What is travel insurance
Posted on | December 13, 2009 | 9 Comments
Travel insurance need to know
In general terms, travel insurance protects all holiday costs against adverse events such as cancellation and interruption and also reimburses medical expenses, the loss or damage of property and transit delays. Travellers are compensated if they have to cancel or interrupt their travel, they will also be covered should they need emergency medical treatment, medical evacuation and other situations.
Many millions of travellers and holiday makers every year purchase some form of travel insurance, but few people know really what it is and how it can be defined. If you know what is included, and what is not you will be able to make the most of your protection.
There are four main categories of travel insurance:
1. Delays and cancellation – including curtailment
Delay: This reimburses travellers for hotel, food or clothing expenses in the event of a flight delay. Some plans also cover costs associated with catching up with a cruise should another delay cause the traveller to miss embarkation.
Cancellation: Reimbursement comes into effect if travellers have booked and paid for a holiday, but are unable to embark because of personal illness or injury, death (of the individual or of a family member), adverse weather conditions, airline strikes, terrorism, bankruptcy, sudden unemployment, jury duty or by sustaining serious damage to their home causing it to be uninhabitable due to fire or flooding.
Interruption: Insurance companies pay money to policy holders abroad if they have to cut short their trip due to illness, death (of the traveller or a family member), terrorism, weather, airline strikes, bankruptcy, sudden unemployment, and other adverse conditions which mean that, due to events outside the control of the holiday-maker, a trip has to be curtailed.
2. Health and Medical reasons
Medical evacuation: This provides emergency transportation to either a local hospital in the event that the traveller is unable to get there by themselves or back to a hospital near the traveller’s home town. If family members are covered on the same policy they can travel back home also.
Medical and health reasons: This reimburses medical and emergency dental costs. Almost all travel insurance plans work by reimbursing the traveller after they have paid locally for treatment. Claims are usually paid within 7 – 10 days. Pre-existing conditions are covered by most policies if the policy is purchased within (at the most) 21 days from the date the traveller made the first payment or deposit.
3. Death of travellers:
Accidental death – covers death or dismemberment at any time of your trip. Usually provides the lowest amount of coverage due to a higher risk
Air Flight accident – this covers death or dismemberment during an air flight only. Usually provides the highest amount of coverage due to fairly low likelihood of this occurring.
Common carrier – Covers death or dismemberment while travelling on public transport such as a plane, ferry, train bus or taxi.
4. Personal effects: Loss or damage
Baggage loss – reimburses travellers for lost, stolen or damaged personal items. This coverage is usually restricted to the duration of the trip and not confined to baggage damaged or lost by the airline. There are two policy limits, total claim and per item maximum. Some policies also place limits on the type of items that can be claimed for – such as precious jewellery, laptops and sporting goods
Rental Car damage – Reimburses travellers for damage or loss to a rental vehicle. It is designed to allow the traveller to decline collision damage waiver (CDW) coverage offered by the car rental companies. Liability coverage should still be purchased through the car rental company. Rental Car Damage coverage is also often included with the credit card used to pay for the car rental which is often matches the coverage provided in the policy.
Assistance services – provides a 24-hour collect telephonel advice and assistance service to travellers. This service can be used anytime a traveller needs advice. Make sure you don’t leave home without it.
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- Basic Facts for Travel Insurance Canada
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- Single Trip Travel Insurance: Buy for Some Special Occasion
- What Travel Insurance Company Would be the Best for You?
- A travel insurance need to know
- The Most Common Risks That are Covered by Travel Insurance
- Don’t be excluded! Know what your travel insurance covers—and more importantly, what it doesn’t
- What are the Losses Travel Insurance Covers!!!
- Travel Insurance For Peace Of Mind During Your Travels
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9 Responses to “What is travel insurance”
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December 13th, 2009 @ 10:38 am
healthquotes.awardspace.info – here is my health insurance plan. As I remember they can provide such a service.
December 13th, 2009 @ 11:11 am
Try this site for a quick quote on travel medical insurance. TravelEx allows for pre-existing conditions. —> http://www.travelex-insurance.com/index.asp?location=07-0018
December 14th, 2009 @ 6:36 am
There are some good travel insurance companies. Get ones that pay your expenses or pay you in cash. Dont get ones that make you take another trip or give you a voucher to travel again with them.
I only buy insurance if the trip is WAY more than I can afford to lose.
Read the fine print of the policies before you purchase.
December 14th, 2009 @ 2:16 pm
The UK and Ukraine have a bilateral agreement on emergency medical treatment. But, she is better taking out her own insurance. All large travel agencies in the Ukraine will sell policies.
December 14th, 2009 @ 3:47 pm
You can get a refund if your insurance covers illness as a reason for cancellation. Different policies cover different contingencies. The way you would prove illness is by a note from your physician.
InsureMyTrip.com is one site that has comparisons among policies. I'm sure there are others.
December 15th, 2009 @ 2:50 pm
Checkout their theft rider, and the link for a free quote. http://www.travelex-insurance.com/index.asp?location=07-0018
December 16th, 2009 @ 2:09 am
December 16th, 2009 @ 12:06 pm
It could very well be true. Although they are different countries to where you are, we are in the UK and when we book to go to Ireland the company we book with insists on having our insurance details. Besides, as the first answerer says…they would be daft to travel without it as the cost of treatment is far more than the cost of the insurance. Accidents do happen…believe me, I broke an elbow last year, and a few weeks after that was healed I broke my foot…if I had been abroad I would have been in sh*t street without insurance!
December 16th, 2009 @ 8:05 pm
Here are some links-
I had a similar situation- I was living in the Caymans Islands, no longer a Canadian resident, and wanted to travel for the summer. But every policy required that Canadian citizens be insured in their home privince, which I no longer have as non-resident. IMG was the only one I found, but as you DO have Canadian insurance, this will be easy for you. There are lots of short-term plans.
https://www.imglobal.com/travelinsurance/index.cfm?show=&&CFID=1718830&CFTOKEN=d9392e2d0226f2d2-EC75C061-1143-EBE5-76B31862584AA777
http://www.internationalsos.com,
http://www.travelexinsurance.com,
http://www.ijet.com,
http://www.travelassistance.com,
http://www.wallach.com,
http://www.travelguard.com,
http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/article.cfm?AID=48&category=8,
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/insurance.htm.