Travel Insurance

It’s a good idea to buy travel insurance before you go. Comprehensive travel insurance generally covers trip cancellation, medical and theft situations. The following are some tips that you should follow when you are looking for travel insurance.  But make sure your flight doesn’t include travel insurance, cause many do.

Always buy from am insurance company:

A cruise line, airline, or other travel company may go out of business, and your insurance may not be honored. Insurance companies are usually well funded and always get bought out if they are in trouble.  Also, if you are doing a package thing like Club Med or a Contiki tour, you most likely have insurance through them, but it always makes sense to ask.

No two travelers and no two trips are the same:

There are single-trip, annual, backpacker, worldwide, ski and winter sports, and other specialty insurance policies. When you decide on a policy, make sure you know what activities it doesn’t cover, such as certain sports (e.g., bungee jumping).

Make sure you understand the medical coverage.

You are going to want a policy that covers transportation to your home country.  The last thing you want is to be stuck in an alien hospital with a serious problem.  You should also make sure that your whole family is protected.

Also find out about pre-existing conditions.

You should also find out how much money you are entitled to.  Many insurance companies put limits on how much they will pay out.  It’s never safe to bring a lot of valuables with you on a trip anyway, but if you have to make sure you are comfortable with the amount of money you’ll get back if you lose them.

Know your deductible.

Some policies are total rip-offs and you’ll end up paying way more than you were willing to.  Take this into consideration and be secure with how much you will pay out compared to how much you’ll get back.

Know the terms.

In some cases you will have to pay the up front costs of your medical bills before they will treat you.  Then, they pay you back when you get home.  This can be a real pain if you were mugged and had all of your possessions taken. 

Shop around.

Obviously you are on the Internet already, which is a good start when you are looking for the best deals in travel insurance.  The insurance game is highly competitive and there are tons of deals out there.  Just, again, make sure that the company that you are dealing with is reputable and that they have fully disclosed all of the terms of the agreement.