Before going on vacation, make sure that you have the right travel insurance in place. Holidays can end up costing thousands of dollars, and you don’t want your dream holiday ruined by some unforeseen mishap. This could be due to either medical reasons or an unexpected cancellation, such as, for example when the company that operates your cruise ship or your tour goes bankrupt, or you need to cancel your trip due to illness.
There are four main kinds of travel insurance, but it’s also possible to find groups or “packages” that include several of these insurances and other services. In this article, we will explore these four main types of travel insurances. Finally, we’ll tell you where you can find each of them in order to request the one that is the most suitable for your trip.
1. Trip Cancellation Insurance
This travel insurance will reimburse you the money that you had paid if, for example, the company that operates your tour or your cruise ship goes bankrupt and your whole trip cannot be made. It also provides coverage in case you need to cancel the trip yourself because you got ill, or because you’ve suffered the loss of a family member just before your trip. All of these conditions that may result in the cancellation of your trip are specified in the insurance policy beforehand. Furthermore, if either you or one of your family members gets sick or suffers a serious injury during the trip and have to head back home, most of these policies will cover for the unused part of the trip.
The cost is, in general, between 5% and 7% of the price of the trip, which for a $5,000 trip would mean that the insurance may cost you between $250 and $350. The trip cancellation insurance differs from the cancellation waivers that are offered by the travel companies directly to their passengers. The cost of those is more economical, between $40 and $60, but have more limited benefits.
2. Baggage Loss Insurance
This coverage will reimburse you for loss or damage to your baggage and personal belongings during a trip. Insuring your personal belongings of up to $1,000 for a week of travelling may cost you around $50. Before getting this insurance, check out how much coverage is offered by the airline you’re travelling with.
If you travel with expensive items or equipment, such as jewellery or sports equipment, insurance can be more expensive but will give you peace of mind, knowing that you will get paid if something happens to your precious belongings.
3. Emergency Medical Assistance
This insurance provides you with medical assistance during your trip. If you get sick or injured during the trip, the medical expenses incurred at the foreign hospital will be taken care of by the insurance. In case the disease or injury is severe and you need to fly back to your country, the cost of this is also covered. Furthermore, in these cases, you may need to take the flight in a stretcher and be accompanied by a doctor, for which the cost can be extremely expensive (up to 10 times the price of a regular flight). So, you’d better have travel insurance, in case something like this happens. When looking for this kind of insurance, it is important to understand if there are cover limits.
4. Personal Liability
This insurance covers your legal liability when travelling abroad. It includes legal expenses for bodily injuries or damage to property of other people as a result of a claim made against you.
So, these are the 4 main benefits that you can find in a travel insurance. To add it all up, you should go to a travel insurance comparator such as this one to check out the different packages and prices and find out which one suits your needs better.
