All About Travel Insurance

2023-05-31

Travel insurance is an insurance product for covering unforeseen losses incurred while traveling, either internationally or domestically. Basic policies generally only cover emergency medical expenses while overseas, while comprehensive policies typically include coverage for trip cancellation, lost luggage, flight delays, public liability, and other expenses. In cases of overseas hospitalizations and deaths where victims are not covered by travel insurance, such personal tragedies are further compounded by a long-term financial burden. You may find that your home contents insurance covers your possessions outside the home, including abroad, so you can adjust your travel insurance policy and potentially pay lower premiums.

Many companies selling tickets or travel packages give consumers the option to purchase travel insurance, also known as traveler's insurance. Some travel policies cover damage to personal property, rented equipment, such as rental cars, or even the cost of paying a ransom. Frequently sold as a package, travel insurance may include several types of coverage. The main categories of travel insurance include trip cancellation or interruption coverage, baggage and personal effects coverage, medical expense coverage, and accidental death or flight accident coverage. Travel insurance is risk-based and takes into account a range of factors to determine whether a traveler can purchase a policy and what the premium will be. This generally includes destination countries or regions, the duration of the trip, the age of the travelers, and any optional benefits that they require coverage for such as pre-existing medical conditions, adventure sports, rental vehicle excess, cruising, or high-value electronics. Some policies will also take into account the traveler’s estimated value of their trip to determine the price. A policy may be a single trip, covering the exact duration of the upcoming trip, or a "multi-trip" policy can cover an unlimited number of trips of a limited duration within a year.

Journey departure and return conditions - Most travel insurance policies must be purchased prior to departure from home, or from the first departure point (e.g. an airport), depending on the product. A smaller number of brands offer travel insurance for travelers who are already overseas and have forgotten to purchase travel insurance or have a policy that has expired

Medical

In the event of minor injury or illness overseas, medical benefits offer coverage for visits to general practitioners, medicine, ambulance fees, and limited dentistry benefits. In the event of hospitalization, most travel insurance policies include emergency assistance services, which can offer guarantees of payment to hospitals for treatment, treating doctors, and organizing transfers between hospitals or medical evacuations back to the insured person's country of origin. More comprehensive policies include an emergency companion cover so that a family member can remain with the insured person while in the hospital. In the event of death overseas, medical benefit sections typically include cover for repatriation of remains to the insured person's country of origin or a funeral overseas

Cancellation

Comprehensive travel insurance policies include cover for any cancellation fees or lost deposits relating to the cancellation of the insured's person's trip for a range of unforeseen and unexpected circumstances. These include illness or injury, natural disasters, bad weather, strikes, riots, hijacking, and family emergencies. Depending on the policy, it may also include cancellation due to jury service, being made redundant from full-time employment, having your annual leave revoked if you are in the armed forces or emergency services, and prohibition of or advisory against travel by a government to a particular destination.

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