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What is Cancellation Travel Insurance?
Cancellation Travel Insurance
Difference between International and Domestic Travel Insurance?
The benefits of buying travel insurance for domestic trips include coverage for unexpected events such as flight cancellations, lost luggage, and medical emergencies. Here are some key benefits:
- Coverage for Unexpected Events: Travel insurance can cover prepaid, non-refundable trip costs if something unexpected happens during your travels, like a cancelled flight or lost luggage.
- Medical Coverage: While your health insurance is more likely to work domestically, travel insurance can bridge coverage gaps by covering medical treatment costs if you are hurt or fall sick on vacation, including emergency medical evacuations.
- Trip Interruption Insurance: Travel insurance can provide trip interruption coverage, which can reimburse you for the unused portion of your trip if it’s interrupted for a covered reason.
- Peace of Mind: Travel insurance can provide peace of mind by protecting your investment in the trip and providing assistance in case of emergencies.
In summary, travel insurance for domestic trips can provide coverage for a range of unexpected events, including medical emergencies, trip interruptions, and lost luggage, offering travellers peace of mind and financial protection.
What Factors should be Considered when Choosing Domestic Travel Insurance?
When choosing a domestic travel insurance policy, several factors should be considered to ensure adequate coverage. Here are some key factors to keep in mind:
- Coverage Needs: Assess your specific needs for the trip, including medical coverage, trip cancellation, and baggage protection.
- Policy Inclusions: Review the policy to understand what is covered, such as medical emergencies, trip interruptions, and any exclusions that may apply.
- Cost: Compare the cost of the policy with the coverage provided to ensure it aligns with your budget and offers value for money.
- Provider Reputation: Research the insurance provider’s reputation, including their claim settlement ratio, customer service, and financial stability.
- Policy Limits and Deductibles: Pay attention to the policy limits and deductibles to understand your out-of-pocket expenses in case of a claim.
In summary, when choosing a domestic travel insurance policy, consider your coverage needs, the policy inclusions, cost, provider reputation, and policy limits to make an informed decision.
What is Business Travel Insurance?
Business Travel Insurance
Business travel insurance, also known as corporate travel insurance is a type of insurance coverage designed to protect individuals who are travelling for business related purposes.
It provides financial protection against a range of risks and emergencies that can occur during work-related trips.
Business travel insurance is usually purchased by employers or business travellers themselves to lessen the financial impact of unexpected events.
This type of insurance is important for companies that rely on business travel to expand their global presence, as it protects them against major financial losses resulting from unexpected issues during trips.
Business travel insurance premiums are influenced by factors such as the traveller’s age, trip duration, and coverage limits, and typically cost about 6% of the total travel costs.
Here are some key features of business travel insurance:
- Trip Cancellation and Interruption: Covers non-refundable trip expenses in case the business trip is cancelled or interrupted due to covered reasons such as illness, injury, or other unforeseen events.
- Emergency Medical Expenses: Provides coverage for medical expenses incurred due to illness or injury that occurs during the business trip. This may include hospital stays, doctor’s fees, and prescription medications.
- Evacuation and Repatriation: Covers the costs of emergency medical evacuation or repatriation to the home country in the event of a serious illness or injury.
- Travel Delay: Reimburses additional expenses incurred due to unexpected travel delays, such as accommodation and meal costs.
- Baggage and Personal Belongings: Provides coverage for lost, stolen, or damaged luggage and business equipment during the trip.
- Business Equipment Coverage: Extends coverage to business-related equipment and devices that are lost, stolen, or damaged during the trip, such as laptops or other work tools.
- Personal Liability: Offers coverage for legal expenses and damages if the business traveller is held liable for causing injury or damage to the property of others during the trip.
- 24/7 Assistance Services: Many business travel insurance policies include assistance services such as travel assistance hotlines, medical advice, and coordination of emergency services.
Business travel insurance is crucial for protecting both the employer and the employee from unexpected expenses and disruptions that can occur while traveling for work.
The coverage and benefits may vary between insurance providers, so it’s important to carefully review the policy terms and conditions to ensure it aligns with the specific needs of the business traveller and the company’s travel policies.
What are the common exclusions in business travel insurance policies?
