What is Travel Insurance and What Does it Cover? : With the risks associated with travel, such as unfamiliar locations and increased risk of injury or illness, it is important for travelers to consider purchasing a travel insurance policy. Travel insurance can protect against problems that may arise while traveling and may have a cost in addition to the trip. Take a look at this blog post to see what types of benefits you would receive if you choose travel insurance.
What is Travel Insurance?
In short, a travel insurance policy would provide coverage for all expenses related to an unexpected event during your travels. The most common reasons for which people purchase such policies are: canceled flights (or lost luggage), medical emergencies, and robbery/loss/damage of personal belongings. As an additional benefit, many policies include worldwide medical evacuation coverage. This would protect you if you were required to fly overseas in order to receive emergency medical treatment.
Travel insurance can protect travelers against unexpected events that can be the result of illness, medical emergencies, natural disasters (such as earthquakes or tsunamis), lost or stolen valuables from luggage, and more. [BACKGROUND: Whether traveling within one’s own country or abroad, it is always important to have some form of travel insurance protection. The purpose of travel insurance is to cover any unforeseen expenses, including medical bills and lost or stolen possessions. ]
What could a traveler need to purchase travel insurance?
Depending on the type of trip, a traveler may find that they need more than one form of travel insurance. For example, if their trip were to take them to various countries in Europe (such as France or Spain), and they were planning on visiting museums and art galleries while they are there, they may want to purchase a museum insurance plan. This type of policy would provide coverage in case the traveler’s baggage is lost or stolen during their travels.
If they were planning on spending time in cities such as New York or Las Vegas, they may want to purchase a trip cancellation insurance policy, which would protect them against any losses should their travel plans change and they need to cancel their trip. The same would be true for travelers who were planning on going on a cruise trip across the ocean; in addition to purchasing a travel insurance policy for the cruise itself, many cruise lines offer travel insurance through their own company as well.
A traveler’s destination also determines the type of travel insurance that might be needed, such as medical insurance for trips to countries with higher medical costs. For example, a traveler might want to purchase travel medical insurance while they are on a trip to France, as the country has some of the highest rates in the world for medical services and pharmaceuticals.
Why should I purchase travel insurance?
Travel insurance can provide you with protection against unforeseen expenses that may arise while you are traveling abroad. By purchasing a travel insurance policy, you will be able to cancel your trip without risking having to pay cancellation fees or lose the money that you have already spent on your vacation.
Additionally, if your luggage is lost or stolen, you can file a claim for reimbursement for any items that have been stolen or destroyed during your trip.
What travel insurance policies are available?
Travel insurance policies can be purchased both online and over the phone. In many cases, the cost of a policy is lower than what the traveler might pay if they had to deal with the situation that incurs their coverage in person. However, one should always confirm their policy’s coverage amount with their provider before purchasing it, as some policies do not have coverage for every type of expense that they may need assistance with while traveling. By contrast, some policies allow travelers to add on additional coverage by purchasing additional types of plans (such as medical or trip cancellation plans). In many cases, a traveler can purchase as much coverage as they would like within each type of plan. [CONTINUES]
Helpful tips: When purchasing the policy, ask the company to provide you with a full list of all the benefits that your policy covers. This would include emergency evacuation and medical expenses, as well as any lost baggage reimbursement coverage or lost income in the case that you are unable to return home because of sickness or injury while traveling abroad. Ask your provider to send you a quote via email so that you can read it and compare the prices of policies before choosing one.