Vacation Insurance... Saves Your Money, Time And
Frustrations! ...
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Don't forget your vacation insurance before you take
off for any travel.
I am very serious when it comes to insurance, I do not want to take
any chances, I grew up in a family with my mother as a sole bread
winner, my Dad passed away when I was 10 years old without any
insurance. Life was very very difficult then.
So the same goes with vacation insurance too!
It can cost you an extra few thousands of dollars if the cruise or
tour operator goes bankrupt, or if you need to shorten your vacation
due to sickness or injury.
Quick Tip
The biggest myth would be that your normal health insurance covers
you when you are away, or that since many travelers visit an area or
region, access to medical care is easy or affordable.
Here's a quick guide to understanding what a good vacation insurance
should cover for any travel.
1. Travel Curtailment
If you or an immediate family member becomes seriously ill or is
injured during the vacation most vacation insurance companies would
reimburse you for the unused portion of the vacation.
2. Travel Cancellation
You would be reimbursed if the cruise line or tour operator goes out
of business. It would also reimburse you if you have to cancel the
vacation due to sickness, a death in the family or other calamity
listed in the insurance policy.
Travel cancellation is very different from a Cancellation Waiver
that many cruise and tour operators offer. Waivers are relatively
inexpensive. They provide coverage if you have to cancel the trip,
but they have many restrictions.
They must be purchased when you book the trip and will usually not
cover you immediately before departure. Most importantly, waiver is
not insurance.
2. Personal liability
Personal Liability is important in case of legal liability, arising
out of one's negligence in causing a third party injury (or death)
and/or third party property damage.
Some traveler insurance companies even insure against the loss or
theft of golfing equipment and laptops.
3. Luggage/Baggage/Flight Delay
This feature comes along with a "Time" excess, meaning that the
traveler insurance companies only compensate when the delay exceeds
a certain time frame. The limit for loss of luggage/baggage/flight
varies, usually with a cap for individual items.
4. Emergency & Medical Assistance and Information Service
Look for those 24-hour services that offer information on visa
requirements, foreign exchange, weather forecasts and medical advice
et cetera.
Emergency evacuation is very helpful indeed for inexperienced
travelers or travelers with medical conditions or for those who are
traveling to more remote and less traveled places.
These service centers may also offer emergency assistance in the
form of embassy, legal, interpreter and medical referrals.
Most vacation insurance policies would compensate a couple of
hundred dollars for each day of hospitalization up to the maximum
limit indicated in their respective packages.
This is solely to compensate the traveler for the number of days
spent in a hospital overseas and should not be mistaken as hospital
or medical reimbursement, which takes care of the hospital and ward
charges.
5. Accidental Death insurance
Personal accident coverage, which is to compensate the insured for
permanent or temporary disablement or death as a result of an
accident.
There Are Two Main Types of Vacation Insurance...
Annual Policy
Most traveler insurance companies offer vacation insurance on annual
basis as well as per trip basis. Annual policies cover unlimited
trips made by the insured during the entire year provided that each
trip does not exceed a certain number of days, usually 90 days.
No declaration is required.
For frequent flyers, this type of cover would be most ideal in terms
of cost and convenience.
Family Vacation Insurance
Family packages are also designed to cater for immediate families
traveling together. Definition of immediate families would mean you,
your spouse and your children.
Family vacation insurance are usually priced lower premium than if
individual insurance policies were to be taken up for the whole
family.
Special Features ALERT!
Go for vacation insurance policies come with higher deductible and
this translates into lower premium.
The worst case scenario is you may end up having to bear the first
$40 or $50 of every claim that you make.
Deductible: (Also known as Excess in UK, NZ, AU) This is the amount
that the insured must pay before the vacation insurance starts
paying for your claim.
This may be an annual amount, an amount for the duration of the
policy, or an amount for each incident. Choose the latter.
For those of you who intend to engage in water or winter sports
during your vacation, it would be wise to take up your insurers who
offer free coverage for such activities.
Some traveler insurance companies may charge an additional premium
for this extension, so it is better to check this point before you
effect your cover.
Unfortunately, the definition of water sports in the typical travel
policy does not include scuba diving.
Not surprisingly, bungee jumping is excluded from most policies.
Watch out for age limits imposed by some traveler insurance
companies, meaning that persons exceeding a certain age are excluded
from their coverage. But if you belong to this elderly group, fret
not.
There are traveler insurance companies that do not impose any age
limit and offer the same coverage at no additional premium loading.
A unique coverage that is being offered in the traveler insurance
market is the "Car Rental Excess". This feature takes care of the
excess amount that the insured normally has to bear (under the motor
policy taken up at car rental companies) in the event of damage to
the rented vehicle while driving overseas.
Price of Vacation Insurance also known as Premium - Premium
Computation
For "per-trip" policies, the premium payable hinges considerably on
the number of days of travel, the country of destination and choice
of plan.
For example, if you are from Europe, a vacation in USA warrants a
much higher premium than a trip within Europe for the same number of
days.
Some traveler insurance companies provide the option of higher
limits of coverage at of course, a higher premium.
If price is of concern, it is advisable to keep on hand the premium
schedule from a few traveler insurance companies for comparison
before you activate your insurance before each trip.
Claim Procedure
I consider this the most important aspect of buying a vacation
insurance.
All traveler insurance companies will require you to lodge your
claims within a certain time frame. You would be required to
complete and submit a claim form, which can be obtained from the
traveler insurance company.
In almost all instances, your claims must be accompanied by relevant
documents, such as medical receipts for medical reimbursement or
hospital cash; a police report for loss of money or personal
documents; an official letter from the airline in cases of flight or
luggage delay and loss of luggage if within custody of the airline.
In all cases, call up and inform your traveler insurance company
immediately for necessary advice.
There you are... now with a basic knowledge of vacation insurance,
you are equipped to choose the best suited to your travel needs and
you are all set to fly! |
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About The Author: |
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As a business traveler, Jonathan has traveled extensively within
America, across Asia and Europe. Last minute travel is the norm for
him, you can check out his Last Minute Vacations Guide at http://www.last-minute-vacation-guide.com. |
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| Kopp Creek Bed and Breakfast |
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