Travel InsuranceHave Medical and General Insurance to meet your needs!
Travel Insurance is just that! An insurance to cover you, when things go wrong. It is one of the important things that should be high on your” to do list” before you leave home. Travelling to different countries, the possibilities of something not going according to plan, are higher than usual. Do not see Travel Insurance as an optional extra! You could end up thousands of dollars out of pocket. Even a short trip should be covered. Travel Health Insurance is EssentialTravel Health Insurance really is an absolute must! Here in New Zealand, medical treatment for citizens is expensive.For tourists......... who are not eligible for a government subsidy..... it is much more expensive!My Story - we saved thousands!EVEN A SMALL CLAIM COUNTS In many countries the cost of medical care if you are not a resident is extremely high. Just today a medical travel insurance claim arrived for my daughter..... for a doctor’s visit and medication in Thailand. It cost $180, so even the excess of $100 made it worthwhile. MY EXPERIENCE........ A visit to a doctor in USA, three years ago, and the medicine he prescribed, cost me $500 NZ! That same trip was destined to be something of a minor disaster, and having travel insurance made the difference between it costing us thousands of dollars and hundreds of dollars. I was due to sing in a competition in New Orleans. Yes....you guessed it! Hurricane Katrina came along just one month before I was due to go. Now that entailed re booking fares to the new location in Detroit.Then we had to re book connecting fares through to Cuba, which we didn’t want to lose. When we booked our two timeshares for this trip, I took up the offer of a very small Travel Cancellation insurance cover, for just such an occasion. The New Orleans week, and in time the Cancun week, were both cancelled. We only lost the $9 booking fee for each. A small price to pay, although I am still keen to get back to both places one day soon!
While we were in Cuba – along comes Hurricane Wilma. Yes, it wasn’t our year. There was a second hurricane straight after Wilma. Our accommodation in Cancun was no longer in a fit state to stay in..... and we could not fly out of Cuba, as there were no flights for several days. We had to stay an extra week in an all inclusive resort. Not our style......... but comfortable. Arriving in Cancun, the airline we were to fly with, contrary to the assurances by email of our travel agent....... were NOT flying from Cancun. Our flights had to be re booked with a totally different airline! Fortunately our travel insurance covered us for MOST of the costs incurred in this sorry saga. MORE REASONS..... Some people have had to be airlifted out of destinations where the medical treatment is not satisfactory. How many times have you lost money,credit cards, tickets, or other valuable items such as cameras? Or had your bag stolen? If you do not insure, you could really live to regret the small premium, in comparison to the much greater cost you could end up with. What's the best Insurance cover for your trip?Firstly, check your bank card. Here in New Zealand, we have some bank cards that include automatic travel insurance cover.There are specially designed travel insurance policies that suit different types of travel. 1) Comprehensive Overseas 2) Domestic 3) Medical Only Cover 4) Annual Multi trip 5) Backpacker Cover – this often includes adventure activity cover 6) Travel Cancellation 7) Medical Insurance – including cover for pre existing health issues. 8) Medical – repatriation to home country if injured, ill or in death. 9) Ski Insurance Your Insurance should cover – 1) Personal baggage 2) Money and Travel documents 3) Trip Cancellation Fares 4) Loss of Deposits 5) Medical and other expenses 6) Rental vehicle excess ( this is the amount you have to pay , when the company insurance is paying an insurance claim for vehicle damage) 7) Strikes/Hi Jacking 8) Accident, death or permanent disability Checking your Policy - Read Well!Insurance policies are notoriously wordy and difficult to read. But you MUST read the small print.Check you are covered for what you expect to be covered for. Are there any snags? Just having paid your premium will not mean you have automatic cover of all these things. It must be there written into the in the policy. There are often exclusions such as natural disasters. Know what you are paying for! TIP - Make photocopies of all your documents including your
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