Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The Ultimate Guide to Travel Insurance for Your Family

Travel insurance provides protection financial protection for your family while travelling. It covers medical expenses, trip cancellation, delayed departures, and personal liability. Additionally, it may cover replacement costs of lost luggage, damaged items, and theft. People travelling for business, adventure, leisure, internationally, and educational purposes are all eligible to purchase travel insurance.
Types of Coverage
Many health insurance providers do not cover medical expenses incurred while travelling abroad to another country. Therefore, travellers insurance that provides major medical coverage is necessary for families travelling internationally. Accidents occur every day, and children are even more prone to danger. 
Take for example, the family who went snorkelling along the coral reef. Their son bumped his leg into a sharp point and it began to bleed profusely, requiring stitches. Luckily, for his parents, they had purchased medical coverage for their trip, so they did not incur an added expense at the emergency room.
Each year, thousands of families utilize rental cars while travelling internationally. It is much more convenient and cost effective than using public transportation. However, driving in another country can be hazardous because of different driving laws, legal requirements, and unclear directions. Travel insurance that offers rental car coverage provides protection against these perils. 
If your family is involved in an auto accident overseas, rental car plans will cover expenses such as, vehicle repair or replacement, medical costs for your family and the other driver, liability, and legal assistance.
Have you ever been waiting at an airport for hours, only to learn that your flight was cancelled? It is a frustrating feeling. Additionally, now you and your family are going to miss the connecting flight. If you are lucky, the airline might reimburse you for the cancelled flight or they will just put you on standby, which means you have to wait at the airport for the next available seat on a flight to your connecting city. 
However, the airline will not assume responsibility for the missed connecting flight. Therefore, you must purchase additional airline tickets for you and your family if you still want to go on vacation. Now your family retreat costs twice as much, which leaves less money in your pocket for activities. Travel insurance would not only cover the delayed flight, but also the missed connecting flight. Additionally, most insurance companies provide twenty-four hour assistance that takes care of the headaches and hassles involved in dealing with the airlines.
Baggage handlers at the airport are responsible for hundreds of thousands bags each day. It is no wonder they sometimes make mistakes. Luggage mix-ups are even more likely to take place when going on a long trip that involves changing planes at various airports and customs. With carry on restrictions being so stringent, more and more people are checking their luggage and entrusting it to airline baggage handlers. 
What would you do if your luggage did not arrive at your destination? Imagine the feeling of standing at baggage claim, waiting for your suitcase, and it never rolls through. You ask the people at the airport and they have no idea what happened. 
All of your clothing, personal items, and travel documents were in that bag. What do you do now? If you purchased travel insurance that covers lost or stolen baggage, you are in luck. The policy will reimburse you for clothing, personal hygiene items, jewellery, shoes, and undergarments. The insurance concierge service will assist you with lost documents and recovery.
Special Circumstances
Although travel insurance covers most situations and circumstances, some are not included. Non-covered medical expenses may include pre-existing, chronic conditions, such as diabetes and asthma. Typically, travel insurance pays medical expenses for pregnant women in their first trimester, but not after that. 
Additionally, if you and your family are travelling to a high-risk country, such as one that is involved in a war or terrorist activities, most insurance companies will not cover expenses incurred at those destinations. However, you may be able to purchase travel insurance for high-risk vacations at a higher cost.
Most travel insurance plans cost from five to seven percent of the total trip cost. Insurance is available for the entire trip or you may purchase it for specific items, such as the flight. Travel insurance provides financial peace of mind for families travelling across the country or across the world.
Chelsi Woolz is a many things. A mother, a housewife and an avid traveller hailing from Australia who is keen on seeing the world with her family at every available opportunity. Over the years she has learnt the ins and outs of exactly what to look for when getting the best deal for travel insurance.

0 comments:

Post a Comment