Travel Insurance and Evacuation Coverage

TRAVEL INSURANCE ENCOMPASSES MANY DIFFERENT PRODUCTS ESPECIALLY TODAY

The Insurance Information Institute, an industry group, divides them into four categories:

• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance. This coverage is meant to help you get your money back if you need to call off your plans or if your cruise or tour operator, for example, files for bankruptcy.

• Personal effects or baggage coverage. Lost, stolen, or damaged belongings are paid for under such policies.

• Emergency medical assistance. This covers the cost of overseas health care and emergency evacuations.

• Accidental death. This insurance pays if you or a family member dies on a trip.

You might want to consider one category of policies, emergency medical assistance, if your health is precarious, you’re traveling overseas, and your insurance is unlikely to cover you. This advice could apply to Medicare recipients because Medicare does not cover health expenses outside the U.S., although some Medigap policies do.

SHOPPING FOR THE RIGHT TRAVEL INSURANCE COVERAGE AT THE RIGHT PRICE

You decide you want to buy coverage, do so only through a third-party independent company. TravelSense.org (www.travelsense.org), a consumer site maintained by the American Society of Travel Agents, notes there’s a risk in buying it from a tour operator or cruise line: “In most cases, supplier-provided coverage won’t cover you in the event they go bankrupt.”

Ironically, that advice could apply to some travel agency coverage as well. As the advisor says, “If you’re going to buy it, don’t buy it through a travel agent.”

Healthy Traveler Clinic is always at the forefront of making sure our patient travelers always receive the best value for their travel funds. We want to offer you the widest variety of affordable choices in travel insurance needs. Our two insurance companies listed below offer a quick on-line registration and confirmation without having to fill out any additional forms.

PLEASE SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE DUE TO INCREASE IN TRAVEL.