If you have ever fallen ill while on holiday, or just prior to setting off on that cruise of a lifetime, then you will know only too well the true value of health insurance. Whether you are going to be away for just a few day or several weeks, the cost of medical care when you are away from home can be crippling and it is no good waiting until you are far from home and fall ill before you start thinking about how you will pay your medical expenses.
But just what does travel insurance cover and when do I really need it?
Travel insurance is an insurance plan which you can buy prior to your departure which will cover you for various things, whether medical or not, in the run-up to your trip and while you are away. This type of insurance can be expensive so you need to take a few things into consideration before you buy it.
For example, if you are going on a short trip to a destination with good low cost health facilities that only requires one round-trip airline ticket of $200 then travel health insurance might be overkill. Your financial losses if you are forced to cancel the trip may be relatively low and the cost of medical care while you are away, or of getting you back home, may again not be too great. You will need to look at this carefully and decide whether or not the risk is sufficient to justify the cost of travel insurance. On the other hand, if you have booked a $5,000 once-in-a-lifetime cruise well in advance, then travel health insurance will almost certainly make sense.
A good travel health insurance policy should offer a range of coverage, possibly for the period prior to your trip and certainly throughout the time that you are traveling and whilst you are at your destination. It should cover you for personal injury or death and should cover the costs of all medical-related expenses you incur while on your trip. Travel health insurance plans can also cover you for the cost of being brought home should this prove necessary following an accident or illness.
If you are visiting a country where medical facilities and experience are limited then you should also make sure that your policy covers you for transportation to a third country where you can receive proper medical care.
Before purchasing a specific health insurance plan for your trip you should first check the coverage provided by your regular health insurance plan. It may be possible to extend the cover on your regular policy for your trip or you may already have some cover and only require a additional top-up policy.
Once you know exactly what you need, you can purchase travel health insurance from your tour operator, a travel agent, or an independent insurance agent. Whichever you choose you should bear in mind that, while the independent insurance agents may be a little bit more expensive, you will not have to worry about your tour operator going out of business and failing to honor your travel insurance policy.
Although we never imagine that anything is going to happen to us and that our vacation will be just fine, unfortunately evidence shows all too clearly that many people set off on a trip without adequate cover and in next to no time find themselves is a terrible mess.
So, before you set off on your next trip sit down and think carefully about whether or not you need travel health insurance. It may well be money that you don't want to spend, but it could also be the best investment you've ever made.
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