Best Travel Insurance
Best travel insurance guide: Traveling is the best form of relaxation cause you get to see unknown places, meet many people and learn about cultures. We will discuss travel insurance, and we make this possible with the help of the opinions we get from customers and reports we gathered.
Best travel insurances in comparison
What is a best Travel Insurance?
Travel insurance protects you from financial risks and losses that can happen while you are traveling. You can purchase this before you leave your country or your home destination to go to another. Losses incurred can be because of trip cancellation, missed flights, lost baggage, theft, terrorism, medical emergencies, and in worse cases, bring your body home in case of death.
You are preventing trouble before it even happens, and the most effective way is to have a backup.
Why do you need Travel Insurance?
In case of losses, the travel insurance will cover your financial losses when you file a claim. The claim requires paperwork or proof of your loss so that the company can verify it and consider it actual.
One sample of loss is when you cancel a trip because you are not well enough to travel, and a doctor may advise you to cancel your trip. Usually, when it is just days before the trip, you may not be able to get a refund. When you have travel insurance, this is one example of a loss if you can no longer refund what you paid for your ticket.
When you are back to your usual health, you may start the proceedings of filing for your claim. Get the requirements, you can show to the best insurance company, such as the doctor’s diagnosis, the ticket, and other documents you may deem appropriate.
There are various ways an insurance company can pay your losses, and this will depend on what you signed when you get the insurance.
The best time to buy travel insurance can be 50 days before you leave for your trip or 14 days before departure, even a day before you travel.
There are also disadvantages of having travel insurance that you need to be aware of, like:
Some pre-existing medical conditions may not be covered like heart disease, diabetes, or epilepsy. You can have this covered if you pay extra for it, and you need to discuss this fully with the insurance company.
Loopholes in the insurance coverage
There are unmentioned things and situations your travel insurance may not cover. It may be a harmless falling from a certain height by accident, and it is not considered an extreme sport, but then this is considered. This you cannot contest until you are in the said situation.
It does not include other medical urgencies
Supposing venomous snake bite you and it does not cover this in your travel insurance cause it is not indicated, then you are in for a lot of medical expenses. It will surely leave you with a dent in your pocket. Make sure that the insurance includes many types of medical urgencies, if not all.
You did not use your travel insurance
This is good cause you will go home safely with no terrifying experiences abroad, but to other people, they waste this money they could have used to enjoy shopping and relaxing to their travel destination. Other people are not keen on getting any insurance, thinking that as long as they keep an eye on their luggage, there is no risk, and if they have a clean bill of health, there is no need for any insurance.
There are different Travel Insurance, such as
Single Trip Insurance
More suitable for those who travel once a year where you will be covered for a single trip of up to 45 days and 23 days for those who are over 75 years old.
There is also travel insurance depending on what activity you will do, while on a single trip. Some samples include snowboarding or skiing, which is high-risk sports that require an additional premium as coverage.
Multi-trip (Annual) Travel Insurance
This will cover you if you travel out of the country more than once a year. You will have more benefits to this type of travel insurance cause as long as you are within the 12-months it covers you wherever you go on a vacation. This is available for up to 74 years old. There are different policies to choose from depending on the age as well.
Single Trip for Long Stay Travel Insurance
This is more apt for those who go abroad for quite some time. A person who may stay out of the country for many months. You will be covered for up to 18 months, and they allow this for people up to 64 years old during departure.
Experiences with Travel Insurance
When you have a death in the family and you need to cancel your trip abroad, or it may be the death of your companion, they cover this as well. This coverage is called Trip Interruption or Trip Delays.
One experience with travel insurance as detailed by a covered client included being in a motorbike accident while he was abroad. He was billed for chin stitches, knocked out teeth, and wrist fracture. He filed a claim, and since he had all the receipts with him, his claims were approved right away.
One good thing about it is the traveler did not hesitate about going to the hospital for fear of spending extra, which is out of his budget, but with travel insurance, everything was taken care of.
Another experience was when his passport was stolen from his wallet in his hotel room, including pocket money. This can put a dent on you while you travel, and without travel insurance, this is going to cost you big time. Not to mention the money that could have been used for your further enjoyment.
Another traveler experienced losing his camera because of a storm as it was flooded inside his bag, and without travel insurance, he had to buy another one from his own pocket. He had to bring it to a repair center and have it quoted for repairs so the insurance company can pay for it, but in case the repair will cost more than getting a new camera, the insured will have a new camera instead.
One traveler had a knee injury while skiing, and he tumbles down the mountain and blows out his left knee. The ski patrol team rescued him and had to have emergency care treatment in a hospital and had to spend over $2500 in hospital bills, but since his policy can cover it, the insurance company paid for everything.
One dreadful experience by another traveler happened in Switzerland cause he had a brain aneurysm while traveling. It’s a good thing that insurance covered him, that care and surgery were taken care of, cause he had to stay for weeks in the hospital before he could come home. The insurance company paid over $70K in claims.
