A short guide to travel insurance
Travel Insurance – A Need to Know guide?Travel insurance protects holiday expenses against adverse events such
as cancellation and interruption and also reimburses medical expenses,
the loss or damage of property and transit delays.
Many millions of travellers and holiday makers purchase some form of
insurance every year, but few people know really what it is and how it
can be defined. If you know what is included, and what is not you will
be able to make the most of your protection, and get reimbursed fairly.
There are four main categories of travel insurance:
1. Health and Medical reasons
Emergency evacuation: This garuantees emergency transportation to either
a local hospital in the event that the traveller is unable to get there
by themselves or back to a hospital near the traveller's home town. If
family members are covered on the same policy they can travel back home
also.
Medical reasons: This reimburses emergency medical and dental costs.
Nearly all holiday insurance plans work by reimbursing the traveller
after they have paid locally for treatment. Claims are usually paid
within 7 – 10 working days. Pre-existing medical conditions are covered
by most policies if the policy is purchased within (at the most) 21 days
from the date the traveller made the first payment or deposit.
2. Delays and cancellation or curtailment
Cancellation: Re-imbursement comes into effect if travellers have booked
and paid for a holiday, but are unable to embark because of personal
illness or injury, death (of the individual or of a family member),
adverse weather conditions, transport strikes, terrorism, bankruptcy,
sudden unemployment, jury duty or by sustaining serious damage to their
home causing it to be uninhabitable due to fire or flooding.
Delay: This reimburses travellers for hotel, food or clothing expenses
in the event of a flight delay. Some plans also cover costs associated
with catching up with a cruise should another delay cause the traveller
to miss embarkation.
Interruption: Insurance companies pay money to policy holders abroad if
they have to cut short their trip due to illness, death (of the
traveller or a family member), terrorism, weather, airline strikes,
bankruptcy, sudden unemployment, and other adverse conditions which mean
that, due to events outside the control of the holiday-maker, a trip has
to be curtailed.
3. Death:
Accidental death – covers death or dismemberment at any time of your
trip. Usually garuantees the lowest amount of coverage due to a higher
risk
Air Flight accident – this covers death or dismemberment during an air
flight only. Usually garuantees the highest amount of coverage due to
fairly low likelihood of this occurring.
Common carrier – Covers death or dismemberment while travelling on
public transport such as a plane, ferry, train bus or taxi.
4. Loss or damage of property:
Baggage loss – reimburses travellers for lost, stolen or damaged
personal items. This coverage is usually restricted to the duration of
the trip and not confined to baggage damaged or lost by the airline.
There are two policy limits, total claim and per item maximum. Some
policies also place limits on the type of items that can be claimed for
– such as precious jewellery, laptops and sporting goods
Hire Car damage – This reimburses travellers for damage or loss to a
rental vehicle. It is designed to allow the traveller to decline
collision damage waiver (CDW) coverage offered by the car rental
companies. Liability coverage should still be purchased through the car
rental company. Rental Car Damage coverage is also often included with
the credit card used to pay for the car rental which is often matches
the coverage provided in the policy.
Assistance services – garuantees a 24-hour collect telephone advice and
assistance service to travellers. This service can be used anytime a
traveller needs advice. Make sure you keep a copy of this number in
several places in your luggage or on your person when you move around.
