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Tip
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Travelling
can be one of the best ways to learn more about new places,
cultures and traditions followed in different parts of
the world. |
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Global Travel Insurance &
Travel Insurance Companies
Travel Insurance &
Travel insurance Companies: What
is Travel Insurance?
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The basic meaning of
travel insurance is to protect your trip investment. To define it
in simply, travel insurance refers to financial protection for a
person and the money that a person prepays for his trip. It covers
personal accident, medical expenses, air ambulance, loss of effects,
repatriation costs and all other expenses that may arise as a result of
loss, damage, injury, delay or inconvenience occurring to the person who
is traveling. |
Need for travel insurance arises not only to protect your baggage but to
protect you from some major problems. For example,
Case #1 : if a
person books his family’s tickets for a cruise to the Caribbean and a few
weeks later, a close loved one becomes critically ill
Case #2: Family books an airline ticket joyfully and the next week,
that airline has declared that it has gone bankrupt.
Travel insurance is made for such situations. It can usually be arranged at the time of booking of a trip
to cover exactly the duration of that trip or a more extensive, continuous
insurance can be purchased from (most often) insurance companies or banks,
which covers all traveling during the period for which the insurance was
obtained.
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The most common risks that are covered by travel insurance are:
Cancellation, Curtailment, Delayed Departure, Loss, theft or damage to
personal possessions and money (including travel documents), Delayed
baggage (and emergency replacement of essential items), Medical expenses,
Emergency evacuation/repatriation, Overseas funeral expenses, Accidental
death, injury or disablement benefit, Legal assistance etc. Travel
Insurance can also be beneficial in many cases like: Emergency Dental
Treatment, Medical Evacuation/Additional Expenses, Standard Luggage and
Personal Effects.
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A travel insurance company basically provides services for travel
insurance, there are several things that need to cover while taking travel
insurance package from a creation travel insurance company, several times
the travel insurance company gives lucrative offers and it looks cheap to
buy that policy, but it does not cover several aspects, which might end up
in loss. So before buying a travel insurance policy, one must take care of
the points that go with the travel insurance plans that provide coverage
for vacation and trip cancellation, travel interruptions and delays,
emergency medical and health expenses, lost baggage and more.
Always go with the travel insurance plan that is flexible in choosing the
coverage that meets the travel needs. From additional limits for medical
or baggage, to special coverage for adventure travel, while purchasing a
travel insurance policy one must assure that the policy includes the
following coverage: Trip Interruption, Trip Cancellation, Supplier Default
(also known as "Financial Default"), a Trip Delay Benefit, and at least
$25,000 worth of Air Evacuation in the event of a medical emergency.
Also one must be sure that the policy is real insurance. One must not get
fooled by buying "travel protection" offered by non-insurance companies.
These other companies are often fly-by-night outfits who are not governed
by the same rules and bonding/reserve requirements that insurers are.
Never buy travel protection or insurance issued by a travel agency,
airline, or cruise line. There is bound to be some contention from fellow
travels.
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One must read the entire policy before buying. Usually the policy and the
exclusions can be found online. Always look for a document titled
"Evidence of Coverage". Make sure it covers you for any scenario that you
would like to get covered for. This is important because some policies do
not cover potentially dangerous activities like scuba diving, bungee
jumping, sky diving, and hang gliding. While reading the policy, don't
forget to review the definitions section which dictates how the insurance
company defines all of the terms (like family member, medical necessity,
and covered trip) and the State Exceptions section which provides any
state mandated exceptions and add-ons which may affect travel insurance
policy.
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Always look for carrier exclusions
to make sure that cruise, air,
or travel operator that a person would be considering is not on their list
of excluded companies. Excluded companies are not covered by insurance if
they go under. Insurance is usually based upon the total cost of the trip
(on a per person basis).
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Be sure to include the cost of the airfare or other public transportation.
Some companies would cover minor children for free. Very important point
in the event that there is a requirement to make a claim, one must be sure
to collect every receipt and keep them in one place, when required the
documents can be easily found.
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Be sure to keep the receipt from the travel
agent with cost of trip, all unused airline tickets and transportation
receipts, medical bills, copies of theft or other official reports, and
any other pertinent receipts relating to the specific claim. Some travel
insurance companies provide cheap annual travel insurance which is an
alternative choice for those budget - conscious travelers who are making
more than one trip a year. The main feature of the annual travel insurance
against regular travel insurance is that it saves money.
For a once annual payment, one can get covered whenever there is need to
travel during the year. The terms and conditions vary between companies,
but annual insurance for unlimited travel is also available. Cheap annual
travel insurance provides substantial cost savings than any regular type
of travel insurance. There are some tips for choosing the best cheap
annual travel insurance: Always sign up with a reputable insurance company
that has worldwide offices which can easily be contacted during emergency
needs.
The insurance company should have a 24/7 customer assistance which
is an essential for international travelers. Always make sure that the
office number of the travel insurance company ay is available while
traveling abroad. Make sure the travel policy is valid for the whole
journey and includes comprehensive medical and repatriation cover. Always
take a photocopy of travel insurance policy, along with a note of any
24-hour emergency numbers. Also, a claim could be turned down if one does
not look after his belongings properly. For example, if someone’s things
get stolen off the beach while taking a dip in the sea, the insurance
company might decide that the person has not taken "reasonable care" and
refuse to pay up.
Insurance companies are also growing increasingly concerned about fraud,
especially with travel insurance. If someone claims for anything that has
been stolen they'll probably want evidence that actually that person owned
the item in the first place. Keep photos at home of personal belongings
that one would like to take during travel. Some insurers even ask for
receipts. So basically one must assure for all the points before taking a
travel insurance policy form a travel insurance company, so that one can
travel with peace and is able to enjoy the travel.
Contributing Author:
Deepti Varshney, presently
working as a Freelance writer. I have also worked as a Busienss
Development Manager for a UK based MNC. I find article writing very
interesting as it gives you wide areas to explore your knowledge and
ideas.
rite2deepti@yahoo.com
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