Travel insurance should be an essential part of your travel plan and it is never a good idea to avoid the insurance just to save a bit of money. Money is always a very essential factor while you are traveling and sometimes having access to your funds can be a greater challenge than lack of money due to various logistic or other factors. Travel insurance can come as a blessing in case such emergencies would arise. Also, it adds to your peace of mind and gives you a sense of security, knowing you are covered in case something goes wrong. There are various types of policies available each tailored to specific requirements and travel plans. Here we give some basic ideas about the things that you must consider before purchasing travel insurance.
Here are the top things you should consider while buying travel insurance:-
- Duration of Travel: It might sound very trivial but this is probably the most important factor to get right. You must properly count the days you will be away from home and it is always advisable to purchase an insurance that covers you for a day or two longer than your return date, in case you miss a flight or some emergency situation arises. Also you must take into consideration the time zone you are travelling to, before purchasing the insurance as crossing the date line changes the date you are leaving your home and the date of arrival at your destination.
- Pre-existing medical conditions: Most of the insurance providers would have a list of pre-existing conditions that are not covered. You must look at the list properly and sometimes you need to pay a little extra or upgrade to a higher policy to cover more things. It is never a good thing to spend a huge amount of money for some health issue especially when you are out to enjoy the world. So you must be honest and declare any pre-existing condition that you have and try to cover it even if you have to pay a little extra.
- Risk level of activities during your vacation: In case you are planning to get a little adventurous and get involved in some high risk activity such as bungee jumping, skiing or some other adventure sports it is better to get covered accordingly. Some insurance might not cover you for such activities so it’s advisable to read the terms of the policy and make the purchase accordingly.
- Belongings that are covered: If you are traveling with an expensive camera or jewellery or other pricey equipment, it is much better to check how much the insurance is covering and get a policy so that all your belongings are covered. Many policies would not cover your mobile phone and you must take that into consideration as mobile phones are more prone to damages or theft while you are travelling.
- Report any theft without delay: In the unlikely event of getting robbed or break in at the place where you are staying it is strongly advised to report it immediately and get a police report. The insurance company would not pay you anything without a proper police report and usually there is a time frame within which the complaint must be lodged. Again you must clarify these points with the insurance company and look at the terms and conditions in details before making any purchase.