Even when focusing on cheap travel options, such as cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, cheap auto rentals, cheap vacation packages, or discount travel packages the cost of your trip may well be worth insuring.
Your goal when considering travel insurance should be to avoid unnecessary or overpriced insurance options as well as not being surprised when a claim is refused after a problem arises.
The following are instances when travel insurance is recommended:
Trip cancellation insurance (TCI) is desirable if your prepayment for a trip is bigger than you can afford to give up if you are unexpectedly forced to cancel your trip.
Trip interruption insurance (TII) is wise (and almost always bundled with TCI) if you are traveling someplace where having to return home unexpectedly would be prohibitively expensive.
Medical insurance is smart if your regular health insurance does not cover you adequately while you are out of the country. This is true of everyone on Medicare as well as many others.
The following are factors to keep in mind prior to purchasing travel insurance so that you do not later find yourself uncovered or unprepared:
Remember if a covered reason is not listed, it is not covered. Policies need to be read through carefully. They seldom cover anything remotely foreseeable such as elective surgery, or risky behavior, such as downhill skiing.
Some policies are restrictive and may not allow cancellation for terrorism or upheaval unless the State Department has issued a formal warning. Named perils vary from policy to policy. Very few, if any, cover general civil unrest such as what happened in Greece and Egypt recently.
Financial default coverage is tricky. Some policies cover only bankruptcy rather than default which becomes a problem if a failed supplier never bothers to file bankruptcy.
Most policies only allow for cancellation for weather if airlines stop flying to a destination or if a hotel is uninhabitable. For example, if your golf resort hotel is habitable, but the golf course is ruined, most insurance will not cover cancellation. Look for a policy with the broadest definition of destination problems.
Preexisting medical conditions are usually excluded from coverage. Most insurers waive this exclusion if insurance is purchased within a short period of time (a few days to two weeks, depending on the policy) from the date the first prepayment or deposit is made.
Foreseen conditions are seldom covered, regardless of a preexisting conditions waiver. For example a trip will not be reimbursed because a family member who has been diagnosed with late stage terminal cancel suddenly gets worse or dies.
Cancel for any reason and Cancel for work reasons are relatively new policies are different from ordinary policies. They only allow cancellation up to 48 hours prior to departure, and usually offer only 75 to 90 percent coverage, and tend to be more costly than conventional policies.
Be aware that many policies pay for only that which cannot be recovered from travel suppliers such as airlines, resorts and cruise lines. With medical expenses you have to claim from your own insurance first, if it covers you overseas, and you may have to pay the money up front for emergency care and later claim reimbursement. Ideally you want to find a primary medical, personal-effects policy that covers you entirely.
Be careful that you follow the rules such as letting the insurance company make all the necessary arrangements, including selecting the doctor and hospital, arranging return transportation as well as many other details.
If you cover less than the full cost of your trip, some policies invalidate the entire coverage. Avoid policies that require you to cover refundable payments.
Keep in mind that even if you purchase insurance, make a back-up plan in case something goes wrong with your original trip. Travel insurance is only about money and cannot preserve your vacation or arrange or pay for an alternate trip.
www.cheapfares.com