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You may have saved years for those two weeks overseas or your annual holiday may be something you look forward to all year – why throw it all away by not taking out travel insurance? If you get injured or something goes wrong during your holiday you could be paying for it for a long time if you are not properly covered. No matter how well planned your vacation, there are always things that are out of your control and travel insurance becomes your best friend when you find yourself with no baggage, delayed flights or in hospital.

What does it cover?

When taking out a travel insurance policy you always need to make sure you know exactly what you are getting. Always read the fine print on your policy and make sure you go through the correct channels when trying to make a claim. Most travel insurance policies cover trip cancellations based on unavoidable circumstances, medical treatments, accidental death, excessive travel delays and baggage loss.

What doesn’t it cover?

Most travel insurance policies don’t cover any pre-existing medical conditions that you may have before embarking on your holiday. They also don’t tend to cover any monetary losses incurred from a pre-existing environmental factor or natural disaster, like a volcano that was active when you booked your trip, for example. If you’re engaging in a particular sport like hunting, fishing or skiing there are specific travel insurance policies designed for these types of holidays that will best cover all the risks associated with them.

Are you already covered?

Most credit cards provide you with basic travel insurance should you purchase your flights with your card. Certain travel packages and tours may also come with basic travel insurance. Always make sure you know what is included so you’re not paying for something you already have. Also bear in mind that you may want to consider getting comprehensive cover on top of that as often the ones provided by credit card companies or tours are very simple.

Tags: travelling