5 Best Types of Travel Insurance
Are you looking to choose a travel insurance policy? If so, read on to learn about the best types of travel insurance.
Who doesn’t want to see the world?
Experiencing different places and different cultures is one of the greatest joys of being alive. The current generation views travel as one of their highest priorities, over even job security and home ownership.
But travelling the world, or even across the state, has its risks. Cancelled or missed flights, medical emergencies, natural disasters– these all have the potential to turn your dream vacation into a financial nightmare.
Which means you can say goodbye to your emergency fund.
That’s why many travellers, of all ages, opt for travel insurance. There are many types of travel insurance out there and it can be hard to figure out which policy is right for you.
Read on, and we’ll walk you through your options and help determine which is right for you.
What Are The Types of Travel Insurance?
If you’ve done a little bit of research on travel insurance, you’ve probably realized that there are a number of different options. These different kinds of plans will protect different aspects of your trip.
Knowing your own priorities will help you make the decision on what is right for you. The types of travel insurance plans are:
1. Package Plans
Package plan is the most common type of travel insurance. It is the type that most individuals are probably thinking of when they think of travel insurance. How does it work?
Package travel insurance covers a wide variety of potential travel pitfalls. Cancellations, interruptions, any and all baggage issues, medical woes… it’s all covered under a package plan.
The huge advantage of a package plan is that covers cancellations. No other forms of travel insurance cover cancellations. So if there’s a chance you might need to cancel one or more of your flights and want your money back, this the option you’ll want to go with.
Package plans are popular because they cover all the needs of the standard traveller in one convenient package (hence the name).
2. Travel Accident Insurance
No one goes on vacation to get hurt, but it does happen. Being in a totally new environment does make people more prone to injury or accident. Accident insurance is intended to cover specifically this sort of situation.
The kind of accidents that these insurance covers are fairly intense. This type of plan focuses on deaths and dismemberments, meaning it works in conjunction with one’s life insurance policy.
It’s a good fit for frequent world travellers, especially those that go to risky regions. But if you’re just planning to spend a week in London, it might not be worth the investment.
3. Travel Medical Insurance
Maybe you’re afraid of getting hurt, but don’t feel as if things are quite as dire as those getting travel accident insurance. Travel medical is probably where you’d want to land.
Travel medical insurance covers medical emergencies away from your home country. If you’re injured and require professional medical attention, you can be covered under such a policy.
Many people don’t take into account the cost of transportation to hospitals. Trips sometimes are but frequently aren’t included in a travel medical policy. For that, you’d need to try a Medevac policy, which covers all medical emergency evacuations around the globe.
These plans will cover you as you get transported to the nearest hospital or back home. Such trips can be very costly, so this type of insurance can be very valuable.
4. Annual Insurance
In addition to policies that cover different things, there are policies that cover different time periods. Most travel insurance policies are taken out to cover one trip in particular.
But if you’re a frequent traveller, it may make more sense to take out a policy that will cover all of your trips at once. Annual travel insurance works similar to a package plan but covers all trips for a year at a time.
These plans are usually renewable at the end of a year’s time.
5. Specialty Benefits Insurance
Rarer are speciality benefit travel policies that cover small and specific areas of travel. These policies are usually taken out to supplement existing coverage that a traveller might already have.
Rental car use, term life, and other such areas are often covered by speciality policies. They are perfect for travellers who feel particularly concerned about one specific risk.
What Plan Is Right For You?
Picking the proper travel insurance for your trip requires an understanding of your budget, priorities, and the overall risk of your trip. Many travellers choose package vacation plans because they cover most areas and typically provide the best deal.
But only you know yourself as a traveller. If you have no fear of missing money on cancelled flights or lost baggage, you could forgo such coverage. Many confident travellers choose only to cover specific areas where they feel true risk.
Where you’re travelling to also has a major impact on which type of travel insurance you select. Your normal health and life insurance may cover you in certain areas of the world and not others.
Doing research on what coverage you have and what you lack can help prepare you to make the best choice for yourself.
See The World With Less Risk
Travelling the world is one of life’s greatest pleasures. No one should feel that they can’t take part in the wonders of travel because of fear of the risks involved.
The different types of travel insurance can help travellers assuage these risks and feel protected out in the world.
With an understanding of the plans above, your well on your way to your own big trip. Want to get points while you travel? Check out which travel credit cards we recommend taking with you on your trip.
Top 3 Travel Insurance Providers
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