Thailand

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What is Group Travel Insurance?

travelGroup Travel Insurance

Group travel insurance is a type of insurance policy that provides coverage for a group of individuals who are travelling together.

This type of insurance is commonly purchased by organizations, businesses, tour operators, or groups of friends/family who plan to travel as a unit.

Group travel insurance is a more convenient and cost-effective option for organized groups travelling together, such as large families, company retreats, destination weddings, and reunions.

It is important to note that group travel insurance is designed for groups with the same itinerary and travel reservations.

If the group members are coming from different places and meeting up at a location at different times, separate coverage may be more suitable.

The policy typically covers a range of travel-related risks and emergencies, offering financial protection to the members of the group.

Group Travel Insurance Cover

Key features of group travel insurance may include:

  1. Coverage for Trip Cancellation or Interruption: Reimburses non-refundable trip expenses if the trip is cancelled or interrupted due to covered reasons, such as illness, injury, or other unforeseen events.
  2. Emergency Medical Expenses: Covers medical expenses incurred due to illness or injury that occurs during the trip. This may include hospital stays, doctor’s fees, and prescription medications.
  3. Baggage and Personal Belongings: Provides coverage for lost, stolen, or damaged luggage and personal belongings during the trip.
  4. Travel Delay: Reimburses additional expenses incurred due to unexpected travel delays, such as accommodation and meal costs.
  5. Emergency 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.
  6. Personal Liability: Provides coverage for legal expenses and damages if a member of the group is held liable for causing injury or damage to property of others during the trip.

Group travel insurance is often more cost-effective than individual policies for each traveller, and it simplifies the process of managing insurance for a large group.

The terms and conditions of group travel insurance can vary, so it’s important to carefully review the policy to ensure it meets the specific needs of the group. Additionally, the coverage may be customizable based on the type of trip and the activities planned.

Benefits of Group Travel Insurance:

  • Cost: Group travel insurance is typically cheaper than individual travel insurance because the insurer is able to spread the risk out over a larger number of people.
  • Convenience: It is much easier to insure a group of people under one policy than to have each person purchase their own individual policy.
  • Consistency: Everyone in the group will have the same level of coverage, so there is no need to worry about whether one person is covered for something that another person is not.

Disadvantages of Group Travel Insurance

Group travel insurance can be a convenient and cost-effective way to insure multiple travellers on a single trip. However, there are some potential disadvantages of group travel insurance that you should be aware of before you purchase a policy.

  • Limited coverage: Group travel insurance policies typically have more restrictive coverage than individual travel insurance policies. For example, group policies may not cover pre-existing medical conditions, or they may have lower coverage limits for certain types of expenses, such as medical evacuation.
  • Lack of flexibility: Group travel insurance policies are usually less flexible than individual policies. For example, you may not be able to add or remove travellers from the policy once it has been purchased. Additionally, group policies may not allow you to customize your coverage to meet your individual needs.
  • Administrative hassles: Managing a group travel insurance policy can be more time-consuming and administratively burdensome than managing individual policies. For example, you may be responsible for collecting payment from all group members and submitting claims on their behalf.
  • Potential for exclusions: Group travel insurance policies may exclude certain types of activities or destinations. For example, the policy may not cover travel to high-risk destinations or activities such as extreme sports.
  • Higher deductibles: Group travel insurance policies may have higher deductibles than individual policies. This means that you will be responsible for paying a larger amount out of pocket before your insurance coverage kicks in.
  • Age limits: Some group travel insurance policies may have age limits, which means that travellers who are above a certain age may not be eligible for coverage.
  • Pre-existing conditions: Group travel insurance policies may not cover pre-existing medical conditions. If you have a pre-existing condition, you may need to purchase an individual travel insurance policy that covers your condition.

Travel Insurance by Country

travelTravel insurance is pretty much a must, whatever country you are going to visit, but its cost and necessity does vary country by country.

For some countries it is a legal requirement, for others things like medical costs, as per USA, make it pretty crucial for most people.

Some countries are safer than others, and some parts of some countries are safer than others.

Insurance companies require people to follow any travel advice that their national government gives out about the state of a country, and how safe it is to travel there.

Governments of other countries than your own will also have travel advice for their citizens, which will be useful to follow.

Whilst travel insurance will usually cover most medical conditions, albeit at a cost,  if you have a condition such as epilepsy it is worth remembering that some countries still have quite a cultural and social problem with people who suffer from it.

It is also worth researching the medical system of any country you are going to, especially if you are visiting any remote areas of that country.

Also check if your insurance company will pay any medical bills directly to the hospital, or if you are expected to pay them and claim the money back from the insurance company.

Below is a list of articles about travel insurance to different countries, including some general travel tips and information on safety, airlines, sports, and health systems etc.

Jamaica

Tenerife

Argentina

 

Too Fat to Fly ………..

According to reports in Thailand, Thai Airways Is considering banning people who they considered too large to fit into their new seats in their business class cabins.

Far from being seen as any type of safety or moral hazard, the decision apparently applies to people who have a waistline that is larger than 56 inches, and is needed to cause the seatbelts in the business class cabins have a new feature which is a  seat belt airbag.

Apparently this seat belt airbag will not work with people who have a waste of this circumference, and as such they will be banned from flying with them.

Full report here