Nobody would want a perfect trip to be ruined. Not purchasing travel insurance or not buying the right one can definitely spoil a trip you have always been looking forward to.
Why the need of buying a travel insurance?
1. Due to bad weather or other unforeseen events, you trip may be cancelled.
2. Luck just may not be on your side; you lost your baggage and all your prescription medicines are in it. You need an emergency prescription filled up.
3. It’s just not your day. Your bag (and inside it are your passport and wallet) got stolen. You need cash for a passport replacement.

Would your travel insurance policy cover you if you fell off an elephant while on holiday in Phuket? Well, maybe – but there could be a reduction in the available benefits. However, if you were on a holiday which included trekking by camel or elephant you would not be covered because the activity would be classified as ‘non-incidental.’ Confused yet? The subject of travel insurance for ‘hazardous activities’ can be very complicated! Many travel insurance policies automatically cover for ‘incidental’ activities. The term ‘incidental basis’ means that your participation in an activity is on a casual, fortuitous, occasional, or minor basis. In contrast, sports tours or activity holidays; for example, a week ’s white water rafting on the Colorado River is considered non-incidental.

I’ve never had travel insurance, and luckily I’ve never needed it. However, we see many travel writers strongly recommending travel insurance. Perhaps if we knew which insurance company to trust…

Here’s a story about a couple who couldn’t travel because their passports arrived to slowly. Their travel insurance didn’t cover anything – quite a shock to the couple who spent money on insurance, couldn’t travel, and couldn’t collect from insurance.

I can probably afford to lose some money on a flight or something, but what really scares me is emergency medical evacuation because that can cost a fortune.

We do have a little British advice – I wish I knew of an American company that offered an annual travel insurance policy that covered me every time I travel.

While everyone in England recommends it, in America we don’t see that so much. Speaking of England, I read that “47 per cent of UK holidaymakers still did not bother to take out any travel cover before their trip” which leaves 53% of the people buying travel insurance. I wish I had a statistic for America, but I’m willing to bet it’s much much lower than 53%.

According to this article Consumer Reports isn’t a big fan of travel insurance.

That same article reinforces what I said before about medical evacuation though:

Dr. Leon Reinstein of Baltimore says he has been buying travel insurance for overseas trips ever since one of his patients needed to be evacuated 10 years ago from the Bahamas after breaking her hip. That 90-mile ambulance evacuation to Miami cost $25,000.

They did also mention one family that had a good experience with Travel Guard insurance when a hurricane hit their vacation spot.So basically they say buy travel insurance when:

1. You’re spending a lot of money on your trip and losing sleep about something happening
2. You’re traveling when there’s a risk of bad weather
3. If you’re afraid of spending tens of thousands of dollars on medical evacuation

I guess #3 would be especially important to people who are going rafting or something similar – something where there’s a better than average chance of getting injured. Also with #3, you don’t necessarily need travel insurance to get medical evacuation coverage.

Source: travel-plan-idea.com

• Ask yourself this question: When you bought your travel insurance, was it within the the eligibility window?
  Most plans generally require you to buy your insurance within 15 days of your trip. Others require 10 or 21 days so do not wait too long otherwise you will not be covered. Also commont is waiting for 14 days after buying the insurance, so that they will be able to file a claim for reimbursement. Many insurance companies, generally, want to ensure that you bought insurance because of precautionary reasons and not on the basis of flying as soon as news announced your airline has gone bankrupt and completely shuts down its operation. Always remember that insurance is a high target for fraud. Yes, insurance companies have their customer’s interests in mind. Use a company that is reputable you should receive exact answers to your questions.
• Most important of all is that you want to make sure that your travel supplier (in this case, an airline, or this may include a cruise or tour company) is included in the list of covered companies by your travel insurance. A good travel insurance company always informs their customers of what companies they have blacklisted.

There are several things to consider when you shop for travel insurance. Find out if your plan includee default of travel supplier coverage. Be certain that you are covered if the company goes bankrupt in the first place. When looking for a policy, look for one that includes coverage for “financial default of travel provider.” This coverage is usually provided in the circumstance that a complete suspension of operations due to financial circumstances whether or not bankruptcy is filed. Employee strikes may also be covered under this provision.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED. This is a very good piece of advice, the most common, while traveling, even domestically or internationally. Some of these expected or unexpected events are crashing yor rental car, losing your luggage, coming into trouble with foreign authorities, having your money and travel documents stolen, and many others. There are lots of potential BAD situations that come up. Some annoying, some disasters, some worst. Because of these, you have to have travel insurance.

Here are some of the types of travel insurance tht will cover most of your risks in mind:

-Cancellation of trip, for reasons like serious illness or death of a family member, or co-worker.

-Lost luggage.

-Loss or theft of personal possessions.

-Medical expenses while on vacation.

-Rental car damage.

-Accidental death or injury while traveling.

-Legal assistance.

Not all these risks are covered in common by every travel insurance companies. It is therefore important to discuss your travel plans with your insurance company, as some acitvities may require additional coverage. There is normally a dangerous activities clause which lists activities not covered under a normal plan, like scuba diving, horseback riding, scuba diving, etc.

You can also research online, for coverage and prices.

There is a 1.4 percent growth in the insurance market because of increase in daily travels. Reasons for the travel raise is the increasing number of cheap airfare, more people that travels to see family and friends abroad and people demanding for more vacations. According to survey, many of us will take more than one holiday a year and 11 percent of traveler population will take 5 or more breaks in a year. With this, annual travel insurance makes sense because it will cover you for an unlimited number of trips. It could also be a good choice if you are planning to take two trips in a year which is cheaper than two single trips. And once you have the annual policy, you don’t have to worry about travel insurance until the next year.

If you’re fond of going to adventure trips and taking risks, better take with you a travel insurance. You might as well find a travel insurance suited for adventurous trips. For risky trips, injury can be a common scenario especially if you are not careful. It is much better to take out on single trip policies during holiday adventures and it’s best to ensure that you are covered against a lot factors associated with your activity of choice. There are many companies that have specialized insurance packages best suited for thrill seekers of all ages and abilities. It may be quite expensive but it will be worth your money to save you from any kinds of hassle and financial trouble that can happen during adventure holidays.

Some if not most, people have a hard time in finding the best insurance for them. Always have the time to consider what activities you are going to do during your trip to make sure if your insurance will have it covered. Think if you are going to do dangerous activities such as scuba diving or bungee jumping. Some insurance companies don’t like this kind of activities because it will cost them too much money.

Always make sure that you are covered enough for whatever may happen. Some medical expenses are expensive in other countries. Make sure that you are covered for such predicaments. And the most important thing to remember is that you are covered for the whole duration of your trip. Who knows what might happen?