Hello everyone. What do you think about travel insurance? Good? Bad? In between? I always thought I would never need trip insurance. I was in good health and I wasn’t traveling during or to hurricane prone areas. I was safe right? Wrong! What happens when an air carrier suddenly ceases operation? What happens when they are a South African carrier and you have no recourse?
This is what trip insurance is for. It is for when an air carrier out of the blue ceases operation with no refunds and you can’t cancel your credit card as it is part of a package and you didn’t use a credit card. It is for when your planes don’t connect and you arrive at the intermediate airport a day late and a dollar short. It is for when you are in Fiji and your luggage is in Bali. It is for that emergency evacuation to the States or your home country because you can’t be treated at the local hospital for whatever happened to you.
That said, you need to check your policy carefully. Many times the full policy can not be seen until you actually sign up for it. You generally, in the States anyway, have a few days to look it over and if it does not meet your needs, return it at no cost and go on to the next one. Make sure the policy is going to cover everything you need or are concerned with before you leave. If you think your credit card will cover you for trip insurance, call them and ask it they will cover whatever your priority is. If not, then purchase trip insurance. I now get it automatically. I purchase a trip, I buy trip insurance. Sometimes with the supplier, sometimes with the agent, sometimes on my own. An agent can steer you in the right direction, but you need to read that policy to make sure it works for you.
Some facts:
obtaining medical treatment and hospital care abroad can be expensive, and medical evacuation to the U.S. can cost more than $50,000. Note that U.S. medical insurance is generally not accepted outside the United States, nor do the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid programs provide coverage for hospital or medical costs outside the United States. If an insurance policy does not cover them abroad, it is a good idea to consider purchasing a short-term policy that does.
As a further precaution, a travel agent or traveler may want to go to a special Web site set up by the Department of State - http://travel.state.gov. The State Department’s Office of American Citizens Services and Crisis Management (ACS) administers the Consular Information Program, which informs the public of conditions abroad that may affect their safety and security. Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings are vital parts of this program.