Common exclusions in business travel insurance policies include:
- Self-inflicted injuries: Travel policies exclude coverage for any injuries caused to the policyholders due to self-harm, including suicide.
- Illegal activities: Losses caused by illegal activities, such as operating a motorcycle or scooter without a valid license, are not covered.
- Medical tourism: Travel insurance typically does not cover medical expenses related to elective procedures or medical tourism, such as a facelift or a tummy tuck.
- Pre-existing conditions: Travel policies generally do not cover pre-existing conditions of the policyholders, if the insurance considers the condition to be high risk and could incur medical costs overseas.
- Engaging in reckless activities/behaviour: Participating in high-risk sports and activities, or engaging in reckless behaviour, may not be covered by travel insurance.
It’s important to carefully review the policy wording to understand the specific exclusions of a business travel insurance policy.
Baggage Travel insurance
Baggage Travel Insurance
Cover for personal baggage is included in all mainstream travel insurance policies, whether they are single trip insurance or annual travel insurance plans.
Some insurance policies that are more specialized such as cruise travel insurance or golf holiday insurance may provide additional or separate types of cover, normally to include additional equipment.
Typically, baggage is covered in the sense of it being normal suitcases that are checked in and out of an airport or train station, as well as carry on luggage.
Cover will normally include loss or damage to the baggage itself, as well as what is inside the baggage such as money and travel documents and other valuables.
It is important to note that there are likely to be specific limits per item within the travel insurance policy as well as limits on specified valuables as well.
There is also an expectation by the insurance company that the individual responsible for the baggage will take all reasonable precautions to make sure it is not left unattended or damaged in such a way that could have been prevented.
The various limits for baggage and specific items will be detailed in the insurance policy document and form the basis of any acceptance or rejection of a subsequent claim.
Baggage Travel Insurance Claim
In the event of baggage being stolen or lost it is important that the local police are notified, and that a police report is issued to you and a copy sent to the insurance company.
The insurance company may also want a written report from your travel provider that details the reported loss.
The insurance company is also likely to want proof of ownership and value of any items that are claimed to have been lost or stolen. This can sometimes be quite a contentious area if items are quite old or to difficult to establish proof of value.
An insurance company will accept something such as a receipt for proof of both ownership and value. In other situations, it might be necessary for the policy holder to have a valuation done before travelling to prove how much something is worth.
It is worth making the point that it is always a good idea to consider if it is really necessary to travel with items of real value or items that are difficult to replace.
If there is a claim for a loss or theft of a smartphone, cell phone or any type of device that has a service provider attached to it, the insurance company will want proof that the service provider has been contacted and asked to discontinue the service. This is to make sure that no additional charges occur onto the theft or loss has happened.
If money or travellers cheques have been lost or stolen, the insurance company will want evidence that this money was withdrawn or bought prior to the loss or theft occurring.
Damaged Baggage
Quite often baggage can be damaged or lost in transit during a plane flight, and this is one of the most common claims under travel insurance policies.
Property Irregularity Report
If this happens and is noticed during baggage reclaim, it is important that the policyholder obtains what is known as a property irregularity report from the airlines in order to prove the loss or damage occurred and is a valid claim under the policy.
It is also important to keep the luggage tags which were attacked to the boarding pass when the luggage was checked in. This can be a useful document when submitting a travel insurance claim. It is also a good idea to photograph the damage that has been caused to the baggage and ideally use a digital timestamp.
If compensation is going to be claimed from the airline itself then there are normally strict date guidelines as to how long someone has in order to submit a claim. This can often be a short as seven days and needs to be strictly adhered to.
Lost or Delayed Baggage
If the luggage or package is not at baggage reclaim and appears to have been lost or mislaid, again the airline may be responsible. It is important to notify this to airline staff in the baggage hall before leaving the hall or the airport and take a note of the baggage reference number and to get a copy of the subsequent airlines report.
Baggage Claims
Lost or damaged baggage may be claimable under an airline compensation scheme, or maybe recoverable under your travel insurance policy. What is important to note is that it cannot be claimed under both, as that would effectively be an act of fraud.
It is possible that the insurance company would request or instruct you to try and collect off the airline first, and then only claim under the policy if that proves difficult to do.
It is also possible that the insurance companies may just settle your claim and then try and reclaim the money from the airline on your behalf.