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Travel Insurance

Don't leave home without it!

Travel Insurance is just that! An insurance to cover you, when things go wrong. It is one of the important things that should be high on your” to do list” before you depart for your chosen travel destination.

Travelling to different countries, the possibilities of something not going according to plan, are higher than usual.

Do not see insurance as an optional extra! You could end up thousands of dollars out of pocket. Even a short trip should be covered.

Travel Health Insurance really is an absolute must! Here in New Zealand, medical treatment for tourists, who are not eligible for a government subsidy is expensive! My experience is, this is the same in many travel destinations.

Personal Travel Insurance Stories

In many countries the cost of medical care if you are not a resident is extremely high. Just today a medical insurance claim arrived for my daughter, for a doctor’s visit and medication in Thailand. It cost $180, so even the excess of $100 made it worthwhile.

MY TRAVEL HORROR STORY

A visit to a doctor in USA, three years ago, and the medicine he prescribed, cost me $500 NZ!

That same trip was destined to be something of a minor disaster, and being insured made the difference between it costing us thousands of dollars and hundreds of dollars.

Due to sing in a competition in New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina came along just one month before I was due to go.

We had to re book fares to the new location in Detroit.Then re book connecting fares to Cuba.

When we booked our two timeshares for this trip, I took up the offer of a very small Travel Cancellation insurance cover, for just such an occasion. The New Orleans week, and in time the Cancun week, were both cancelled. We only lost the $9 booking fee for each. A small price to pay, although I am still keen to get back to both places one day soon!

Hurricane Wilma put a dampener on our time in Cuba.... it definitely wasn’t our year! Our accommodation in Cancun was no longer in a fit state to stay in, and flights out of Cuba had been cancelled for several days. We stayed an extra week in an all inclusive resort until flights resumed.

Arriving in Cancun, the airline we were to fly with, contrary to the assurances by email of our travel agent, was NOT flying from Cancun. Our flights had to be re-booked with a totally different airline!

Fortunately our insurance covered us for most of the costs incurred in this sorry saga.It could have left us thousands of dollars out of pocket!

Reasons to Have Insurance

Some people have had to be airlifted out of destinations where the medical treatment is not satisfactory. How many times have you lost money,credit cards, tickets, or other valuable items such as cameras? Or had your bag stolen? If you do not insure, you could really live to regret the small amount, in comparison, to the much greater cost you could end up with.

So how do you decide the best cover
for your trip?

Firstly, check your bank card. Here in New Zealand, we have some bank cards that include automatic travel insurance cover.

There are specially designed insurance policies that suit different types of travel.

1) Comprehensive Overseas

2) Domestic

3) Medical Only Cover

4) Annual Multi trip

5) Backpacker Cover – this often includes adventure activity cover

6) Travel Cancellation

7) Medical Travel Insurance – including cover for pre existing health issues.8) Medical – repatriation to home country if injured, ill or in death.9) Ski Insurance

A General Travel Insurance should cover –1) Personal baggage

2) Money and Travel documents

3) Trip Cancellation Fares

4) Loss of Deposits

5) Medical and other expenses

6) Rental vehicle excess ( this is the amount you have to pay , when the company insurance is paying an insurance claim for vehicle damage)

7) Strikes/Hi Jacking

8) Accident, death or permanent disability

Checking your Policy

Insurance policies are notoriously wordy and difficult to read. But you MUST read the small print. Check you are covered for what you expect to be covered for. Are there any snags?

Just having paid your premium will not mean you have automatic cover of all these things. It must be there written into the in the policy. There are often exclusions such as natural disasters. Know what you are paying for!