Travel Insurance. What You Need To Know
Before your set off on your travels, there are a number of things you need to consider and prepare for. One of these things is travel insurance. Depending on the nature of your travel plans, there are a wide range of covers and plans on the market. To help you better understand what the best option for your requirements and budget is, you should first consider the countries and activities you will be traveling to and from and the regions of these countries you may travel to once you reach the destination.
- One question that many travellers ponder over is “Do I need extra travel insurance or the insurance from my credit card is enough?”
When doing a comparison on credit cards and travel coverages, travel coverages are included in both. For example, trip cancellations, flight delay, trip interruptions, luggage delays and emergency medical cover are covered as standard. What people need to be mindful of and really understand are the limitations and benefits because not all credit cards will have all of the travel coverages included.
When reading through your credit card policies, two things to keep in mind are
- what is covered, and
- how much is covered.
Here’s an example: You may well have your lost baggage covered but what if that is limited to $1,200? You will want to reconsider consider packing your $2,000 laptop and expensive clothes! Make sure you have enough coverage for what’s in your bag!
Three main insurance coverages that travelers should be aware of
- Trip Cancellation and Interruption – This covers your non-refundable travel bookings if you need to cancel your trip, travel home prematurely, or if you must stay for a longer period of time in your destination.
- Emergency Medical Travel – This will cover you in the unfortunate circumstances of you becoming ill or if you are in an accident and require emergency medical attention.
- Baggage and Personal Effects – This particular insurance gives protection against damaged, lost or stolen luggage and personal effects. In most cases, it will also cover some of the costs for the replacing of lost or stolen birth certificates, driving licenses or passports. This type of insurance might also provide you with cover for essential toiletries and clothes if your checked luggage is delayed by your carrier for twelve hours or longer while on your journey and before your return home.
The fine print…
When reading through your insurance policies, which coverage(s) should you check on?
If you’ve thoroughly gone through your policies, checked out the limits of your coverage, understand the exclusions and still have questions about whether or not you need travel insurance, a professional travel insurance advisor might be worth a visit.
Once you are purchasing a policy that provides the areas of coverage that you are most concerned about, and as long as you read the policy and fine print and fully understand what you’re getting, the cost of travel insurance is minimal, compared to what a real life scenario might cost you!
