Summary
Many people feel they don’t need travel insurance, but as two people that have been hospitalized on four continents, we truly believe in having a travel insurance policy suited to our needs in case of a travel emergency.
If you think about it, travel is expensive. When you invest thousands of dollars into a trip, why take the risk of losing all that hard-earned money if an emergency happens? It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.
Choosing Travel Insurance – Things to Consider
When Dave broke his back in the Amazon, we were the only people on the ship with travel insurance.
Everyone looked shocked and scared for us while we waited for the floatplane to come and rescue Dave. It took four hours for it to arrive because of a circling storm overhead, so while the nurse tended to Dave, she sent me out of the room.
Everyone was very kind and concerned about our situation. Someone finally asked if we had medical insurance and when I said yes, they all replied, “We don’t have it and I don’t know what we would do if the same thing happened to us that happened to Dave.”
When Dave broke his back, I wasn’t worried about costs or how he would be taken care of. Because I had travel insurance (with another insurance company at the time), the only thing I had to worry about was if he was going to be okay. Without the added stress of worrying about costs, I could focus on getting Dave the best help he could receive.
Travel Insurance Provides Peace of Mind
With travel medical emergency coverage, I didn’t have to worry about the price of a hospital stay, medical evacuation, or even the hotel bill if I had needed to get a room nearby. However, there are many other potential aspects of travel insurance that make it invaluable.
Travel insurance may help us with many things like:
- If our trip is interrupted and we have to leave early.
- If we need to delay our trip.
- We need emergency dental work during our trip.
- We become sick or injured during our trip.
- Our luggage is lost or stolen.
- We need to cancel our trip unexpectedly.
What We Think About When Considering Travel Insurance
One of the most confusing parts of choosing travel insurance is deciding which plan to opt for. A lot of policies are full of legal jargon and are not always clear for the average traveler. Some things are covered while others are not, and until we go over it with our licensed advisor, we never really know what we are getting.
We diligently check all the fine print to have a clear idea of what is covered right off the bat.
8 Questions We Ask Before Buying Travel Insurance
1. Who are we insuring?
Dave and I choose to be insured together on one policy, which ended up being more cost-effective than two separate insurance plans. However, if our parents or others join us, we could include several people on one policy.
2. How many times are we traveling this year?
If we were only taking one trip per year, we’d consider a medical travel insurance plan on an individual trip basis. Nevertheless, we take several trips each year, so an annual medical plan makes more sense. It saves us money and is more convenient than obtaining separate plans for each trip.
Even if we only took two trips in a year, it could still be more cost-effective to opt for the annual insurance. We would double-check and compare to ensure that is the case.
3. Where are we going?
Whenever we cross borders, we always have medical insurance. Sometimes cancellation insurance might not be needed if we haven’t spent any money in advance. For instance, if we drive to Florida without any pre-booked tours, we wouldn’t have anything to cancel. However, if we purchase tickets to Europe and pay for flights and accommodation in advance, we’d purchase cancellation insurance due to the upfront costs.
If something were to happen and we couldn’t take the trip for a covered reason (it cannot just be any reason!), we’d be able to file a claim to recoup a portion of the non-refundable trip costs.
4. What time of year are we traveling?
If we are traveling to the Caribbean near or during hurricane season, we always check our travel insurance policy to ensure it covers us. Typically, once there is a “named” storm — meaning a known storm that will hit the destination, any claims arising from it could be excluded.
Moreover, if we’re already at the destination and a hurricane is on the way, and we need to fly home early (essentially, our trip is interrupted), trip cancellation insurance with interruption benefits may come in handy again.
We are never afraid to call our insurance provider to ask what is covered before we purchase our flights or vacation package.
5. Will we be doing any extreme activities?
According to most travel insurance providers we have consulted, injuries or costs incurred during high-risk activities are usually not covered. In the past, we had separate dive insurance for scuba diving, which covered special diving-related emergencies.
If we plan on activities such as skydiving, bungee jumping, or rock climbing, we know that if something happens, we won’t be covered. However, we just call a licensed insurance agent to inquire about options for extra coverage for extreme activities.
6. What are we already covered for?
Looking into our provincial medical plan revealed interesting information about our coverage. Provincial health care plans generally do not cover medical evacuation and only cover a small percentage of medical costs incurred outside of our home province or territory. This is often insufficient.
Although many people have coverage through work, we always check the fine print before we travel. In past jobs, travel insurance through our medical plan was limited, prompting us to purchase our own insurance now that we are self-employed.
Lastly, we check what our credit card offers in terms of travel insurance, as not all credit card insurance plans are equal. We know we obtain some coverage for two weeks, but anything longer would necessitate supplemental insurance.
7. What is our budget?
Cancellation insurance usually costs about 8-18% of the total price of a trip. Thus, we are prepared to pay more for cancellation insurance for pricier trips. As we get older, we are willing to allocate more funds for vacations. However, knowing we could lose significant amounts without cancellation insurance influences our decision.
If an unforeseen situation arises and we need to cancel, it’s reassuring to know we might be reimbursed for a portion of our non-refundable expenses.
8. What About Pre-existing Conditions?
This factor is crucial for all travel insurance. Last year, my dad needed to wait a year after surgery before he could secure travel insurance. They needed to confirm that his condition was stable and without new symptoms or treatments.
Once the year passed, his insurance company confirmed his eligibility for travel insurance, allowing him to travel abroad regularly since. Similarly, a friend recovering from a serious illness had to verify her eligibility before obtaining travel insurance.
In our opinion, it is always better to disclose everything to the insurance company and let them determine our eligibility rather than discover we are not covered after an emergency arises.
The more informed we are, the better the insurance decisions we can make. Travel insurance is not as complicated as it may seem. If you follow our approach, it is straightforward. Simply ask questions.
Have you secured travel insurance for your vacation? Have you faced an emergency during your travels? We would love to hear your experiences in the comments below.
