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This is a guest post by Virginia of TravelInsuranceReview.com. When she contacted us to give us the low down on travel insurance, we jumped at the chance to get an insider?s view on the industry. Find out what plans are right for you, how and why travel insurance matters, and much more!?
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Wherever a woman goes in the world, there are always risks ? often the same risks you?d face at home: accidents, burglary, severe weather, traffic accidents, illness, etc. When a woman heads out into the world to travel for business, for fun, for learning, or for giving back, her travel insurance plan could turn out to be one of her best friends when things go wrong.
Travel insurance differs little between men and women, but women have unique health concerns to deal with. If a woman becomes pregnant on her trip, for example, and needs to be medically treated, or if that pregnancy disrupts travel plans, having a great travel insurance plan is invaluable.
This is the traveling girl?s guide to understanding travel insurance. Let?s get started with what travel insurance covers.
Travel Insurance has 5 Important Benefits
There are essentially five benefits provided with any travel insurance plan ? these are the ones that travelers think of when they think of travel insurance, and (depending on the trip) these are the benefits that are most important for a woman traveler to have:
1. ? ? ?Medical emergencies?- most people think that as long as they have health insurance, they?re covered, but most health insurance coverage stops at the border (even Medicare does). This benefit covers medical treatment, emergency transport, physician?s fees, medicine and more when you travel outside your health insurance network.
2 . ? ??Trip cancellations?- traveling typically requires at least some investment in up-front cash and often that money is non refundable. No one likes losing money. This benefit reimburses the cost of plane tickets, cruise fare, tour packages, hotel rooms, and more.
3. ? ? ?Emergency evacuations?- an emergency evacuation can easily cost as much as $50,000 and often more. This benefit arranges and pays for emergency evacuation costs such as medically equipped flights to a hospital and then back home after you?re stable.
4. ? ? ?Losses and delays?- travel delays are not only annoying, they can also be costly. The loss of your baggage is even more so. This benefit reimburses you for lost, damaged, destroyed or delayed baggage and the unexpected expenses related to flight delays.
5. ? ? ?Global emergency assistance services?- your lifeline to call when something goes wrong on a trip. These reps can help a girl book a new flight, find a hotel room, call an ambulance, replace a prescription, and overcome critical language barriers.
Depending on your trip, you may not need all of these benefits. For example, if you?re traveling inside your home country you may not need much medical coverage because your health insurance will cover your illnesses and injuries (even if it is at out-of-network coverage rates).
Optional Coverage for Special Circumstances
Depending on the travel insurance plan, you may also have the following benefits:
- Hazardous sports coverage to extend your medical benefits to cover activities like SCUBA diving, rock-climbing, and more
- Pre-existing medical condition waivers to extend your medical benefits if you have an existing medical condition or regularly take medication
- Rental car coverage (at a cost that?s far more competitive than the rental car companies, if you don?t already have the coverage with your credit card)
- Life insurance for flight accidents and AD&D (Accidental Death & Dismemberment)
- Identity theft services in the event your identity is stolen on a trip
Depending on the plan you choose, some of the above are included and some require a special purchase.
Travel Insurance Comes in 2 Popular Flavors
There are only two types of travel insurance that most travelers buy. In fact, the first type is so common it represents over 94% of all travel insurance purchases!
The two flavors of travel insurance are:
1??????Vacation plans?- these are full-featured travel insurance plans, also called package plans, and they deliver the most coverage in a single plan ? including trip cancellation and travel medical, which represent the most expensive risks most travelers face.
2??????Travel medical plans?- these are like regular health insurance that works outside your home country. These plans do not include trip cancellation, but if that?s not a risk for your trip, you can save a whole lot of money by getting one of these plans.
Now that you have a better understanding of what travel insurance covers and the types of plans you can buy, let?s look at how to buy the right plan for your trip.
7 Steps to Buy the Right Travel Insurance Plan
In order to figure out what coverage you need, travelers should follow these steps:
1. ? ? ?Don?t buy your plan on a booking site.?These are one-size-fits-all plans that are heavily weighted in favor of the travel insurance company. So many travelers have been left high and dry with these plans that some states are now banning due to complaints.
2. ? ? ?Determine your coverage needs.?Depending on your trip, your style of travel, the activities you want to do, where you?re going, and how much you?ve pre-paid, determine what coverage you need on your trip.
3. ? ???Check your credit card travel protection benefits. In most cases, the cancellation benefit is severely limited (but it might be enough) and you won?t have any travel medical coverage. The car rental, baggage, and travel assistance coverage is often identical to travel insurance, however, and it won?t cost you extra. Cha-ching!
4. ? ? ?Decide whether you need the optional coverage.?If you have a pre-existing condition or plan to participate in hazardous activities, for example, you?ll want to purchase the waivers to these common exclusions.
5. ? ?? Compare travel insurance quotes to get the best value. While you may be worried about adding the cost of travel insurance to your trip, it turns out it?s not all that expensive when you consider what you might have to pay out of pocket for a medical emergency in a foreign country.
6. ? ???Buy the coverage early.?Many plans require that you purchase your travel insurance plan soon after making your first trip payment. It?s a critical factor that can affect whether your coverage is valid when you need it, so buy it quickly after making your first trip purchase.
7. ? ? ?Read and understand your coverage.?All travel insurance plans come with a free review period which you can use to carefully review the travel plan (don?t worry, they?re a lot easier to read than other legal docs) and make changes or cancel the plan.
Remember, any insurance plan ? homeowners, auto, life ? is purchased to protect us against the unexpected stuff that can happen, so take a little time and think about what?could?happen on your trip (not that it will) and then protect yourself with travel insurance. After that, bon voyage!
Want to compare travel insurance plans now??See?Travel Insurance Review?for a great travel insurance comparison tool and?tips to save money on your travel insurance plan
Source: http://gogirlguides.com/female-travel/the-girls-guide-to-travel-insurance/
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Public release date: 6-Dec-2012
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