Let’s be frank: travel insurance is an extra expense, and chances are you’ll pay more for it than you get back. However, one thing is certain – when you need insurance, you’re sure glad to have it. And when you break your leg on an African safari, you will be grateful you purchased travel insurance. If you have a big trip planned, or you travel regularly, investing in travel insurance will offer peace of mind. It might end up saving you thousands of dollars, if the unexpected happens.
Travel insurance is inexpensive, yet it comes with benefits. A comprehensive package is a valuable tool that can provide medical coverage in foreign environments, protection against unexpected events and simple services that can recover or replace lost luggage.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all insurance policy that’s best for everyone. With that in mind, look at our top three travel insurance plans: CSA Travel Protection, TravelSafe and Travelex
Travel Insurance: What to Look For
You might be surprised how much international travel insurance policies differ from one other. Each vendor emphasizes a slightly different aspect of protection. Therefore, you should buy the policy that is most pertinent to you. The three main categories to understand are travel benefits, medical benefits, and help and support features.
Travel Benefits
What happens if something prevents you from starting a trip that you've insured? What is the trip cancellation policy? How do you receive compensation for the prepaid and nonrefundable expenses incurred? Is there an option to cancel the trip for any reason? These are all relevant questions that should be answered before you purchase travel insurance.
Once under way, you should know the benefits provided if the trip is interrupted. What happens if your trip is delayed or you miss a connection? Who pays for the resulting expenses? Will the insurance policy compensate if your carrier loses or delays your baggage and you have to purchase something that was lost? Know the answers to these questions before you sign on the dotted line.
Medical Benefits
Some travel insurance policies lump together a benefit that covers any sort of medical or dental emergency caused by accident or sickness. Some policies subdivide the medical categories to provide one benefit for, say, emergency medical and dental, and another benefit for emergency accident and sickness. Most, but not all, budget travel insurance vendors cover costs of emergency medical evacuation. Among those that do, the range of compensation varies dramatically. Some providers include a benefit for common carrier accidental death and dismemberment and some do not. The key is to know your policy well.
Help & Support
There is a great deal of commonality among travel insurance policies in the help and support they provide. Every policy that we reviewed seems to offer similar features: 24-hour toll-free or collect telephone access to travel, business and concierge services. A review period immediately following your purchase gives you an opportunity to cancel your policy and receive a full refund. The length of this review period varies by provider.Once you've armed yourself with the proper information, you can make a choice to purchase travel insurance online to get the level of security you desire. Take the time to find the right policy and you'll get the most protection for your money. Knowing that you're covered is the first step to a great vacation.