Travel Insurance Overview: The basics of insuring your trip

In an emergency, the right sort of travel insurance can protect you against events that can ruin your dream vacation. What if you have to cancel your dream vacation at the last minute, or if you get sick or your luggage never arrives? Do you really need travel insurance? To save money on your travel insurance needs, here are some tips on insuring your trip.

Travel insurance is one of those things that you may think you don't need - until you do need it, and by then you may be very sorry that you didn't get it.

The trick to saving on travel insurance is to do a bit of research before you set off on your trip.

There are all sorts of events that can lead the most perfectly-planned trip astray: your cat gets sick, so you can't leave for your trip. You miss your airline connection. Your baggage is lost or delayed. Your hotel closes down due to bad weather or other emergency. You fall and injure your ankle on a hiking trip. When you think about it, a hundred more things can potentially go wrong.

That's why an increasing number of travelers are opting to purchase travel insurance - but most of them are actually wasting their money by purchasing policies that simply duplicate insurance coverage which they already have, or by purchasing policies which do not provide them with the coverage that they expect.

First of all, most people don't realize that their existing insurance policies may provide them with sufficient coverage. Most homeowners policies, for example, have coverage for travel-related incidents including lost baggage coverage.

Credit card policies may also have built-in protections for any reservations made using the credit card. However, be aware of the fact that debit cards may have significantly different policies than credit cards.

Also, your medical insurance provider may cover you on your trip - but this is usually only true of you stay in your home country. Most medical insurance companies do not provide coverage in a different coutry. Therefore, purchasing basic medical insurance is always a good idea.

Along with medical insurance, it is a good idea to purchase emergency evacuation insurance too, particularly if you're visiting a part of the world that lacks adequate medical facitilies. If you're injured, emergency evacuation insurance allows you to be flown to a hospital where you can receive medical assistance. Additional coverage will allow you to be flown to the hospital of your choice - a good idea if the local hospitals are not necessarily up to the standards you may expect.

We strongly recommend that you read the fine print your insurance policies quite carefully, since they are quite specific about what is covered, and what is not covered. If you have any questions or doubt about the policy, make sure the clarify them with the insurance company's customer service department before you set off on your trip.

If you revise your travel plans, you may have to revise your travel insurance policy too. This fact about travel insurance isn't always spelled out clearly in the insurance paperwork. The policy you originally purchased covers only your original itinerary - not the revised itinerary. Insurance covers your original trip dates. New dates equal a new trip, so travelers who make changes will need to revise their insurance policies.

Comments (2)