Do dependents need their own travel coverage?
If you are planning a big vacation with your children, your mind is probably pre-occupied with things like:
“Did my child get in touch with all his teachers about missing class?”
“Will the resort be family friendly, or filled with party animals?”
“How can I take this trip without bankrupting my family?”
Travel insurance for your children is probably not high on your list of priorities, but if the worst should happen, you’ll wish you had stopped to consider whether or not your dependents need their own travel insurance coverage.
Buying insurance
When booking a vacation, or talking to an insurance broker, you wouldn’t assume that he knows your spouse is travelling with you on vacation – you’d make a point of intentionally purchasing travel insurance for both you and your spouse, or opting for a joint couples policy.
Similarly, you should not assume that your travel agent or insurance broker knows that you need travel insurance for your children. By specifically mentioning you’d like coverage for your whole family, an insurance broker can present the option of a family travel insurance policy. By ensuring your broker has all the details, he can select the best product for you – in this case, a money-saving product that covers you, your spouse and your children.
Existing insurance
Unfortunately, ensuring coverage for dependents on an existing insurance policy – say through work – isn’t as simple. Not all travel insurance policies cover dependents, and the ones that do will often limit the number of dependents or their ages.
The best way to know if your dependents need their own travel coverage or not is to read your insurance policy and speak with your insurance broker. Your broker will be able to tell you any limitations to the policy or exclusions and can provide you with peace of mind that your loved ones are covered.
A caveat though! Many travel insurance policies require an adult to accompany the dependent on their travels. If you are hoping that your work policy will cover your 20-year old son while he’s on spring break in Cancun, you might be out of luck. Once again, double-checking with your insurance broker is the safest way to be sure.
Travel insurance is pretty complicated – you can buy coverage for medical emergencies, flight cancellations, evacuations, etc.
When navigating the world of travel insurance, you want to be sure that your money is buying the coverage you want and need. That’s where insurance brokers come in. With an insurance broker, you can lay out exactly what you’d like covered and they will sift through the options to select a few choices that are perfect for your situation. If your family is going on vacation and you are wondering if your dependents need their own travel coverage, rest assured that your insurance broker has seen it before and knows of a few policies to help you relax in paradise knowing that your family is covered, even in the absolute worst case scenario.