beginner's guide to travel insurance

If you have traveled before then you definitely have an idea about travel insurance. But this will also depend on your means of travel and the places you have traveled to.

Going to work every day will not necessarily require you to buy travel insurance as it is usually applied to in air travel due to high possible risks involved leading to its demand and regularity of use compared to other means of traveling

We look at the basic things you need to know about travel insurance when the time to travel comes your way

What is travel insurance?

travel insurance

Insurance is being guaranteed that you will be compensated for an item in case of loss or damage to it as per the insurance policy you may have consented to

Though travel insurance may go a little further and not only insure you against the loss or damage towards your travel property.

But they also insure against unforeseeable monetary expenses that would be incurred in attaining a travel service

Just as almost everything today, travel insurance comes with terms and conditions, for instance, to have you compensated for the lost property, you will need to provide good evidence like a police report or a report from your airline carrier confirming the loss of property.


Of course, loss evidence is needed considering the fact that someone might lie about the loss(insurance scam).


I would very much prefer you talk to your insurance provider about the claiming terms and conditions as they vary between different insurance companies.

So it’s better to know from your chosen insurance provider the terms, conditions, and process for claiming compensation.

Is travel insurance worth it?


Travel Insurance compensates you for something you have lost not to protect you against losing it.

 
You do the protection for something of value yourself(in fact insurance urges you to protect your property and not deliberately lose it because you are insured).

So if it’s more likely to you that something bad could happen to that valuable item of yours (basically you can tell that basing on statistics or facts or even your intuition) and that you won’t be able to handle the consequences if it happens, then you should definitely take insurance for it without hesitations

For example, if you are doing an extreme adventure activity or going to climb up mountain Everest, then there is no harm in taking travel medical insurance because honestly what are the chances you would need it, over 200 people have lost their lives on Everest and that’s the known number, But the number could actually be more than that


The problem with travel insurance mainly comes from how much you are paying for an insurance policy.

What sense is to pay 100 USD of an insurance policy when I could actually use that 100 dollars to fix the problem or even worse since I am trying to protect myself or my property from incurring damages or losses then my money would have been wasted.

So my conclusion is take insurance based on the value of something and the possibility of something happening basing on facts statistics or even your intuition or logical aspect

For example, if you’re going to hire a car at your destination, I would recommend you insure against personal liability otherwise it would be a hell of a trip to pay in case of damage to the car.

And most of all how much you would incur to fix the problem would definitely need you to decide if you get insurance or not.

What to consider when taking an insurance policy

Some of the things you can consider before getting travel insurance;

  • Like, if its December in Europe or the United States you likely to have bad weather hence a couple of flights could be canceled though it is even possible you may not be able to get insurance for that considering how likely it is to happen.
  • Purpose of the trip, you definitely wouldn’t want to mess up your business trip, so it’s a lot better you have that fixed.
  • Budget, You can’t spend what you don’t have in the first place, so it’s a lot safer to insure against spending money you don’t even literary have
  • Expectations, when you are going for some tourism in the war-torn area, honestly what exactly do you expect as a possible outcome. So whatever negative thing comes to your mind that could happen to you, just make sure it’s covered in your insurance policy.
  • Your age, Old travelers are often charged highly usually due to health-related problems they are likely to incur, some companies don’t even cover medical insurance for people over a certain age. Of course not surprising for old people to take medical Insurance or even life insurance
  • Tourism/travel activities, for instance, hiking or adventure activities may need you to consider which policy to choose

What is covered in your travel insurance policy


This is not a conclusive list of risks covered in your travel insurance policy, in fact, you can agree to have custom policies tailored for your personal needs but usually, the common policies included;

  • Medical insurance, this carters for your medical needs you incur while you’re are at your travel destination, it could include surgical fees, dental care.
  • Lost bags and their inclusives, cameras, or other property you would be insured.
  • Life insurance, this is good to consider basing on which trip you going for like traveling to an area with war, you may then need this

always talk to your insurance company before taking on the medical insurance as soon as possible so that they able can give you a go-ahead as to whether they will pay for it, or inform you if you’re liable. Most companies have a 24/7 assistance number and thats the reason you should always first get in touch with your insurer so that you are certain if you are liable. So if you have any query don’t hesitate to contact them immediately

Curtailment and canceling

This actually comes up when you don’t go for the trip you insured against due to some unforeseeable problems like but not limited to.

  1. Sickness, injury, or death of you, a family member, or a traveling companion
  2. Natural disasters, damages to your destination or cancellations to your flight
  3. Laid off from work or required to work
  4. Terrorism activity in your destination
  5. Being called for jury duty
  6. your travel dealer becoming bankrupt

Of course, this comes with conditions to which I would recommend you find out from your insurance policy This helps you get insured against prepaid nonrefundable fees (CFAR) Cancel For Any Reason.

The insurance can as well be canceled for no reason but it comes with terms and conditions, for instance, you may only get back about 75% of your insurance fees unlike when you cancel with a valid reason and you may get back all your insurances fees and also a time frame like 48 hours or 78 hours prior to the trip can be considered

Can I take travel insurance anytime?

Yes, you can take an insurance policy any time provided what you’re insuring against something that has not yet happened.

Of course, you should check with your insurance policy for detailed information, for instance, some insurance companies don’t offer medical insurance in some destinations

Your insurer can also provide insurance valid during that particular trip, but if you are a regular traveler then its better you take an insurance cover that is active on all your trips, annual cover or even family plan But it is best to always get your insurance cover sorted prior to your traveling.

Where can travel insurance be bought?

Well, most people these days buy it online, but still, you can get a local insurance agent from newspaper or magazine listings to help you with it.

Some travel services offer recommended insurance partners or agents you can get in touch with for a package

Some credit card companies have complementary insurance offers or

These websites can help you get travel insurance packages insuremytrip.com, travelinsurance.com or Squaremouth

Well that’s the basic information you need to know about travel insurance and you can at least make up your mind to take it or not or whether you even need anyway

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