Travel Insurance Guide
Most frequent travelers agree that having travel insurance
to protect you against some of the biggest and 
most expensive problems of traveling is well worth the time and expense. Whether traveling for a weekend in the next state over or taking a long distance holiday in another country – having travel insurance can help protect you should the unthinkable happen.
Travel Insurance Basics and Options
Sometimes it makes sense to select the bare minimum in order to save money on things, but travel insurance may not be the expense to skimp on. The typical travel insurance policy covers basics, including:
- basic medical expenses while traveling
- emergency assistance required while traveling
- lost luggage
- cancellation fees
- accidental death or dismemberment (pays your family like a life insurance policy)
These coverage options are great, and may be covered by the credit card you used to book your flight or travel arrangements. There are times when you need additional coverage, however, such as when you are traveling with expensive equipment or personal items. Having coverage for theft of your luggage or personal items can help you if you need to replace stolen items on your trip.
Additional Considerations for Travel Insurance Coverage
Depending where you are traveling, sometimes it makes sense to purchase additional coverage for high-risk locations, extreme sporting adventures, or long term travel are all good options for additional coverage.
High-risk locations: When traveling to war zones or high-risk terrorist activity countries, your standard travel insurance is not likely to include coverage for injuries occurring due to war conditions, coverage for terrorist activities or for emergency evacuation from dangerous places. If you need to travel in these extreme conditions, you’ll need additional coverage through supplemental policies to make sure you have the coverage you need.
Sports: If you intend to go mountain biking, water or snow skiing, or sky diving (among other “extreme sports”), your travel insurance is not likely to cover these activities because they result in higher rates of injury and pose a greater risk for the insurance company.
Long term: if you’re traveling for unspecified or long periods of time, you will want to look at long-term travel insurance policies as they are different from the standard coverage. People going abroad to work or on missionary trips would benefit from long-term policies that cover the entire duration of the trip. If traveling as a student, there are specific travel insurance policies that offer health care, trip cancellation and other services specific to students.
Tags: travel coverage, travel insurance
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