5 Essential Travel Insurance Tips

When you are traveling, you must be prepared for emergencies. Travel insurance offers protection when things go wrong, from lost luggage to serious injury or even death. It is important to understand what travel insurance is for and how it protects you.

1. Review Your Existing Insurance Coverage

Your homeowner’s or health insurance may provide some travel coverage. However, insurance policies have exclusions and limits. Such restrictions are necessary to prevent fraud, as numerous insurance frauds examples demonstrate. Before purchasing travel insurance, review your existing policies so you know exactly what coverage you need.

Most homeowner’s and renter’s insurance includes off-premises coverage for your belongings. This means that if the airline loses your luggage, your insurance will cover it. However, you should ensure that your policy limit is sufficient. If you are traveling with expensive possessions, such as electronics or camera equipment, you may need to purchase additional insurance.

If you are injured or fall ill while traveling abroad, your health insurance may offer limited coverage or no coverage at all. Check with your insurance provider before traveling internationally to ensure that you are not stuck with a hefty medical bill in the event of a medical emergency.

2. Understand the Different Types of Coverage

Types of travel insurance you can purchase include:

• Baggage loss to cover items lost in transportation
• Trip cancellation, which reimburses nonrefundable prepaid expenses and may be upgraded to cancel for any reason (CFAR) coverage
• Medical insurance to cover your care if you become sick or injured
• Emergency medical evacuation coverage to pay for transport to a medical facility and, in the event of your death, repatriation of your remains

Depending on your existing coverage and the nature of your trip, you may choose to purchase individual travel insurance policies or a comprehensive package.

3. Expect To Pay 5-6% of the Price of Your Trip

On average, the cost of travel insurance is 5-6% of the cost of the trip. Several factors determine the actual cost, including the length of your trip, the number and ages of travelers, total trip expenses and upgrades like CFAR insurance.

4. Know What Isn’t Covered

When considering travel insurance, you must review the policy carefully and understand what each policy does and doesn’t include.

For example, trip cancellation insurance does not cover all circumstances. If you book a trip during a global health crisis, such as a pandemic, the crisis is considered a foreseeable event and your cancellation won’t be covered. If you cancel because you changed your mind or have a fear of flying, most travel insurance will not cover this. However, you may be covered in these situations if you upgrade to a CFAR policy.

Medical travel insurance generally excludes pre-existing conditions, including pregnancy. If you give birth while traveling, travel insurance may not cover your expenses, because you were aware of your pregnancy when you decided to travel.

Many policies exclude injuries sustained during extreme sporting activities, including skydiving, snowboarding, rock climbing and scuba diving. If your travel plans include these activities, you may need to purchase a policy upgrade.

5. Consider Purchasing an Annual Plan if You Travel Frequently

If you go on frequent trips, you can save money by purchasing yearly multi-trip coverage. A basic policy does not include trip cancellation insurance, but it covers medical expenses and trip delay expenses. For example, if a flight is canceled or delayed, your insurance can cover your hotel stay until you are able to catch another flight.

Annual travel insurance also includes coverage for trips that end prematurely due to an emergency at home. If you need to cut a week-long vacation short due to a death in your family, insurance covers the costs of changing your travel plans.

Conclusion

From weekend getaways to extended international trips, travel is expensive, and there are many opportunities for things to go wrong. Travel insurance can ensure that an unforeseen event doesn’t ruin your trip.