All travelers face some level of risk, and accidents or unfortunate events can happen to the best of us. Fortunately, by taking out trip insurance, you can protect yourself from the consequences of unfortunate events when you are traveling. Trip insurance can protect you from the obvious problems you might run into, such as theft, or vehicle accident. But it can also protect you from accidents you may not foresee, such as receiving a concussion from a falling coconut or an injury resulting from slipping on wet tiles at your hotel’s pool. Hopefully, and most likely, your trip will go smoothly with no injuries or robberies. But these things happen to travelers every year. Those with trip insurance get adequate health care, or get their money refunded, and continue to enjoy their vacation. Those without trip insurance could be facing a disaster.
Whether you are going on a trip next week or in the foreseeable future, you’ll want to know the basics of trip insurance. Chances are, you’ll be traveling eventually, and trip insurance is something you really shouldn’t be without. When you contact a company for trip insurance, you will want to find out exactly what they cover since every company has different coverage specifications, and even different insurance packages within the same company have different coverage specifications. Here are some things trip insurance may cover.
- Emergency medical care*
- Trip cancellation
- Emergency transportation
- Lost, stolen, or damaged luggage*
- Other theft*
*The most important things to get covered.
Trip insurance costs more if you are older, since there is more risk of you having health problems on your trip and require care. You should also know that trip insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions. It also never covers any expenses incurred (such as trip cancellation) because of any psychological condition.
If you’re leaving on your trip soon, and you don’t yet have trip insurance, it’s not too late. You can purchase travel insurance as late as the day before you leave on your trip. And contrary to popular myth, you don’t need a travel agent to get the insurance. You are welcome to sign up for trip insurance even if you have taken care of all your own travel arrangements.
Even if you do have trip insurance, you’ll still want to travel safely. There are several sources where you can find a list of which countries it is currently dangerous to travel to. These resources include the U.S. Department of State, and if you are a British citizen, the FCO Web site. Hopefully you’ll never need your travel insurance. But if something happens on your trip that causes you to need the aid of your trip insurance company, you can call them collect from anywhere in the world to request aid and file a claim. Do not hesitate to do so. Your trip insurance will give you the peace of mind to enjoy your vacation, knowing that should anything occur, you are prepared.
By Riannon Cutler