People travelling on business or pleasure should be aware of the necessity of purchasing travel insurance to cover any eventuality. Before purchasing one, it is essential to check out the “fine print” and be aware of the various clauses, as each policy may cost differently according to the level of cover. Do not select one because it is cheap.
Look for the following points to be covered when you purchase travel insurance:
Be sure to get covered for Hospital and Medical expenses when you are travelling to far off destinations. You may end up paying astronomical bills overseas and if you happen to need repatriation back to Australia, for example, you would end up paying over $100,000.
It is necessary to take an insurance cover that will cover any serious mishap, illness or injury when travelling. You may need to be brought back home on an air ambulance or commercial aircraft immediately.
Therefore, ensure that your policy covers the high limits that may be expected from a hospital abroad and the medical cover. Make sure that it takes care of Emergency evacuation. You should be able to get your companion to travel back with you in case you are injured. Get covered for medical emergency service, round the clock. This includes emergency dental work as well and if you have any pre-existing medical condition, or if you are pregnant, cover these as well. Remember that the claims made are in effect only till you return to native soil.
The other important factor when travelling is your personal possessions and luggage. Main thefts arise at baggage carousels when there is no proper supervision.
There may be time limit on the claims for expensive items so double check to make sure of these. Some individual items may have a limit and if luggage is stolen from the hotel room along with your cash, you can make a valid claim.
You should be able to avail of the Cancellation or Curtailment claim where you can cancel. or cut short your trip, in case of an emergency, such as accident or serious illness to you or your close relative.
Look for travel insurance companies that take care of liabilities and legal expenses in case of injury or accident when you are travelling overseas. Not all of them cover legal expenses that may arise when you are driving a car and cause an accident.
Another important cover is for rental cars that you may hire when you are holidaying overseas. In case of an accident, you should be able to use the policy to take care of expenses that may occur. You may have to pay an additional excess but it is worth the expense, as you may have to pay the rental company much more in case of trouble.
Nowadays, there are several instances of flight delays and this could pose a problem when operating on tight schedules with limited time for layovers. The expenses you will have to incur for transfers, shuttle costs and hotels will be very high. Cover yourself for such unforeseen delays in flight connections caused by delays.
Once you reach home, the travel insurance policies cease to be in effect for most of the insurance covers. In some cases, you may be able to take a cover that allows you to rush back home if a relative is sick or there is a sudden death in the family. You will be able to resume your journey after you return home and see to the arrangements and also have this cost covered by the insurance agency.
Make sure you always read the fine print for any insurance policy before you purchase one to be aware of the limitations of the cover. Each one of us has special needs that should be covered within the budget that we set aside for our vacation.
