When planning your trip you may be asked about travel insurance. Do not turn it down simply because you do not know what it does. The insurance will cover any lost financial funds made on non refundable tickets or other trip items as well as medical expenses. Domestic and international travelers will be offered travel insurance.
You can purchase travel insurance at the time of booking your trip and it can cover the exact length of your trip or if you would like to be a bit more extensive you can have it cover you continuously by purchasing it through a travel insurance company, travel agent or even through a travel supplier such as a tour operator or cruise line. Be careful when purchasing travel insurance directly through travel suppliers as it tends to be less inclusive than the policies that are offered by the travel insurance companies.
Any type of traveler may purchase the insurance including but not limited to the business traveler, adventure traveler, student traveler and the international traveler. There are many features that can be included in the policies to create the right one for your needs.
Travel insurance covers many things, including medical expenses, emergency evacuations, injury or accidental death, disablement benefits, curtailment, delays in trip time, legal assistance, lost luggage and replacement of emergency essentials, damage, theft or loss of personal items such as money and travel documents, trip cancellations, overseas funeral costs, and also will usually include liability for rental car damages.
The policies can be quite different from travel insurance companies and from travel suppliers. The price can be affected by the amount of coverage the traveler chooses to have. Some travel insurance policies will even cover additional trip expenses.
For pre-existing medical conditions such as asthma or diabetes or high risk sports participation such as scuba diving, sky diving, mountain climbing or parasailing you can purchase a separate policy. You may need a separate policy for travel to high risk countries due to their war status, terrorism acts or even natural disasters.
Your basic policy will have certain items excluded for coverage that may require a separate policy. Travel to countries with war and terrorism threats, pre existing medical conditions or any injury or illness created by alcohol or drug use is normally excluded from a typical insurance policy. The majority of companies will allow you to buy a separate policy for travel to countries with war and terrorism threats.
During the first trimester of pregnancy most insurance policies will cover the related expenses. Depending on the company the policy and their guidelines it can vary between trimesters as to what is covered and what is not.
Travel insurance can be very helpful with services that are operating 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Emergency travel assistance and concierge service are the two most used services for travel insurance policy holders. You can expect to pay about 5-7% of the total trip cost for the travel insurance policy.
Susan Reynolds is the webmaster for a leading South African Insurance Provider who specialises in Travel Insurance Options.
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