How to Buy Travel Insurance

Just when you thought you had enough insurance to cover you to your next life, there is one more to consider before traveling that is – travel insurance. Many travelers have debated and asked these questions: “I thought my credit card company provides travel insurance or I don’t think there is a need for travel insurance.”

Credit cards and homeowner’s policies may not cover everything you need to protect including some types of emergencies and trip cancellation or interruption according to Allianz Travel Insurance.

The majority of credit cards and home insurances are limited or do not provide evacuation or emergency medical transportation. These are big expenses if not covered by travel insurance.

We have traveled far and long – mostly with travel insurance and sometimes without travel insurance. After some near disaster experiences including pick-pocket incidences and more, we have decided travel insurance is the way to go even if we are taking a short trip to the Caribbean.

Here are five tips on how to buy travel insurance and three suggested companies for travel insurance:

One: Get online quotes
You must shop around for travel insurance. Go to the different travel insurance websites and get free online quotes. Find the best options and coverage that suits your needs.

Some questions to ask:

What does my travel insurance cover?
How much does it cost per day compared to another travel insurance company?
What are the benefits of buying from your travel insurance company?

It pays to do your homework and shop around.

Two: A better deal may not be the answer
Some losses are manageable, like your favorite pants or iPod but emergency medical evacuation and hospitalization are some of the things to consider when buying travel insurance. Cheap may not be the answer to your travel needs.

A traveler from St. Louis traveling to Nairobi would need to adjust to the weather, food and time change. Imagine traveling for 16 hours 57 minutes alone and feeling sick upon arrival. What are you going to do?

Questions to ask:

Will the travel insurance you purchase include emergency evacuation, emergency medical expenses and hospitalization? If it does, how much and how do you contact the company?

For example, Travelex offers seven types of travel insurance and The Travel Max offers:

Travelers a substantial amount of coverage designed specifically for Emergency Medical Expenses and Medical Evacuation. This makes it an ideal international travel insurance plan. Finally, Travel Max has many built-in benefits that are typically found as upgrades on the Travel Select and Travel Basic plans.

If an emergency medical evacuation becomes necessary, we will transport you to an adequate facility to receive treatment. Additional benefits include transportation of a visitor of your choice to stay with you or to transport any traveling children back home, should you become hospitalized. (Source: Travelex)

Three: Do your research
When you search online through travel insurance websites, take a look at the overall presentation of the company and questions to ask before making your decision

Are they professional?

Do they have emergency numbers for customers while traveling?

Are the customer service representatives professional and helpful?

Do a comparison with at least three travel insurance companies before making your decision. Remember we strongly recommend a travel insurance that includes extensive evacuation and medical emergency coverage for international travels.

Four: Who is/are their underwriter/s?
All insurance companies have at least one underwriter. The underwriters are the ones who will guarantee payment in case of damage or loss incurred.

Look for underwriters of the travel insurance company. Travelex has four underwriters – Nationwide, Old Republic, Stonebridge Casualty and Fairmont Specialty. When you purchase your travel insurance one of these names will appear on your policy.

Allianz’s travel insurance is underwritten either by BCS Insurance Company or Jefferson Insurance Company.

Five: Do you purchase your travel insurance from your travel agent, tour company or cruise line?
These days, questions like what if the tour company, airline or cruise line goes under – will your vacation be covered? You have options when it comes to purchasing travel insurance. Although it is convenient to get everything in one package through your travel agency, airline, tour operator or cruise line – they may not have all the coverage you need.

We have gathered information from three travel insurance companies for your research and comparison study:

1.   Travelex - Travelex has over 55 years of experience, extensive emergency telephone numbers throughout the world and easy tables for selection of plans.
2.   Allianz - Allianz provides easy to use 24/7 tools to help with your online claim. They have over 10,000 employees worldwide and over 800 of which are in Richmond, VA.
3.   Travel Guard -Travel Guard has over 20 years of experience and works with over 12,000 travel companies in the world.

Do your own research, get your online quotes and make your decisions base on your needs.

Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links, which means we get compensated if you purchase insurance through these links. Thank you for your support.