Basic Review
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This travel insurance plan is perfect for…
- Vacation Travelers-This plan is a good, overall package plan suitable for most travelers
- Budget-Minded Travelers- This plan provides just the basics, keeping the policy cost down for travelers on a budget
Overview of Basic from Access America:
- Provides $10,000 of emergency medical and accident coverage
- $500 coverage for lost, stolen, or damaged baggage
- $50,000 of emergency medical evacuation coverage
Access America Basics is a very simplified policy offering essential coverage for trip cancellation/interruption, emergency medical/transportation, baggage, and trip delay. The plan is intended for travelers who are budget-minded, but still want basic coverage. There are two reasons this plan is lower priced; the exclusion of pre-existing medical condition coverage, and the exclusion of supplier default/bankruptcy.
“Just the basics”
Access America travel insurance has designed several different plans in an effort to satisfy the needs of many. For some travelers, money is no object and they want the best coverage available for their world tour vacation. Other travelers might be concerned with emergency medical coverage while on safari in Kenya, so a plan with this coverage is important to them. Or, maybe you’re a budget-minded traveler who doesn’t need the full line of coverage, but you want some basic security for your long-awaited cruise through the Caribbean.
For that last group of travelers, this is the policy for you. Access America Basics provides coverage benefits for trip cancellation, trip interruption, emergency medical, evacuation, lost/stolen/damaged baggage, and delayed trips. These benefits cover the essential worries that travelers are looking for, and it provides them in a price-friendly package. For a reasonably low premium, you can buy a lot of coverage for your journey.
Where to buy this policy:
1. Buy direct from the company- Get a quote and purchase this plan directly from the Access America website here
2. Compare this plan with other plans- The best way to buy travel insurance is to use a comparison website (similar to using Expedia or Travelocity for airline tickets). There are several, but we recommend a comparison site called Squaremouth.com to get instant quotes and purchase online. Squaremouth.com only works with reputable companies, and you can get instant quotes and purchase instantly online with a credit card.
What is the coverage with Basic?
Trip Cancellation
What happens if you get seriously sick just a few days before you plan to leave on your long-awaited trip? If your doctor says “no go”, what happens to all the money you spent on airline tickets, tours, and other reservations? Without trip cancellation coverage, you would have very little recourse. For any given trip, there are many non-refundable expenses that are at risk. With trip cancellation coverage, your are covered for those expenses.
Trip Interruption
This coverage is similar to the above mentioned Trip Cancellation coverage, but is intended for losses that occur after departure. From the policy certificate: “Trip Cancellation coverage provides benefits for loss(es) you incur for trips canceled up to the time and date of departure. Trip Interruption coverage provides benefits for loss(es) you incur for trips that are interrupted or delayed after the time and date of departure.”
Here’s the short version. If something happens while you’re traveling and you need to stop short, you will be reimbursed for lost payment. This could include an injury or illness while on your trip, but can also cover things happening at home. For example; a family member becomes ill and needs your care, or your home is made inhabitable by a fire or flood. There are many unforeseen reasons why you might need to head home early, trip cancellation coverage makes sure you don’t lose all your money if it happens.
Emergency Medical and Dental
One of the most important benefits of travel insurance is the Emergency Medical and Dental coverage. When you are at home, you probably have health insurance to cover you in the event of an injury or illness. This means you can visit a hospital, prove you have insurance, and get treatment.
When you cross the border, however, your medical coverage stays behind. For the majority of travelers, the medical insurance used to protect you at home will not be accepted overseas. This even includes Medicare, the American system providing care for citizens over 65 years of age.
The scary part is what happens when you do get hurt in another country, and don’t have insurance. Many hospitals will not provide care until payment is made. If you don’t pay, you get no care. This coverage is intended for emergency care, and there is a list of exclusions that you should be aware of.
Emergency Medical Transportation
Although somewhat rare, when an emergency evacuation is needed, the costs can be staggering. It is not unheard of for a medical evacuation, or Medevac, to cost upwards of $100,000.
What is emergency medical evacuation? If you are injured while traveling and cannot get to a hospital, you are in serious trouble. You would need an airlift to take you to the hospital. Sometimes the nearest hospital isn’t adequately prepared, and you would need to travel even further to get care. After you are fixed up, you need to get home somehow. With many injuries, you cannot simply get on a commercial airplane. You might need a specially equipped and staffed medical flight to take you home. You can see how these costs can quickly add up. These are the kind of debts that can put many people under for years.
Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Baggage / Baggage Delay
This benefit covers your luggage and personal property in the event of loss, theft, or damage. We all know how airlines can treat your bags, and oftentimes you never even see them again. The airlines hold some responsibility for your bags, but their coverage has limits. Most travel insurance companies will include baggage coverage in their package policies and a way to supplement airline coverage.
Another part of this coverage provides for the purchase of necessary items while you wait for your bags. Personal items, toiletries, or a bathing suit for that first swim at the beach; baggage delay coverage allows for some necessary items.
