How to Choose Travel Insurance

Nobody wants to experience any type of trouble or disastrous event while traveling. These stressful situations can seem like one of those really bad dreams folks have in the middle of the night. You know, the kind of nightmare where you wake up in a cold sweat, just thankful that you're safe, at home and in your own bed?

It is natural to feel a bit insecure about events, places or people when traveling. Travel insurance can help to ease those insecurities and help you feel safer when traveling. The trick is to find just the right policy for your particular needs at a price you can afford. I think the following information can help…

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Start by doing some simple research. First, you may want to check with your current insurance provider to see if they already provide coverage while you are traveling. Some of the major credit cards will include travel insurance as part of their agreement with you. In either case, make sure you get all the details regarding coverage you may already have.

For example, when I was traveling in another state on a recent trip, I discovered that my health insurance policy did not pay for air ambulance service. While that is normally not a big deal for someone in good health, for people who have an existing heart condition, an air ambulance transport could mean the difference between life and death.

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Other consideration are the overall length of your trip, where you are traveling, the condition of your health and whether any high-risk activities like scuba diving, mountaineering or climbing are anticipated.

You will also want to consider cost. The biggest factor in determining the overall cost of coverage is the type of travel insurance needed and what is covered. If you need an expensive policy that covers a lot of different things, consider selecting a higher deductible to offset the cost of the policy. Premiums may be determined based on length of travel or a percentage of total travel cost.

TIP: If you travel frequently, you can save money on travel insurance by buying one policy for all travel.

If you have concerns or questions, ask your travel agent or speak with an insurance professional. Have them take a look at the policy you are considering and give you a rundown on the coverage. If that resource is not available, do some homework on the Internet. While this may take longer, you can typically find out all you need to know about a policy from a company's website.

Bottom line: Make certain you check the fine print and are aware of your exact coverage.

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When you first start looking for travel insurance, there seem to be so many different companies, types, coverages and options available. It is so easy to get overwhelmed with a lot of seemingly confusing information. Take a deep breath and relax.

Basically, all types of travel insurance can be broken down into the following four categories:

• Multiple Trip/Long-Term Travel Insurance provides coverage up to one year.
• Single Trip/Short-Term Travel Insurance provides coverage for up to 90 days.
• Expatriate Travel Insurance provides coverage for those people living overseas.
• Foreign National Travel Insurance provides coverage for non-U.S. citizens.

Once you determine which type of basic coverage you need, you need to do some research on the wide variety of coverage provided within each of the aforementioned categories.

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• 24 hour Emergency Medical Care coverage - some policies actually exclude this.
• 24 hour Emergency Dental Care - hey, you never know when a you're going to need this, right?
• Medical Evacuation - this will pay for the cost of getting you to medical facilities, which may be in another country in some parts of the world.
• Legal Aid or Legal Referral Assistance - these days, you never know what is likely to happen. If a country is in political turmoil, this coverage may keep you out of a foreign jail or even save your life.
• Personal Liability - this covers any damage or injury caused by you.
• Cancelled Trip or Delayed Travel - what happens if a transportation worker strike occurs after your arrival? This covers unforeseen or emergency travel situations.
• Financial Protection - what happens if your airline goes bankrupt while you're away? This coverage allows for financial compensation in case of emergency. This coverage is typically provided by credit cards to their customers.
• Lost Baggage - this coverage typically pays a dollar amount for lost bags. Some policies cover delayed luggage as well.
• Repatriation of Your Remains - Nobody wants to think about this, but if the unthinkable does happen, the last thing you want is your family or friends having a tough time getting your remains returned home.

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All insurance policies have excluded items and travel insurance policies are no different. This is where reading the fine print can really pay off because some policies have a lot of exclusions. (Need I remind you again that you should do your homework before you purchase travel insurance?)

Different policies have different exclusions, but these are some of the most common:

• Claims arising from declared or undeclared war
• Terrorist activities or other similar acts
• Suicide or self-inflicted injuries
• Mental illness
• Pregnancy or any other pre-existing medical conditions
• Many high-risk sports activities including organized sports, rock climbing or skydiving
• Alcohol or drug related incidents

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