Three Common Items in a Travel Insurance Plan

Three things that many travel insurance plans have in common are emergency medical expense coverage, trip delay and baggage coverage, and available assistance at any time. Travel insurance can additionally add on coverage for specialized activities or situations that a traveler might encounter, such as hazardous sports, rental vehicles or pre-existing conditions, but all travel insurance plans should have these three basic characteristics in common.

Emergency medical expense coverage is essential for travel, especially for international travel. Many countries will not provide medical treatment in emergency cases without upfront payment or proof of adequate insurance. Another important aspect of medical coverage is having emergency medical evacuation covered. Having to be transported out of a region or country due to a medical emergency can be very expensive, and is a commonly covered feature of the best travel insurance.

A comprehensive travel insurance plan will also include coverage for lost baggage and canceled or delayed flights. Flight delays, cancellation or lost baggage certainly occur frequently enough to be an essential component of any adequate travel insurance plan. Although these occurrences are often nuisances, they additionally can become major financial burdens for the traveler if he or she is not fully covered for these events.

Finally, the best travel insurance plans and companies will have round the clock assistance available by phone to help a policy holder in case of an emergency. As the traveler on any good travel insurance plan is covered for every moment of his or her travel, so the company should also be available to provide assistance 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Traveling in different time zones or anywhere in the world should not be an issue for the best travel insurance plans, and the assistance by the insurance company should be timely and informative.

Add-ons to travel insurance plans exist for a traveler to cover specific issues that he or she might encounter, and the best travel insurance plans can offer these to round out appropriate coverage. Extra coverage might include hazardous or adventure sports, like scuba diving or rock climbing. Rental vehicles can often be covered as a travel insurance add-on, and pre-existing condition coverage is another feature of comprehensive coverage that can round out medical insurance. Some policies will offer coverage that allows full or partial refunds if the trip is canceled by the traveler for any reason.

All the above mentioned extras can be very beneficial to round out a travel insurance plan, but emergency medical care coverage, trip delay and baggage coverage, and the availability of insurance assistance at all times are the three items that all the best travel insurance plans have in common.