Travelers insurance
People travel for different reasons. Everybody enjoys a good vacation. It is a change from the routine and the same old places and relaxes the body, mind and soul and you go back to work refreshed and full of energy. A lot of people prefer their spots of vacation to be quite far from where they live. There are people who enjoy to go to a different country and get familiar with the culture there, interact with people for a period of time. And also there are people who have to travel for work. Businessmen and people in IT and management sectors are very frequent fliers.
Traveling has a lot of impact on the lives of the people. To get things in order before starting the journey and traveling without any untoward event and after the travel reaching safely back home, all are worries in the mind of people who travel a lot. Sickness during travel, loss of baggage due to theft or other problems, travel delays, etc can be problematic. Airline networks have become strict on their cancellation policies due to increased competition in the sector, and so if you have to cancel a ticket, the amount may not be refunded. Travel delays are becoming a daily issue for several reasons including global terrorism and airline problems. Medical management in almost all the countries have become expensive, and in case of injury or illness during the journey and stay, the individual might burn a hole in the pocket trying to get the treatment.
All these factors add up and the modern day traveler prefers to have an insurance to cover all these unforeseen conditions.
There are different types of plans which the insurers offer, so that the individual can choose one according to his needs. Some of the basic plans offered are as follows.
Accidental death and dismemberment insurance is a policy that covers for any accidental death or loss of a body part during travel. There are different types of AD&D insurance. Flight accident insurance AD&D insurance is the policy that covers death or loss of a body part due to flight crash. Common carrier AD&D insurance covers the accidental death or loss of body part involving a common carrier.24 hour AD&D is the insurance that covers for any accident that may happen while traveling. Most of these policies do not cover war, nuclear explosion etc but there are waivers which are offered at a higher cost. Some policies cover acts of terrorism also.
Trip protection plan is a policy that covers all the expenses that has occurred before the travel if the trip is cancelled due to illness, death, airline strike etc. The costs which are covered include the travel services, lost or damaged baggage, a part of the amount of medical expenses. The amount provided is low, but beneficial as usually there are no deductible on this policy. These policies can be purchased on a single trip basis or as annual multi trip policy. The multi trip policy do not usually offer the benefits of trip cancellation. This policy would be beneficial especially due to the increased medical costs.
International Medical insurance is the policy which would cover for the substantial medical costs that may happen while you are on international travel for two weeks to two years time. Usually these plans have a deductible, but the sum assured is quite substantial to cover the expenses for a surgery or a hospital stay for up to two weeks. These plans usually have emergency evacuation, reunion, repatriation benefits covered. Also covered are AD&D and travel assistance benefits. Pre existing medical conditions are usually excluded in these policies.
Annual medical insurance offers all the benefits, as well as other benefits like life insurance, is annually renewable, has a substantially higher amount covered and the premium is also high. The pre existing medical conditions are covered for a specified amount.
Emergency medical evacuation policy covers the cost of evacuation of an ill person to nearby hospital. This policy usually includes both national and international travel. This policy is usually sold separately and not as a part of other policies which may include this facility.
International major medical insurance covers almost all the major medical conditions that may happen while on international travel. It has worldwide coverage, usually has a coverage for all major medical conditions and surgery including organ transplants, has a choice of deductible, has coverage for maternity, riders for AD&D, life insurance etc and there is a limited coverage for pre-existing conditions.
International life insurance is a term life insurance for a period of one year, renewable after the term and pays for death occurring in a foreign land during the term. Death due to war or terrorism is usually excluded but there are optional riders covering for certain conditions. Benefits are not given in case the death is due to a pre- existing condition in the past five years.
International Accident insurance covers any accident that may happen while on travel to a foreign land. This policy also has Accidental permanent total disability benefit. There are riders for war, acts of terrorism though these are not covered in the policy in general.
After the increased number of acts of terrorism all over the world, many insurance companies have started to cover the accidents and deaths due to these in their travelers insurance. But make sure of the terms and conditions of the policy before purchasing it and ensure that you buy any riders available, if certain factors are not covered under the policy.
The travelers insurance is required even if you have a medical and health insurance at your home country. Certain health insurance policies may have a limited value for international coverage, these may not cover the huge expenses which might occur while on travel. The same applies to credit card insurance which provides international travel insurance. These card insurance also have a limited coverage and may not cover the expensive damages or losses that may happen while on travel.
Purchasing travelers insurance is also easy. Many insurers allow sale of the policies up to the previous day of travel. But this varies from insurer to insurer. So it is better to ensure the terms and conditions and purchase the policy keeping some time at hand for the policy to take effect.
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