Travel Insurance Top Picks: Best Medical & Comprehensive Plans

Deni fever it threw our trip completely upside down he was in a private room in a hospital for a full week with nurses checking on him and taking blood three times a day both of our visas also expired while he was in the hospital so I had to extend them with the hospital’s help.

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I also had to cancel our scheduled onward trips out of the country along with the accommodation we had booked and I had to rebook a whole new itinerary in all the insurance claim involved multiple categories of claims that all went to different departments at the insurance company company reimbursements of expenses were in three different currencies and more it it was a mess the claims process was not a cakewalk but in the end we got reimbursed for many thousands of dollars in expenses and most importantly my partner got the care that he needed today I will share with.

you what I learned through this experience so you can avoid mistakes that could mean the difference between your travel insurance coming through for you or not also I have collaborated with some other very popular Travelers who you may know they will share their own personal.

travel insurance experiences including some hard Lessons Learned so stay tuned let’s do this okay so first off what exactly is travel insurance it’s a safety net for travelers it covers unexpected losses while traveling like medical expenses trip cancellations lost luggage and other unforeseen mishaps I cannot emphasize enough how important travel insurance is well.

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certain kinds more than others it’s not just about getting your money back for a canceled flight or a lost suitcase it is knowing that if something goes horribly wrong like it did for us in Thailand you have a safety net so let’s talk about the different types of travel insurance your policy may include any or all of these some of which are more critical than others the most important kind of travel insurance as far as I’m concerned hands down is emergency medical insurance it covers or reimburses you for unexpected medical expenses while you travel next up is trip cancellation.

insurance this kind of insurance will refund you all or part of your nonrefundable travel costs in the case of a personal or Family Medical Emergency another important one is evacuation insurance this covers the cost of getting you to a place with appropriate Medical Care in case of an emergency. and stay tuned for Dave and Deb to share their story a little bit later on where evacuation.

insurance was critical last up is baggage loss and theft Insurance which covers all or some of the value of your travel belongings if they are lost lost stolen or damaged so here’s the kicker every insurance policy has limitations and exclusions it is crucial to read the fine print for instance most travel insurance policies won’t cover extreme sports injuries or medical expenses.

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related to pre-existing con conditions we will talk about this more in a bit and if you think your trip cancellation insurance will kick in and refund you for any cancellation think again the criteria is super strict unless that is you specifically got insurance with a cancel for any reason add-on which is a way more expensive option also be aware of the coverage limits.

your policy might cover medical expenses but only up to a certain amount the devil’s in the details folks and those details are significant and also mostly beyond the scope of what I can cover today.

I have included links in the description and the first comment to some written resources that I’ve created that dive deep into the nuances of travel insurance with some glossies of terms Pro tips and more all right let’s talk about the top travel insurance pit calls these are mistakes that you definitely want to avoid because they can turn a manageable situation into a real headache.

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the biggest mistake you can make not thoroughly understanding your policy before you travel and actually really before you buy the policy if you’re not super familiar with exactly what’s covered and what to do when things go wrong your claim could be denied let me give you a personal example I’m currently spending the winter in a ski town in Europe when I was shopping for insurance I was amazed at how differently the various insurance companies treat skiing some, see skiing of any kind as an adventure sport that requires extra coverage others cover skiing but only at official resorts on groomed runs only a few policies cover all types of skiing this was a deal breaker for me I needed a policy that covered all skiing activities.

because I didn’t want to worry about where I could or couldn’t ski imagine breaking a leg off piec only to find out too late that you’re not covered the next mistake is not having enough insurance if you have too much insurance it’s a waste of money on premiums but if you don’t have enough Insurance the repercussions could be financially devastating imagine needing an emergency evacuation that costs tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars and yes it can cost that much but your policy only covers a fraction emotionally it’s just as taxing you’re far from home You’re vulnerable.

Related: Travel Insurance Top Picks: Best Medical & Comprehensive Plans

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