Here’s What You Need to Know About Travel Insurance
Travel isn’t risk-free. There are dangers that are more inconvenient than harmful, like flight disruptions and such. However, other, more severe things can happen to you while traveling. That’s why you need travel insurance. And here is a list of things you need to know about it.
by Skycop team
- 2019-05-02
- 2:37 PM GMT
Check Your Existing Insurance Policies
If you’re travelling domestically, check to see if your home insurance doesn’t cover the costs of stuff you might lose on your trip. As for international travel, see if your current health plan offers any coverage.
Extent of Coverage
When selecting your travel insurance, you should check whether it only covers medical expenses that happened while traveling, or does it cover medical treatment that also needs to be done when you get back? Also, does your plan cover your kids for free?
Payout Time and Requirements
Insurance is a slippery business. Therefore, you should read the fine print and find out what documentation you have to supply for your health insurance – how fast do you need to do it. You should probably go with one that gives you a reasonable amount of time.
Upgrades and Downgrades
Can you make the plan more affordable by downgrading? Can you make the coverage more extensive, so that the insurance covers your baggage? Would it work to insure stuff you buy abroad?
What Can You Do To Void Coverage
Insurance companies would very much like you to never run into any trouble. That’s why they’re less likely to pay you out if you engage in stuff that is dangerous. Check your policy for activities it doesn’t cover. The usual cases are extreme sports and risky adventure activities, risky countries, pre-existing medical conditions (hello, American readers) and so on.
Declare Your Pre-existing Conditions
Speaking of a pre-existing condition: if you don’t inform your insurer about them, they will void your policy. So keep that in mind.
Check the Exceptions
Much like Regulation (EC) 261/2004 details exception circumstances under which you are not entitled to flight compensations, so do insurance plans. So while you’re going over the fine print, check for what outside factors are not covered by the plan. You can often encounter such exceptions like weather conditions or natural disasters and similar “acts of God” or war, terrorism and civil uprising. You’re no less likely to get hurt in those, but you’re unlikely to be paid! It’s also important to check these if you’re going for trip-cancellation insurance.
Buy Direct, Buy Online
Travel agents or airlines might want to sell you insurance, but as intermediaries, they might be getting amazing commissions from insurers, which bumps the price a little. Buy directly from the provider!
Consider Group Insurance
If you’re traveling in a group, why not consider taking out group travel insurance? It might turn out cheaper than just taking out policies for everyone separately.
And those are the basics you need to remember when taking out travel insurance. And if you get stuck in an airport due to a flight delay, cancelled flights or overbooking, don’t forget Skycop, either. Our flight disruption compensation company will help you claim damages! That’s up to €600 in compensation that requires no down payments or shady insurance contracts!
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