HOLIDAY INSURANCE
Do I need holiday insurance?
That depends on your appetite for risk when traveling abroad. A travel insurance policy covers a wide range of potential pitfalls, starting with the possibility that you may not take the trip at all.
Almost any holiday involves paying money well in advance, and losing some or all of it if you can’t travel – because you have an accident, a relative falls ill or you get caught in an unholy traffic jam on the M25. Most travel insurance policies cover cancellation and its cousin, missed departure.
Next, all manner of things can go wrong on holiday. You could be a victim of theft, or need medical evacuation, or even, if you are really unlucky, die abroad. All of these mishaps come with a price tag. Subject to a slew of terms and conditions, travel insurance will meet most or all of the costs involved when the unexpected happens. You need to decide what risks you are prepared to accept, and therefore whether to pay out for something you hope you’ll never need to use: travel insurance
Isn’t it silly to travel uninsured?
It’s silly not to consider whether or not to take out travel insurance, but going without might be rational.
A very few countries, notably Cuba and Uzbekistan, demand that all overseas visitors have travel insurance. But for other trips, you might sensibly decide not to insure.
If you have booked a package holiday to the Med, then if you are unable to travel you can sell or give the trip to someone else (subject to a name-change fee of around £50). Most countries in Europe are covered by the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) scheme, offering treatment on the same basis as local citizens. And you may already have cover for valuables through your household insurance policy, or indeed not be carrying anything that you can’t afford to replace.
If your age or medical condition means that you face high premiums, you may rationally decide to self-insure – in other words, not insure at all. My 87-year-old mother-in-law takes a ridiculous number of European holidays each year, and on my advice pays not a bean for travel insurance.
But for most people going to most places, travel insurance is an excellent idea. Place a copy of the policy, plus the emergency contact number, with your essential documents.
Should I buy a single trip or annual policy?
It all depends what you’re planning. If you typically take a two-week annual holiday abroad plus one short break, then insurance to cover specific trips will probably work out best. But pretty soon it becomes worthwhile to buy a policy that allows an unlimited number of overseas holidays each year, subject to a maximum trip length – usually a month. You may be able to pay extra to extend this limit.
Should I use a price-comparison site?
If you are under 65, with no pre-existing medical conditions and plan no adventurous activities, then searching online will help you get a sense of price levels. The cheapest deals will typically offer a strong level of medical cover, but with limited or no protection for cancellation, property loss and peripheral benefits such as delays.
Once you know the cost of a basic no-frills policy, you could just check you’re happy with the small print and buy it. But it makes more sense to decide the risks that are important to you, and get a policy that covers the key elements.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Overseas Travel Insurance
Advantages of overseas travel insurance are complete protection as well as a sense of security, while you are on a foreign land. And the disadvantages of travel insurance are the huge expenses that may possibly end up being unneeded. The writer tells you more about the two sides of travel insurance i.e. pros and cons.
While there is no second opinion on family vacations being a matter of enjoyment, yet it is important to note that no getaway or outing is free of risks and/or accidents. When one plans to go on a tour, be it with family, friends or alone, he/she wishes to treat his/her eyes with wonderful landscapes, taste different cuisines, experience diverse traditions, etc. However, if the person, by any chance, comes across an unexpected accident, emergency or crisis like situation, his/her whole trip turns out to be a waste. Therefore, do not let your vacation turn a mood-spoiler, plan a travel insurance before you step out for your trip.
Advantages of Travel Insurance:
Basically with a travel insurance policy in your pocket, when you are traveling abroad, even under the awry situation you tend to maintain the calm because you don’t need to worry about the finances to meet your losses.
Therefore, when you are planning to travel abroad, it is important to consider the basic safety area of your own care-free vacation. The most simple protection alternatives of travel insurance include healthcare insurance coverage along with fast and effective transportation back to your country of origin. (You certainly don’t wish to spend money for an urgent situation helicopter trip!) Most of the insurance policies include protective cover against trip cancellation, missing checked-in luggage as well as other potential casualties.
In case you are spending thousands on a luxury cruise that might be spoiled by sickness or traveling in foreign countries, healthcare travel cover is regarded a sensible expenditure. The majority of medical health insurance plans do not cover out of country medical expenses.
Points you should consider:
a. All actions you engage in
b. Your travel locations
c. The travel season that you will be touring
d. Your physical health
e. Any specific prescription medications you need
Disadvantages of travel insurance:
What exactly is not a part of travel insurance policy can be an area of concern for some individuals. There are a number of insurance providers who offer travel insurance products.
Tour agencies generally provide you with travel insurance policies, but a majority of people think it is advisable to research prices in advance to evaluate prices as well as insurance coverage. Indeed, these kinds of agreements could be lengthy, however, it’s crucial that you really know what is protected as well as things which are not. You may get a bit disappointed in the beginning while considering the “cons” of buying travel insurance.
Apart from the expense of travel insurance, the following technicalities are regarding several travelers.
You will find specific things that will not likely be protected:
a. Modifying your thoughts for personalized purposes
b. Occurrence of war
c. Pre-existing health concerns
d. Harm by customs
In case you leave the country by means of helicopter or private plane in the course of an urgent situation, a reimbursement for the same probably will not follow. At the same time, some other insurance policies do cover up acts of terrorism, when the incident leads to miss out on your preferred approach of take a trip. However for most travel insurance policies, pre-existing health conditions are not protected. A few insurance providers are likely to make exceptions, however, with conditions hooked up; for instance, the insured person needs to be declared symptom-free for specific time period.