Travel / Trip Delay Coverage
Travel delay coverage is a very important section of the policy, and mostly for reasons of convenience and comfort. In the annoying event of a delay, you will likely have certain needs, such as extra nights in a hotel and extra meals. If your trip is delayed due to a covered reason (see above in cancellation and interruption sections), the travel insurance company will reimburse you for expenditures like accommodations and meals.
24-Hour Hotline Assistance
This is a great benefit provided with Access America Basics. If you need help while traveling overseas, Access America has a 24-hour phone line staffed to help you with all types of situations from anywhere in the world; from reporting lost baggage to getting emergency medical treatment. They can also help you replace passports, refer you to legal assistance, secure cash in case of emergency and guarantee payment to gain admission into a hospital. The call center is staffed with multilingual specialists who can guide the way for you.
Online Access
Access America also has a very helpful website where you can access your policy after purchase. If you need to view your policy and it’s conditions, or modify it, or even cancel it, simple log in and make the changes. They also offer claim submission and tracking through their website, which makes it easier to find out what is happening in the event of a claim.
Rental Car Damage Protector (offered as optional, add-on to Basic plan)
This is an optional coverage, and many travelers opt for it. Many travelers rent a car when they arrive at their destination. The first question you are asked when it comes time to check out the car is whether or not you want the optional insurance coverage. Some people opt for it, other people have coverage for rentals on their personal auto insurance. Access America Basics offers the optional Rental Car Damage Protector coverage to both of these types of travelers. For those who buy the insurance from the rental company, there are significant savings. Insurance from the rental company can cost over $20 a day; with the optional coverage from Access America, it only costs $9 a day.
Furthermore, for those who have coverage with their personal auto insurance, the optional coverage from Access America acts as primary coverage, meaning in the event of an accident it will pay first and you won’t even need to file a claim with your personal insurer. Everyone knows their rates skyrocket after an accident, and many travelers find it smarter to buy the $9/day coverage and not have to worry about using their personal auto insurance, which could cost a lot more in the event of a claim.
Special Notes
Satisfaction Guarantee- Access America will provide you with a full refund of premium if you cancel your insurance with 10 days of purchase and have not filed a claim or departed for your trip. Also known as the “10-Day Free Look” clause, this allows travelers to buy their plan, take some time to read it through and understand the details, and then return it for a full refund if they so choose.
Effective Date- Any insurance policy needs to define, very specifically, when the policy becomes effective and when it expires. With Access America, insurance is effective at 12:01am on the date the scheduled trip begins. Trip cancellation coverage, if purchased, begins the day after your web order is received and approved. This illustrates the importance of buying your trip cancellation policy as close to the time of initial deposit as possible. If you’re booking a trip and make an initial deposit, go ahead and buy your trip cancellation policy at the same time. This give you the most amount of coverage time.
Termination Date- Coverage ends at midnight on the date of return selected, or upon return to the city of residence or when the trip is canceled, whichever is earliest. If your return is delayed for any covered reason, your coverage is extended to the date when you are able to return to your city of residence.
Benefits are per person, and all insureds must purchase the same plan- Each person traveling needs to be listed on the policy.
Maximum Coverage- The maximum coverage available for both trip cancellation and trip interruption is $10,000. Again, this is per person so if 4 people were taking a trip with the total trip cost of $40,000, coverage would equal $10,000 per insured.
Omitting Trip Cancellation/Interruption- If you with to purchase Access America Basics simply for the emergency medical coverage, lost baggage, trip delay, etc., you can omit the coverage for trip cancellation/interruption by entering $0 for the trip cost. By doing this, you are purchasing $0 in trip cancellation/interruption coverage, meaning you have no coverage.
Pre-Existing Medical Conditions-Coverage for an existing medical condition is excluded. An existing medical condition is an illness or injury that exhibited symptoms or was treated for anytime 120 days prior to purchasing your trip cancellation plan. One of the most confusing and misunderstood aspects of a travel insurance policy are pre-existing medical conditions. Essentially, travel insurance companies need to make sure that they are providing coverage for a condition that occurs while they are insuring you. If you are having diagnosed kidney issues, and then purchase a travel insurance policy, you will not have coverage if your kidney causes you to cancel your trip. The kidney was already a problem before you purchased insurance. If you are perfectly healthy, purchase a policy, and then have symptoms of kidney issues and need to cancel, you will have coverage.
All travel insurance policies have stipulations for pre-existing medical conditions, and usually have a time period of coverage, like the 120 days with Access America Basics.
Access America Basics does not provide coverage for supplier default/bankruptcy.
For trips over 30 days, an additional daily rate of $3 applies, regardless of age. The reasoning here is that the longer you are traveling, the higher likelihood of a claim.
Where to buy this policy:
1. Buy direct from the company- Get a quote and purchase this plan directly from the Access America website here
2. Compare this plan with other plans- The best way to buy travel insurance is to use a comparison website (similar to using Expedia or Travelocity for airline tickets). There are several, but we recommend a comparison site called Squaremouth.com to get instant quotes and purchase online. Squaremouth.com only works with reputable companies, and you can get instant quotes and purchase instantly online with a credit card.
