6 types of travel insurance to consider this summer
Summer is a great time to get outside, take some time off work and book a vacation. It’s no secret that hotels, amusement parks and other attractions jack up their prices during peak travel times and when it comes to travelling during July and August, you pay heavily.
After booking your hotel, flights, rental car and excursions, it’s time to start thinking about protection. Travel insurance can help protect you, your loved ones and your personal belongings while travelling. Just imagine if you had a medical emergency while away from home and needed to seek medical attention in a foreign country. How would you find a doctor? How would you pay for the expenses?
If that’s too dark to picture, imagine if you hopped on a fight and when you arrived at your summer vacation destination your bags were lost somewhere in airport land? Could you afford to replace your luggage and all of your personal belongings? The answer for many, is no. That’s where buying travel insurance for your summer trip comes in handy.
Here are six types of insurance to purchase this summer:
Trip cancellation insurance
While the weather may be nice here at home, there’s no way to predict what it will like somewhere else. I mean really, how often is the weather man right? Purchasing trip cancellation insurance helps cover the cost of your summer vacation if it needs to be cancelled because of a natural disaster. Trip cancellation insurance also refunds your expenses if the destination is put onto the Do Not Travel list, or if you need to cancel due to injury or a death.
Roadside assistance
If a road trip with friends (or family) is on your list of things to do this summer, then ensure your car insurance is up to date. The more time you spend on the open road, the more likely to are to have an accident or suffer car troubles. Contact your auto insurance provider to ensure you’re covered for roadside assistance, collision and theft and damagea. This will help reduce your out of pocket expenses if you have an accident or emergency while on the road.
Flight cancellation and delay
Flights can be delayed or cancelled for any number of reasons, from logistics to bad weather. Flight cancellation and delay insurance pays for the costs of inconvenience if your itinerary is interrupted. This can include extra nights in a hotel, rebooking fees and meals in between flights. It’s important to read the fine print on your insurance policy so you know what circumstances are covered.
Baggage loss and delay
This type of travel insurance helps replace the cost of your belongings if your luggage doesn’t make it to your destination on time – or ever. Before purchasing travel insurance, contact your employer’s group benefits plan provider and credit card company to see if you’re already covered under another policy. There’s no need to pay for the same coverage twice.
Emergency medical insurance
Medical insurance can provide access to English speaking doctors if you’re injured overseas where the native language isn’t the same as your own. It also covers the costs if you need to seek advice, have a procedure or require medication while overseas. This is a common type of travel insurance and the cost is definitely worth the peace of mind.