Most travel insurance policies cover medical costs, travel or trip cancellations, trip interruptions and delays, medical evacuation, and lost, damaged, or stolen baggage. Depending on what plan you purchase and when you purchase it, travel insurance may also cover rental-car damage, pre-existing situations, and trip cancellation for any reason.
We will break it down and look at how travel insurance can cover the 3 big things you may worry about when traveling: Yourself, your experiences, and your luggage (including where you will lodge on your trip).
Note that: Travel insurance might not cover you in some circumstances, like adventure sports or predictable weather.
What Does Travel Insurance Cover?
What is covered by travel insurance?
Most policies typically cover a variety of trip protections, including accidental death and damage, luggage delay or loss, emergency medical cover and evacuation, trip cancellation and interruption, and others. Let’s have a closer look at each one.
1. Accidental death and disfigurement
Accidental death and disfigurement insurance offers coverage for the death or loss of a limb or eyesight resulting from an accident. Know that death from natural causes, sickness, or recklessness (suicide) isn’t protected; it’s not the same as a life insurance plan.
2. Luggage delay
Luggage delay insurance reimburses the cost of basics, such as outfits or clothes, toiletries, or a phone charger, that you might need to buy if your bag is delayed. Your luggage must be delayed for a certain number of hours to obtain coverage; typically, the range is from 6 to 24 hours, it depends on the policy.
3. Luggage loss
Insurance for luggage loss repays the cost of your baggage and stuff should a checked bag get lost, stolen, or damaged during a covered trip.
4. Emergency medical evacuation and repatriation
This covers the cost related to medical evacuation if you have a medical emergency and can’t be taken to the facility nearby to be treated. It will cover transportation expenses to another hospital or your home country if required and the transportation of remains.
5. Missed connection
A missed connection benefit covers additional expenditures if an expected carrier delay causes a customer to miss an organized trip or a tour. You need to make an additional payment to catch up at the next port of call.
6. Reinstate frequent traveler awards
Suppose you used airline miles or hotel points to pay for a trip that was later canceled. This insurance will cover any fees associated with redepositing your rewards into your frequent traveler account.
7. Trip cancellation
This insurance compensates you for prepaid, nonrefundable expenses if you cancel a tour for a covered reason. Motives or reasons that are typically covered include:
- Sickness or death of a family member.
- Financial insolvency.
- Natural disaster.
- Airline strike.
- Inclement weather.
- Jury duty.
- Military duty.
- Stolen passport or visa.
- Loss of employment
8. Trip delay
Trip delay insurance covers transportation, mealtimes, or accommodation expenses in case your common carrier is delayed and repayment of any prepaid, nonrefundable costs. Trip delay coverage takes effect after a certain period, depending on the policy but typically ranges from 5 to 12 hours.
9. Trip interruption
Trip interruption insurance repays you for unused, nonrefundable expenses if you are required to cut the trip short and get back home for a covered reason, including a family member’s illness or demise, terrorism, bad weather, natural disaster, and more.
Extras you may add to a Travel Insurance Policy.
Travel insurance policies typically don’t include coverage for every possible thing that may go wrong, though you can add optional extras to your plan (policy) for an upcharge. Search to see if your policy or plan has these types of coverage, and if you need it, you may add it or purchase a more comprehensive plan. And there are:
1. Cancel for any Reason
If you change your mind about canceling a trip you’ve booked, you typically won’t get compensated for prepaid, nonrefundable costs — except you buy cancel for any reason policy differently. Depending on the policy, you typically get a part of your prepaid costs back, usually 50% to 75%, but you must buy the plan within 10 to 21 days of the initial deposit or payment. Remember that a cancellation for any reason is not the same as trip cancellation.
2. Rental car collision damage waiver
If the rental car is damaged or stolen, this insurance will save you from paying for the damage or theft. Many credit cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, provides rental car collision damage insurance, so search if the cards you hold have this benefit already before adding it to a policy.
3. Pre-existing circumstances or conditions
Suppose you need a cover for a pre-existing medical illness. In that case, you must buy a policy within the time stated by the insurer to be qualified for a pre-existing conditions waiver (typically 10 to 21 days). Be sure that the coverage sum you enter is equivalent to all prepaid, nonrefundable costs for your trip.
4. Quarantine lodgings (accommodations)
This coverage is often a portion of trip delay insurance, though some insurers include it and some do not. For instance, the Safe Travels Voyager policy provided by Trawick International covers accommodation costs should you get sick with COVID-19 and have to be quarantined overseas before returning to your home country safely.
What does travel insurance not cover?
Travel insurance provides coverage for many circumstances, but not all. Some events aren’t covered by a travel policy, including:
1. A named storm
Most travel policies save you from disturbances from bad weather. A policy must be bought before a weather condition or event is named. If you buy coverage after a natural disaster has started, it won’t be covered.
2. Actions performed under the influence of Drugs and Alchohol
Drug and alcohol use is a distinguished exclusion to most travel insurance plans. If you fall from an ATV because you drank a few alcoholic drinks or took drugs before driving, you’re no longer covered.
3. Dangerous sports (Extreme sports)
A comprehensive travel insurance policy does not cover some risky sports, such as bungee jumping, scuba diving, or rock climbing. But you can purchase a different policy for the specific adrenaline events you are preparing to do on your trip from World Nomads, for instance.
4. Afraid of traveling because of a pandemic or another reason
This could be covered under a “cancel for any purpose or reason” add-on. However, a general trip plan won’t cover the fear of traveling.
5. Medical tourism
Looking for dental work in Mexico or a hair transplant in Turkey? Remember that a policy does not cover your medical costs for elective procedures with emergency medical coverage.
6. Pregnancy
If you want to cancel your tour because you’re pregnant, you can do that if you bought the policy before your pregnancy. If not so, it’s not a covered reason. In addition, medical expenses generated while on a trip during pregnancy may or may not be covered (enquire from your insurance provider).
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Conclusion
Travel insurance provides coverage to save against risks and financial losses that could happen while on a trip. The risks range from slight inconveniences, such as missed airline connections and delayed luggage, to more severe matters, including damages, injuries, or significant sickness. Some travel insurance can cover all these problems associated with travel.