September 24, 2023 1:16 pm CDT
When travelling overseas on vacation, take insurance seriously
If you have a vacation booked up and are planning on heading overseas this year, chances are that you’ve got a whole lot of planning to carry out. You’ll be deciding what you’re going to do while you are away, what you want to see, what you want to try out and what you want to pack. It’s important that you take care of aspects of your trip that aren’t quite as exciting but really are essential. Insurance is one of these things. Here’s everything you need to know on the topic:
Travel Insurance
The first, and perhaps most obvious, form of insurance that you should take out when you are heading overseas is travel insurance. Travel insurance policies are provided by a huge variety of companies, so the good news is that there is plenty of competition.
This means that you can generally get a good deal, as companies are willing to beat the price of one another in order to maintain your custom. So, what should you look for in your own policy?
Medical Expenses
The most important aspect of your policy is medical expenses. This will ensure that you are covered if you have to fork out money for medical emergencies while overseas. This should cover medical treatment, surgery, and medication.
Repatriation
This is also extremely important. If you need to head back to your home country last minute for medical purposes, repatriation in your policy will ensure that you get back without having to fork out the costs yourself.
Baggage Cover
Chances are that you have plenty of valuable items in your baggage. If your baggage were to go missing or get lost en route, or if anything is damaged or destroyed, you will be reimbursed financially.
Cancellation and Curtailment
If your trip has to be cancelled or if you have to cut your trip short for some reason or another, having cancellation and curtailment included in your policy can save you a whole lot of money.
Missed Departures
Missing a flight can cost a whole lot of cash. You end up having to book new flights and there’s a good chance that you’ll have to fork out for a hotel or other form of accommodation near the airport until your next flight. Now, if this is purely your fault, there’s not much you can do. But if your policy covers missed departures for reasons outside of your control (for example, a broken down car, public transport delay, or getting caught up in an accident), you could reclaim the charges.
Vehicle Insurance
In the past, many of us would head overseas and we wouldn’t get behind the wheel of a vehicle for the entire time that we were away. We’d get off our flight, board a connecting coach or bus, be dropped off at our hotel (or whatever other establishment we might be staying at) and then remain there for the duration of our trip.
If we were heading outside of the complex, we would generally walk. We’d board coaches on planned excursions with qualified tour guides. If we wanted to head anywhere further afield independently, we’d ask the hotel reception for a taxi rank recommendation or request that they call a taxi on our behalf.
Now, these are all still great options and many of us still engage with them. But it’s important to remember that there are other options out there. As long as you have the necessary driving qualifications and proof of your licence, you can usually hire vehicles overseas. This allows you to take to the roads independently and decide where you want to go and you can go there when you want.
Whether this means hiring a vehicle for a long period of time in order to conduct some sort of road trip from one side of your destination country to another, or simply hiring a car to complete a couple of day trips here and there, you need to make sure that you do this the right way.
In regards to insurance, you need to make sure that you are insured to drive the vehicle in the country. Taking out auto insurance will ensure that you are driving legally and that if you do get into an accident on the roads, you will be able to repair damage without being hit with the full costs yourself. This goes for motorcycles and scooters too!
Backpacker Insurance
While backpacker insurance is technically just a travel insurance package, it’s specially designed with the more adventurous amongst us in mind. It will provide you with extra insurance and can help to better suit your individual needs. Backpacker insurance tends to alter from standard insurance in that it:
- Allows you to stay in multiple destinations – worldwide policies can cover multiple countries. This provides you with freedom in that you can stay longer in one destination than you initially planned, or can stop off somewhere you hadn’t anticipated and still be covered.
- Covers extended travel – if you’re backpacking, you could be away for months or even over a year. Backpacker policies cover this longer period of time.
- Protects you in a wide variety of activities – backpackers tend to engage in a wider range of activities and excursions than people heading out on a short beach vacation. Backpacker insurance tends to provide you with cover while engaging with activities such as engaging in water sports, hiking in rural areas, or skiing.
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