Tuesday, August 24, 2010

4 Travel insurance basics you must know

Diana Perkins writes:

Travel insurance can help you cover your medical costs or any other financial loss that you may incur while traveling. It is often said to be as the best protection when one is traveling domestically or overseas. The need for travel insurance is primarily an economic one. Travel insurance basics aims to inform you on all kinds of travel insurance coverage available so that you are well equipped with information while on a trip. It is offered for cruises, tours, flights and vacation home rentals. There are four main categories of travel insurance. Read on to know about them.

Medical: Being sick when you are supposed to be on a vacation can be the worst thing that can happen with you. Medical travel insurance pays for all the doctor visits and illnesses that occur during your vacation. You may require a treatment for malaria or food poisoning. The medical travel insurance policies also cover local ambulance charges and medial emergencies that require any kind of surgeries.

Trip cancellation: If your tour operator suddenly runs out of business and cancels a trip, then you may need to call off the vacation. Trip cancellation carries a coverage wherein the policy reimburses you for the unused portion of the vacation. This is an added advantage as you do not lose those extra dollars without even going to the trip.

Accidental death and flight accident: The accidental death and flight accident coverage is another useful travel insurance basic that you must know. These types of travel insurance provide monetary benefits to a traveler’s surviving beneficiaries in the event of his death. The death may be due to an accidental death or a flight accident.

Travel delay/trip interruption: Most comprehensive travel insurance policies cover weather related travel delays. If your flight gets delayed due to weather problems, then such travel insurance policies will bear the whole day’s costs from $150 a day up to $750 total, for items such as meals, lodgings, and also essential telephone calls.

Thus while you are purchasing a travel insurance, don’t forget to check the fine print. It is the backbone of your policy and will determine what type of coverage you will have and when you need it most. Choose the right insurance to cover your trip and make your dream vacation a memorable one.

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