Travel insurance is insurance that is intended to cover medical expenses, trip cancellation, lost luggage, flight accident and other losses incurred while traveling, either internationally or domestically.
Travel insurance can usually be arranged at the time of the booking of a trip to cover exactly the duration of that trip, or a "multi-trip" policy can cover an unlimited number of trips within a set time frame. Some policies offer lower and higher medical-expense options; the higher ones are chiefly for countries that have high medical costs, such as the United States.
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Coverage types
The most common risks that are covered by travel insurance plans are:
- Medical treatment, including transportation to the medical facility.
- Cancellation, curtailment and trip interruption
- Repatriation of remains
- Return of a minor
- Trip cancellation
- Trip interruption
- Visitor health insurance
- Accidental death, injury or disablement benefit
- Overseas funeral expenses
- Lost, stolen or damaged baggage, personal effects or travel documents
- Delayed baggage (and emergency replacement of essential items)
- Flight connection was missed due to airline rescheduling or delay.
- Travel delays due to weather
- Hijacking
Medical expense coverage can be per-occurrence or maximum-limit.
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Optional coverage
Some travel policies will also provide cover for additional costs, although these vary widely between providers.
In addition, often separate insurance can be purchased for specific costs such as:
- Pre-existing conditions (e.g. asthma, diabetes)
- Sports with an element of risk (e.g. skiing, scuba diving)
- Travel to high risk countries (e.g. due to war, natural disasters or acts of terrorism)
- Additional AD&D coverage
- 3rd party supplier insolvency (e.g. the hotel or airline to which you made non-refundable pre-payments has gone into administration)
- Acute onset of pre-existing conditions
Common exclusions
- Pre-existing medical conditions, or travelling for the purpose of receiving medical treatment.
- Elective surgery or treatment
- War
- Terrorism - Most trip cancellation policies include terrorism but only when there is an act of terrorism that meets the policy's criteria including definition, place of occurrence and date of occurrence.
- Injury or illness caused by alcohol, drug use, or reckless behaviour.
Travel insurance can also provide helpful services, often 24 hours a day, 7 days a week that can include concierge services and emergency travel assistance. Pre-existing medical conditions must be declared prior to the trip start date. In case you ignore this requirement and fall ill during your trip abroad, you may find that you are not covered. The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles to treatment in state-run hospitals in EU countries and Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland but it is not a substitute for travel insurance.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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