance company know about the activities you will engage in and make sure you purchase the additional coverage you’ll need.
Declare Your Valuable Belongings
If you’re going to bring expensive electronics or jewelry on your trip, you will have to declare them when purchasing your policy.
Most insurance companies will not cover expensive items that are damaged or lost if you failed to declare them when you bought the policy.
Most of the time, you will be able to see how much the insurance company is willing to cover for your electronics or jewelry. If you see that it isn’t enough to cover the items you’re bringing, you can either pay for additional coverage or look for another policy that will fit your needs.
Don’t forget to declare your mobile phones as well. Over the past 10 years the amount of claims for lost mobile phones has increased greatly.
Report Any Type of Theft Immediately
If something is stolen from you, you do not want to wait around before you report it. You might not be able to claim for the lost item if you do not have a police report issued within 24 hours of the item being stolen.
This is why it’s extremely important to report theft immediately.
Buy Your Policy Early
It is never a good idea to purchase your policy last minute. Make sure to add it to your long term planning before you take the tip. This is so you will have enough time to make sure everything is covered and that you won’t be lacking money to purchase a good policy.
Conclusion
Travel insurance is something every traveller should invest in. The peace of mind you’ll have when you know you’re insured is well worth the price. It will also save you from going bankrupt on a trip that is supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable. travel health insurance