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Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is usually the last thing on people's mind when they are booking a trip, but can turn out to be the most important thing to have when you are in a crisis situation. Here are some of the types of travel insurance you can purchase.

MEDICAL CARE: If you fall sick on your trip, you will be covered for any medical care you need. Make sure you understand the limitations in your policy, as some have upper limits for the amount they will pay and many have "preexisting conditions" limitations.

MEDICAL TRANSPORT: Most insurance policies will pay for you to be transported to a medical establishment, such as by road or air ambulance.

REPATRIATION: The policy covers the cost of being returned to your home country after your medical treatment. This also covers the transport of your remains if you die while abroad.

MEDICAL EVACUATION: In the event of you being extremely sick and there not being a good hospital where you are, you will be evacuated to the nearest good hospital for treatment, even if this means taking you to another country.

HOSPITAL INCIDENTALS: This covers incidental costs while you are a patient in a hospital. This is only given after a minimum length of stay and also has an upper limit on the amount you can claim.

CANCELLATION OR TRIP INTERRUPTION: This covers any costs of you having to change the duration of your trip, such as flight changes etc. This coverage usually kicks in for specific reasons, i.e., a death in the family or something happening to your home, such as fire.

MISSED FLIGHTS: This covers all added costs if you miss your flight back home. This will help you get the first possible flight back, as well as cover any extra costs of changing flights or hotel stays.

PERSONAL LIABILITY: This gives you coverage in case you hurt a third party or damage any property.

LEGAL EXPENSES: There is usually some sort of coverage provided if you have to get involved in litigation while on your visit.

PERSONAL ACCIDENT: This means that if you get hurt or die during your trip, you will be given some amount of money.

PERSONAL BAGGAGE: This covers your belongings while on the trip. If you lose a bag, a laptop or any other belongings, you can claim compensation for it. This is usually accompanied with information on the maximum amounts you can claim, for instance on jewelery.

All of these are advantages of carrying travel insurance, however, the coverages given to you under different policies vary, so make sure you read the fine print before you sign any documents or pay for your coverage.

Depending on where you are going, and how long you are going for, you will be required to pay different amounts. So, it may be more expensive to buy travel insurance for a dangerous country, as compared to a country with low crime rate.

With some tour operators you can purchase "cancel for any reason" insurance, which gives you total protection. Always check under which circumstances you are allowed to be compensated.

There are several good sites to buy travel insurance. One is Travel Guard. They have been around a long time and have reliable coverage.

Another site that is good for price comparisons for travel insurance is Insure My Trip.