Travel insurance is what the name implies. It is insurance against the perils you may encounter when you travel. Events such as flight cancellation or weather interruptions along with medical expenses and loss or damage of property and transit delays are reimbursable.
Millions of travelers purchase some form of insurance every year, They know, or have experienced, the numerous hazards they can face on a trip. Understanding your policy not only affords you protection but means you will get reimbursed fairly.
A look at the four main categories of travel insurance should be enough of a catalyst to at least having you consider this type of protection especially if you are going on a prolonged trip. If you are simply visiting Grandma or Aunt Minnie on an overnighter, travel insurance probably isn’t necessary.
Category number one is health and medical coverage. No one is immune from becoming sick or injured. If this happens to you or a family member while you are on a trip, it can be devastating. Travel insurance can be a life saver, literally.
Take emergency evacuation. If you have to be transported because of an emergency, travel insurance guarantees transportation to a local hospital a hospital near the traveler’s home town. If family members are covered, they can travel with the patient.
Medical coverage includes reimbursement for emergency medical and dental costs. You will have to pay on site and then submit receipts when you come back home. Claims are paid relatively quickly if you have the documentation. Travel insurance almost always covers pre-existing medical conditions if the policy is purchased within a certain date. This time frame is almost always 21 days from the date the traveller made the first payment or deposit.
The second important category covered by travel insurance is delays, cancellation or curtailment which is also called interruption. Cancellation can result from personal injury or illness, death of the individual or family member, adverse weather conditions, transport strikes, terrorism, bankruptcy of a carrier or hotel, sudden unemployment, jury duty or serious damage to a residence making it uninhabitable.
Delay reimburses travelers 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 or curtailment pays 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 traveler, a trip has to be curtailed.
Although already mentioned, death is the third category. Death can come in the form of accidental death or dismemberment. This means you don’t have to actually die to be compensated. Obviously no one wants this type of event but it is possible.
Air flight accidents are a very real possibility. Travel insurance covers death or dismemberment for air flight during an air flight only. This makes sense so the policies include something called common carrier coverage.
This coverage covers death or dismemberment while travelling on public transport. Public transport includes ferries, trains, buses and taxis. Should you be on a motor scooter as your means of public transport, you should be covered as well.
The fourth category involves loss of or damage to property. Travelers have baggage. Baggage can be lost, stolen or damaged. For this type of coverage, payment is usually restricted to the duration of the trip and not confined to baggage damaged or lost by the airline. This expands the scope of the coverage.
As you might guess, insurance companies have two types of policy limits – total claim and per item maximum. They go a step further when it comes to jewelry, laptops, sporting goods, etc. They place limits on these types of items.
Rental Car damage is included in these policies. Its function is to reimburse travelers for damage or loss to a rental vehicle. While it is designed to allow a person to decline collision damage waiver (CDW) coverage offered by the car rental companies, a renter would be wise to still purchase the liability coverage offered by the car rental company. The premium is a lot less than paying for repairs to a new car.
Travel insurance companies offer a service they term assistance services. This service guarantees a 24-hour collect telephone advice and assistance service to travellers. Because it is a 24 hour service, you don’t have a limit as to when you use it. The wise traveler keeps a copy of this number in several places.
Travel insurance could end up being one of the wisest things you do for your trip. Given the number of situations that could adversely affect your trip or vacation, travel insurance may provide a peace of mind you would not otherwise enjoy.

Travel insurance is one of those items you don’t need until you need it. Not all of us travel great distances in the country or leave the country at all. Hence, the need for travel insurance is non-existent or minimal.

For those people who travel, this type of insurance is a very good idea. However, buying travel health insurance isn’t always easy. The biggest reason is there are so many different plans. Different plans mean different benefits and restrictions.

Regardless of which company you use to buy your travel insurance, there are some common questions. The answers should provide you with decision making ammunition.

All health type insurance, and travel insurance is a health policy, contains exclusions. These are the things NOT covered by the policy. For example, some policies contain exclusions relating to any type of sports activities.

Another common item is a deductible. This is a charge you must pay each time you file a claim. Along with a deductible, something called a pre-existing condition may not be covered. This means if an emergency arises because of this condition, the policy will not pay the claim.

On the flip side, you have to know what the policy will cover. Not only know but understand what is covered. Items like hospital room, physician, surgeon, anesthetist, ambulance, lab and x-rays, slings, splints, wheelchair/walker rental, prescription drugs and cost of returning a deceased back home are almost always covered.

Since you don’t want any surprises once you have to use the policy, be sure and ask questions so you know exactly what is covered as well as what is not covered.

It should go without saying that if you are reviewing a plan with too many restrictions or is complicated to understand, or if your questions are not being answered satisfactorily, you take your business elsewhere. There are far too many agents willing to help you find what is right for you.

It should also go without saying that the premiums you will hear for the coverage you want will vary by insurance company. The price variations should be minor but they will exist.

One point to keep in mind about the premium is that the cheapest isn’t always the best one. The reason is this company may be extremely difficult to deal with when you have a claim. Hopefully this guide to buying travel insurance helped.