A traveler experienced fever, headache, and body malaise while he was on a trip, experienced shivers, even though it was hot outside. He had to get himself checked at the nearby hospital and found out he had dengue fever. What happened was treatment for a few days, and his flight was delayed because of it. He was able to make a claim for almost $2K.
Where to book?
You can buy travel insurance from the company where you book the trip, or you can also get it from another company. You need to get a quote for your upcoming trip so you’ll have an idea and the expenses.
In the office
Buying direct from an insurance company is another way to get travel insurance.- When you buy directly from the office, you can have better choices, and you get better offers.
- The best time to buy travel insurance is when you book your trip, so it will be easier to have pre-existing conditions covered or other issues when buying insurance.
- Do not just have travel insurance to cover your material losses, such as theft of valuable possessions and money. Luggage is another issue, though this is important and must be covered.
- The cost of insurance may not be as expensive as you fear it would be. Traveling is expensive, but you can get travel insurance for only 10% of your travel cost. However, remember that you may have a different quote if you travel to any countries that are considered dangerous for travelers.
- When you are in the office, you may need to discuss as well when you are over 50 cause this will be more expensive as compared to younger travelers.
- Since the company will have you answer some questions before they give you a quote and will help you decide if you can afford it or you want another type of coverage.
- Choosing a plan may be easier if you have a travel professional who can assist you and make you decide faster, and they can give you unique plans to choose from.
- Look at the reviews first before you go to the travel insurance company, there will be a lot of testimonies you can check. You’ll know as well if the company pays for each claim or if they have a way of getting out of the coverage.
- Do not be impressed by some offers that promise a lot of extras and bonuses, this is not the best way to choose an insurance company to rely on. Reviews are more helpful cause it is statements from clients who have tried their services.
Book best Travel Insurance online
When buying travel insurance online, follow the steps required to get it, some companies will require you to answer some questions before they will give you a quote.- Once you get a quote, you can decide if the plan will work for you.
- Travel professionals will help you decide and can have it tailor-fit for you.
- Choosing your plan from the many recommendations by the travel insurance company is easier if they present it to you and explained it well.
- When you choose a plan, ask yourself why you are buying travel insurance. Is it for the material loss? Is it for trip cancellation, or are you more interested in the medical coverage?
- Check out the travel insurance company that will underwrite the plan and make sure they are highly rated.
- Make sure that you read your policy first and review it as much. Some information you need to review includes the covered reasons for trip cancellation and interruption. Pre-Existing Medical Conditions, Exclusions, and Luggage Limits.
- If everything is in place after you read it, then it is time to decide to buy the insurance.
- Another insurance company allows a free look where you can further examine your plan to be sure that everything is according to your need. During this free-look period, and you find something you don’t like about the insurance, you may contact the travel professional or the insurance company to let them know.
- If you are not satisfied further, you can also cancel the plan, and you can get a full refund if all happens within the free-look period.
FAQ about the best Travel Insurance
How much does travel insurance cost?
It can cost anywhere between 5 to 10% of the total prepaid, non-refundable cost of your trip. It can range anywhere between $250 to $500 or up depending on some variables or add-ons. The cost can also depend on the following factors:
- Your age
- How much you will spend on your trip?
- Amount of coverage you are planning to get
- Plan coverage
- How many people It covers
- Where is your destination?
- How many flight segments?
- How long is your trip?
- Days before your departure
How to gauge if the insurance coverage is good or not?
Look for the things covered by the insurance that is being offered to you. There should be trip cancellation coverage, emergency medical evacuation insurance, protection for lost or stolen luggage, travel assistance, emergency medical insurance.
Where can I buy my travel insurance?
You can buy it:
- Online with the help of insurance aggregator
- From a travel professional
- With the help of a travel supplier
- Via your credit card
- Directly from any insurance company
What is not included in travel insurance in case of an item lost?
Can my travel insurance include only family members that are traveling with me?
There is a travel insurance company that allows non-family members to be covered by the insurance as long as they live in the same house.
When can you say that it is too late to buy travel insurance?
Travel insurance can be purchased up to 24 hours before your travel date, but you can have less coverage. Getting your travel insurance can be more beneficial to you with more coverage if you get it at the earliest time possible.
Is it just a waste of money to get travel insurance?
You can have something as a fallback in case of unexpected costs incurred while you are traveling. You don’t know what can happen while you are on your trip, and it is wise to have protection while you are away, whether because of pleasure or business. You can also stay away from worries when you are abroad, especially when your luggage got lost or delayed.
Conclusion
There are many benefits one can gain from getting travel insurance. One is prevention from unexpected expenses, especially when it involves medical expenses that can reach thousands of dollars. It is better to be safe when abroad cause you never know what awaits. Even a simple allergy can send you to the hospital, where you can incur a lot of expenses. With the best travel insurance backing you up, it may seem like you have some sort of protective shield.