The Ultimate Guide to Buying the Best Travel Insurance

Whether you’re traveling with family or solo, on an epic adventure or a weekend getaway, travel insurance can go a long way toward providing peace of mind during your trip. And if things should go wrong, you’ll find consolation in being financially covered.

With all that’s at stake, you’ve probably given serious thought to purchasing travel insurance just like I have. There have certainly been times when I’ve needed it, including severe flight delays, a parasailing accident in Mexico, and when my luggage took a trip of its own!

Unfortunately, it’s also easy to become overwhelmed with the vast selection of travel insurance options available. We’ve created this guide to help you sort through the confusion and demystify the process.

In this article, we’ll cover all the information you need to:

·         Determine the type of coverage you need

·         Find out if you currently have any travel coverage

·         Narrow your options to just a few policies that fit

·         Select a reputable travel insurance company

Let’s get started with helping you find the best travel insurance policy for your situation.

Why You Need Travel Insurance

Situations Where Travel Insurance Can Help.If you travel frequently, you’ve probably experienced an event where travel insurance would have helped.Whether it was a severely delayed flight illness abroad, stolen possessions, or a canceled trip due to an unforeseen event — travel insurance could have made the situation better.

Travel Insurance can cover a variety of situations. Here is just a sampling of those you can easily purchase coverage for:You have an accident and need medical evacuation to a nearby hospital: According to travel insurance company Allianz, the estimated cost of medical evacuation ranges from $15,000-$20,000 in Mexico to over $200,000 in Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.

You miss your cruise because your flight is severely delayed or canceled: Catching up with your cruise once it has departed can be costly.You can’t take a planned trip due to illness: The entire cost of your trip and any pre-paid arrangements could be at risk if you become ill and unable to travel. Coverage is even available when travel companions become ill and you must forego your trip.

You become ill while abroad: The cost of medical attention abroad can be expensive, and it can result in increased costs to rearrange your itinerary.Your baggage is lost or delayed: After your bags have been delayed a minimum amount of time, usually 12-24 hours, coverage kicks in and provides money for essentials.

Covering Your Major Concerns

If money is no object, you can purchase a lot of travel insurance to make sure you’re covered for nearly every situation you’ll encounter. In reality, you’ll probably want to balance cost with the coverages that are most important to you.

For some travelers, their greatest concern is the huge cost of an emergency medical evacuation. For others it can be the risk of getting ill and not being able to travel on a trip they’ve paid thousands of dollars for already.

But don’t fret: there’s a travel insurance plan for just about any travel concern that can cost you money if things go wrong.

Here are some of the plan types available:

Emergency Medical Evacuation: Pays to get you to the nearest hospital, even in remote areas

Travel Medical Insurance: Provides medical care if you get sick or injured while traveling

Annual Travel Insurance: Covers you for multiple trips taken throughout the year

Comprehensive Package Travel Insurance: Conveniently groups many travel insurance coverages together in one policy

Cancel for Any Reason Rider (CFAR): When certain conditions are met, this coverage lets you cancel your trip for any reason and receive reimbursement

Policies that Cover Families: Comprehensive travel policies that cover all family members/domestic partners before and during your trip.

Read too How To Renewal The Vehicle Insurance

When to Buy Travel Insurance

Most travel insurance policies can be purchased up until the day of your departure. However, some policies contain pre-departure benefits, so you’ll want to buy your policy as soon as possible.

For example, you may have coverage that covers you getting ill and not being able to take your trip.The general advice is to buy your policy when you make your first payment on the trip.Since policies can be priced according to how much your total trip costs, you can take out the insurance based on what you’ve already paid and call the company to raise the amount of the policy once you’ve made additional payments.

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