Blog Around The World

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When you are booking your flight tickets, you might have noticed that the airline asks if you want to opt for travel insurance. If you are booking your trip through a travel agent, he would also advise you to opt for travel insurance so that you can be protected against damages, if any, during your trip.

Have you ever wondered what is travel insurance and why is it so important for you to have one when you undertake a trip? In this article, we will explain to you some basic concepts about travel insurance and the top reasons why you should opt for one.

Meaning and overview

As the name suggests, travel insurance is a policy that gives you coverage for any damages or losses that you may experience in your trip. What kind of damages, you may wonder! Keep reading to know more about this concept.

Travel insurance gives you protection against the costs that you have incurred for your travel. It also protects you against misfortunes, if any, during your trip. The best part of travel insurance is that it offers coverage for international and domestic travel.

What components are mainly covered travel insurance

Have you ever incurred financial losses previously when you had to cancel a pre-booked flight at the last minute due to a death in your family? With an insurance policy, these kinds of losses can be avoided as the policy provides you coverage for the same. The main components for which you can get coverage under a travel insurance policy are:

Trip Cancellation or Interruption Coverage- provides reimbursement when you cancel a non-refundable flight ticket because of a personal or professional emergency; you should refundable that only the non-refundable portion of a travel package or ticket is eligible for coverage

Baggage and Personal Effects Coverage – Airlines give you limited coverage when your baggage is lost, damaged, or misplaced due to their error when you fly from one place to another. This is where a travel insurance policy is very important. It provides maximum coverage for lost, stolen, damaged, misplaced, or delayed baggage arrival.

Medical coverage (short=term and major medical coverage) – When you fall sick in a new or foreign location, it creates unnecessary panic in you. Finding a proper doctor, getting your treatment diagnosed, treatment, hospitalization (if needed) and rehabilitation are all going to cost you a lot of money. This is where the medical coverage plan of travel insurance comes to your rescue.

This medical coverage is available for the short and long-term depending on the time that you intend to spend in a new location. The coverage offered may vary based on the cost of the policy and other geographical restrictions. However, a common fact among all policies is that they will reimburse you for the medical costs that you have to incur during your travel, thereby saving you a lot of costs.

Accidental Death and Flight Accident Coverage – In the unpredictable world of today, it is important to protect yourself and your beneficiaries with a travel insurance policy. The “accidental death” component provides coverage to the beneficiaries in the event of accidental death, permanent disability, or serious injury of the traveler.

The “flight accident” component pays the beneficiaries of the traveler in case of the death of the traveler during the flight journey of a licensed, commercial flight.

Travel insurance – cost structure

Just like the other insurance policies, there is no fixed rate that can be described as the cost of a travel insurance plan. The cost differs based on the coverage, term, and type of insurance plan that you choose. The cost can also vary based on your age and existing medical conditions. If you are a senior citizen and are diabetic as well, you are more prone to health risks during travel when compared to a 30-year old healthy adult. Therefore, the cost of your travel insurance will definitely be more than his policy.

Reasons why you need travel insurance

After reading the above points, you would have understood by now why travel insurance is important for you. If you aren’t convinced still, here are some compelling reasons why you need to make this an integral part of your trips from now on:

Helps to get back your investment on a trip

What happens when you have to cancel a trip with your friends for which you spend thousands of dollars because your mother fell seriously ill just the day before your trip? Airlines, cruise, and other parties will not offer you a refund, especially when you call them to cancel your trip just a day before your actual travel date.

When you have travel insurance, you don’t have to be petrified about losing the thousands of dollars you invested on a trip. When you have to cancel for a genuine reason that is covered as per its company, the travel insurance company offers you a full refund of your investment. The premium that you have to pay for the same is a small price to pay for this benefit, indeed!

Provides coverage for the exhaustive medical costs on foreign soil

If you have traveled to foreign countries previously, you might already know that medical costs on foreign soil can burn a very deep hole in your pocket. Searching for a good hospital, traveling from the airport to the hospital, hospitalization and treatment costs, surgery costs, if any, post-operative care costs, and rehab costs can shock you immensely.

A travel insurance plan eases your burden and gives you peace of mind that the medical expenses are all taken care of in the most hassle=free manner possible.

Summary

Having a travel insurance plan is a must because it offers you protection against all sorts of minor and major instances that can ruin your trip and cause you huge financial losses. Choose the right travel insurance policy with the right coverage that you require to enjoy the benefits. Always check for the exclusions in a plan so that you know about the items that are not covered in your plan. This will not create any ambiguity in the future.