The type of insurance policy that covers the damages and losses you might suffer during your trip is travel insurance. Travel insurance gives you protection on domestic and international trips. Earlier people used to avoid travel insurance but in this COVID-19 era, the number is going to increase. There are many types of travel insurance that cover your travel cancellation, baggage misplacement, medical expenses, and accidental deaths during travel.
What do you mean by Travel Insurance?
Tour and travel companies while selling travel packages offer its customers travel insurance as an option. It is not mandatory but many travelers opt for it. The reason behind it is simple. It protects you from some kind of problems that you may face during the trip. They are like cancellation of your tour, loss of baggage, accidents that you may face during the trip, or if you get sick the travel insurance will cover your medical expenses as well. It gives you 24/7 services during your tour. So buying travel insurance while you are going for a tour will be a great help for you.
Also read: Guide to Using your Credit Card’s Travel Insurance
Let us discuss the type of travel insurance you will need while you are on a trip.
What type of travel insurance will you need?
1. Trip Cancellation Coverage
When you are booking earlier for a trip you should go for trip cancellation insurance. You don’t know the future. Things can change quickly. Anything can happen before you go on a trip. Suppose you have booked a travel package a few months earlier and just before your trip you fell ill or someone from your family dies. Then it will not be possible for you to go on the trip.
Weather-related issues may also occur. Suddenly there is a cyclonic alert in the place where you are about to take the trip. So you may have to postpone your trip. Something can happen related to your work. Before a trip, some conflict can occur in your business. This will lead to the cancellation of the trip. For this kind of unexpected situations, it is better to have travel insurance. It will refund your money because most of the travel packages are non-refundable.
Suppose you have paid $4500 on a tour package. The tour company is refunding your $2500. The rest of the money is non-refundable. So if you have travel insurance it will cover your non-refundable $1500. Travel insurance only covers the non-refundable amount so there is no need to cover your whole package.
2. Baggage and Personal effects Coverage
This type of travel insurance covers you if your baggage goes missing, somebody stole it or it got damaged. The insurance policy covers your baggage the whole time while you are on a tour. Although most of the airline and carrier companies give reimbursement if your baggage is misplaced or damaged. But they reimburse up to a certain amount. So if you take this insurance it will give additional protection to your belongings. Loss of the baggage is common so it is better that you have Baggage and personal effects coverage.
3. Medical Coverage
In Travel insurance, there are two types of medical coverage. One is short-term medical coverage and another is major medical coverage. If you are going for a tour which is between five days to one year you can apply for short term medical coverage. But if it is beyond one year then you should go for long term major medical insurance. The medical insurance helps you to meet up with all the expenses that may occur during your travel. This insurance policy finds you doctors, healthcare facilities while you are away on a tour.
If you already have medical insurance the U.S. government asks you to inquire from the company if it extends its cover outside the country. Suppose if you are going on an international trip you should ask your insurance provider if it extends its coverage while you are outside the country.
4. Accidental Coverage
This type of travel insurance comes into effect when the traveler or someone from his family gets serious injuries or dies in an accident while they are on a tour. The insurance provides coverage to the beneficiary. You may not need this type of insurance if you already have a life insurance policy. But the accidental insurance pays you coverage even if you have life insurance. Thus the beneficiary receives more money. So it is better to have this insurance policy when you are on a trip.
Flight accident insurance covers the traveler if there is a flight accident. It pays the beneficiary if the flight is a licensed one.
Type of Travel Insurance
There are three types of travel insurance coverage available in the market. They are Pre-Trip, Multi-Trip, and Annual Coverage. Pre-Trip insurance covers a traveler’s single trip. Multi-Trip protects travelers from multiple trips in a year. But the condition is that each trip should be less than 30 days. Annual Travel insurance protects the traveler for a full year. So when you are going to buy a travel insurance plan make sure that you buy the perfect one that suits you. If you are a frequent traveler then you should opt for annual coverage.
Cost of Travel insurance
The cost of travel insurance depends on the type of coverage the traveler is choosing, the age of the traveler, travel destination, and the cost of the trip. Usually, the cost of travel insurance is 5% to 7% of the trip cost. There is a special rider policy available for the expatriates, athletes, and business travelers.
Final words
These are the type of travel insurance you can avail of in a travel insurance plan. In the post COVID era if you are planning for a tour you should have a travel insurance plan. It will cover you from the problems that you may face in case of a medical emergency. The travel insurance plan is also important for trip cancellation, baggage misplacement, and accidents. So it is better to protect yourself. Because prevention is better than cure.
Clear your doubts from the insurance provider. Read the insurance plan carefully before applying. Share the article if you like it. For further information comment in our comment box below.
Add Comment