Travel insurance is a policy document which aims to protect you against risks and damages that you may encounter while travelling, be it a solo trip to another part of the world or a complete family vacation, the travel insurance ensures that your journey is smooth and you don’t face any unpleasant monetary situation when on trip.
A typical travel insurance policy will have coverage for a traveller’s main concerns, including trip cancellations, medical emergencies, travel delays, and lost luggage. Most policies are built to be comprehensive to protect travellers from a variety of events that may cause a financial loss before or during their trip.
For many travellers, the number one reason to buy travel insurance is for financial protection in case they can’t take their trip. With Trip Cancellation coverage, you can protect all of your prepaid and non-refundable trip expenses.
Trip Cancellation can refund 100% of your trip expenses if you cancel your trip before leaving for a reason covered by your policy.
If you get sick or injured while travelling abroad, most domestic health insurance plans, including Medicare, likely won’t extend coverage overseas. However, medical and medical evacuation benefits are built into most travel insurance policies and can cover you in multiple countries while you’re travelling.
There are two main travel medical insurance benefits: Emergency Medical and Medical Evacuation.
Emergency Medical coverage can reimburse you for the costs associated with medical treatment for an illness or injury during your trip. This can include coverage for physician services, ambulance services, and hospital charges, among other expenses.
Medical Evacuation is included alongside Emergency Medical coverage. This benefit can arrange for your transportation to the nearest hospital in the event of a medical emergency and can bring you home if the hospital determines it’s necessary for your situation.
Travel insurance covers more than cancellations and medical emergencies; it can also help you if your flight is delayed or you miss your connecting flight.
The Travel Delay benefit is available to help if your flight is delayed for a reason outside of your control, such as inclement weather or a mechanical breakdown of your plane. Travel insurance can refund your meals and hotel accommodations during your delay if your flight is delayed and you take meals or opt for any accommodation make sure to save their receipts, so you can claim your spent money.
Missed Connection is for travellers who are delayed, and incur additional costs to catch up to their trip. This benefit can help you if you missed your departure for a reason covered by your policy, such as severe weather, a mechanical breakdown, or an accident on your way to the airport.
The travel insurance coverage for your personal items can include lost or damaged items, or delayed luggage.
If your luggage is delayed, you can be refunded up to the policy’s benefit limit, to purchase clothes and other essentials after 12-24 hours. This benefit won’t refund the cost of the actual items that are delayed, however, if your luggage is permanently lost or damaged, you can be reimbursed to replace the lost items. In order to overcome any of the lost baggage mishaps do keep the track of items present in your every luggage.
Coverage for lost or damaged luggage is limited to a per item maximum, typically ranging from $250-$500.
Like any other type of insurance, travel insurance doesn’t cover everything.
Travellers with unsuccessful claims become frustrated because they feel they have been cheated and not accommodated as promised by the travel insurance company. This can be avoided by understanding what is covered and what is not.
This information is provided in the policy certificate, which you should review during your free look period or before you start your travel, so when you travel you have complete information.
Travel insurance does not cover cancellations for ‘everything’ and not all mishaps happening due to multiple reasons can be covered under your bought travel policy.
Travel insurance policies have a list of ‘exclusions’
Every travel insurance policy has a list of the situation in which coverage is not provided, also known as exclusions. This is a specific list of reasons, and it should be reviewed carefully to avoid misunderstandings.
Travel insurance provides coverage for cancellation and interruptions, but the reason for the cancellation makes a difference because not everything is covered. Travel insurance policies provide a list of covered reasons for trip cancellation. If your reason is not on the list aforementioned, you will not be covered.
Any cancellations for medical reasons need to be recommended and documented by a doctor. You cannot simply cancel a trip because a family member is sick…you need to have them see a doctor and have that doctor make that recommendation.
A pre-existing condition is something that happened (or started to happen) before you had insurance coverage. When you file a claim due to a medical condition, the travel insurance company will look at your medical records.
They will need to determine if/when this condition started to happen. If they look back and see if the condition was not known, your claim would be accepted. If they see that you were diagnosed for the condition, that would be a pre-existing condition and coverage would be denied.
Use a comparison tool to get quotes for all plans, easily compare on Smartchoice.pk and buy online….
1. Click on the travel insurance button, this will take you to the comparison tool
2. Enter your trip details: Dates, travellers, etc…Then click the Quote Now button
3. Check out the options to narrow your choice: Compare features to pick a plan
4. Buy online: After selecting a plan, use a credit card/debit card/ Jazz Cash/Keenu to securely pay online
5. Rest assured: Instant confirmation of coverage and surety of receiving a policy within minutes of your payment confirmation.
This post was last modified on November 18, 2019 6:51 pm
Traditional insurance companies are not always the ideal examples of excellence in customer service. They…
Insurance planning is part of a long-term retirement strategy. However, managing insurance and its expenses can…
Life is full of uncertainties, and a very challenging event to deal with is the…
Economic uncertainty has become a recurring theme in the current world scenario. As consumers, we are…
Suppose you have a side gig driving for a company like In Drive or Careem.…
Accidents and losses are inevitable in life, and the extent to which these losses affect…
