International travel is an exciting experience, but it’s also one that is important to be adequately prepared for. In addition to finding out a little about the customs and political situation of your travel destination, getting international travel insurance is one way you can be better prepared.
International travel insurance is even more important than insurance for stateside trips. International travelers are usually not familiar with the customs, the crime strategies, or the dangerous areas in the place they are going to visit. In addition, they are usually more susceptible to the local diseases because they have not yet built up immunities to them. International travel insurance can help you cover your bases in case of luggage or other theft, and will cover medical expenses in case of food poisoning, other illness, or injury. It is especially important for elderly tourists to have international travel insurance as they may encounter more health problems than would younger travelers. Unfortunately, international travel insurance will almost never cover pre-existing medical conditions.
International travel insurance may, however, cover many things you never expected, such as expenses for family to fly out to be with you if you become ill or are injured. Many people believe that their private health coverage is sufficient for such possible occurrences, but it is not. Private health coverage will not cover costs to fly you home, or to fly family members out to you. It often will not even cover any expenses outside the United States. However, international travel insurance will.
International travel insurance coverage may vary widely, with many possible options for coverage, and many different dollar amounts of coverage. Although it’s important to have adequate international travel insurance coverage, to some extent, the amount of international travel insurance coverage you buy will be determined by what you can afford. It’s a good rule of thumb that if you can’t afford any coverage, you can’t afford the trip itself, especially since that trip will wind up being much more costly if something goes wrong and you are not covered by international travel insurance.
If the area that you are vacationing in becomes dangerous due to terrorism, natural disasters or other possible occurrences, your international travel insurance will probably cover the expenses of trip cancellation and the costs required to fly you and your group home. International travel insurance will not only reduce the risk of your losing money on the trip, it will also help increase your personal safety. You should make careful preparations to ensure that your trip is as safe as possible, since all international travelers are at some level of risk. These preparations should include, but not be limited to, the purchase of international travel insurance with an adequate level of coverage.
One good place to begin preparations for safe travel is at the US Department of State’s Web site. They have prepared a list of countries that are in unstable or dangerous conditions, as a warning for prospective travelers and international travel insurance purchasers. Besides your personal safety, a good reason to avoid going to a dangerous area is that international travel insurance will not cover any medical, trip cancellation, or other expenses due to the advent of war.
We hope you enjoy your experience with international travel. You will enjoy it all the more if you know that you are prepared and protected with international travel insurance.
By Riannon Cutler