Fans attending the China Olympics are wise to consider travel medical insurance

July 8, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Millions of travelers will attend the summer games in Beijing, China
Later this summer, millions of travelers from around the world will descend on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China with hopes of seeing Gold medalists and exploring a fascinating new country. This can be a great adventure for travelers young and old, but there are a few things travelers need to be aware of before they go.

Olympic-bound travelers must consider their health and medical safety
Anytime you travel, your health and safety are a concern. Many travelers like to try new things; whether it’s new exotic foods, unusual activities, unfamiliar sights, and various other “foreign-land” adventures. If you are heading to Beijing to see the 2008 Olympics, you will absolutely experience a variety a “new things”. Some will be harmless, but some will increase your risk of getting sick, injured, or ill. New foods, unfamiliar surroundings, or a day-trip adventure could result in any sort of accident.

Health insurance from home won’t cover medical expenses while abroad
When traveling in your home country, a slight mishap won’t cause too much trouble as long as you have health insurance. Your insurance from your home travels with you as long as you are in your home country.

Travelers are surprised, however, to learn that the same coverage that protects them at home will not always travel with them overseas. In fact, most health insurance from the US does not provide coverage once you leave the US, including Medicare. That means that when you leave your home country, you are left with no medical coverage to protect you in case of accidents, illnesses, or sicknesses. An unexpected visit to a foreign hospital can be a scary (and expensive) experience.

Transportation to get an injured traveler home can cost $50,000 or more
The costs of having an accident or getting sick while overseas doesn’t end with the emergency medical care costs. The other downside of needing medical care while abroad is the problem of getting back home. In many cases, an injured or sick passenger cannot simply fly on a commercial airline. They might need a specially equipped medical flight, or even an emergency medical evacuation.

Travelers going to the Olympics in China need travel insurance
The answer is to purchase travel insurance for your Olympic trip to China. A travel medical insurance plan is a temporary policy that covers you for the length of your trip. A good travel medical policy will provide:

  • assistance in finding a hospital
  • transportation if needed
  • translation assistance
  • payment for covered expenses

Important! Most travel medical plans even provide coverage that pays for emergency medical evacuation and transportation costs, which can be staggering. Make sure the one you choose provides this!

Most travelers choose a “package” travel insurance plan
Another option, which is popular with many travelers, is a “package” policy. A travel insurance package policy will provide the above mentioned medical and evacuation coverage, as well as coverage for other travel-related risks. Travelers enjoy purchasing these plans because they cover a variety of situations, such as financial loss due to:

  • trip cancellation
  • trip interruption
  • lost, stolen, or damaged baggage
  • missed flights
  • lost or stolen passports
  • and more

Related China Olympics travel insurance articles:
How do I know my travel insurance company is reputable?
3 Steps to finding the right travel insurance
Who has the best travel insurance?

Who has the best deals for travel insurance?

November 27, 2007 By Leave a Comment

Many travelers want to know, “Who has the best deals for travel insurance?”

There is no easy answer to this question. It is hard to single out 1 travel insurance company as having the best deals. Each company, and more importantly, each policy, has different coverage and levels of coverage. Therefore, they have different prices.

The best deals for travel insuranceCheap is not always the best way to go

The important thing its to get the coverage you need. It will do you no good to buy the cheapest trip insurance plan, but not have coverage for that lost suitcase or missed flight.

Decide what coverage is most important to you, and how much. Every plan varies. If you are going abroad, and want to make sure you have medical coverage, you will want to pay special attention to the travel medical policies. If you are concerned with a last minute cancellation due to the illness of a sick family member, you will focus on trip cancellation insurance, or “cancel for any reason” coverage.

Here are the steps to finding the best deals for travel insurance:

  1. Decide what coverage is most important to you and your trip
  2. Compare travel insurance using a comparison site (see How to Compare Quotes with a Travel Insurance Comparison Site)
  3. Find the policies with the coverage you are comfortable with, then look for a price that works for you

It’s that simple.

To give you an idea of how the different the premiums can be, here is a comparison chart of the rates from various companies and plans. This is a quote for a 30 day trip, trip cost of $10,000, medical coverage of $10,000, for 2 32 year-old travelers:

Company Plan Cost
Travel Guard Essential $600
CSA Travel Protection Freestyle $617
Travel Guard My Travel Guard $627
Travel Guard Essential Expanded $682
American Express Global Travel Shield Classic $722
Travel Insured Worldwide Trip Protector $756
Travel Guard Protect Assist $790
Travelex TravelLite $802
CSA Travel Protection Freestyle Luxe $823
Seven Corners RoundTrip $823
Travelsafe Vacation Insurance $838
American Express Global Travel Shield Deluxe $842
M.H. Ross Enhanced $849
Global Alert! Preferred $859
Seven Corners RoundTrip Choice $859
Access America Classic $870
HTH Worldwide Trip Protector $918
M.H. Ross Enhanced Extra! $1,041
Global Alert! Preferred Plus $1,051
HTH Worldwide Trip Protector Preferred $1,114
Travel Insured Worldwide Trip Protector Gold $1,137
RBC Travel Protection Standard $1,146
Travel Guard Cruise, Tour & Travel $1,226
Travelex Travel Plus $1,242
RBC Travel Protection Deluxe $1,259
Access America Deluxe $1,472

As you can see, there is a big gap between the cheapest and the most expensive plan. You can bet there is more coverage for the Deluxe plan from Access America, and less coverage in the Essential plan.

The Secret of Finding the Best Travel Insurance Companies

November 8, 2007 By 1 Comment

How many travel insurance companies are there?

As an industry that is still growing, especially in the United States, there are more and more travel insurance companies emerging all the time. As of right now, there are roughly 2 dozen companies that market, administer, and issue trip and travel insurance coverage. They range from big-corporation spin-offs like AIU’s Travel Guard, to independent upstarts that have entered the market in the past 15-20 years, like CSA Travel Protection and Seven Corners.

Even though are a several companies to choose with many different policies, there are ways to help you figure out the best one for your trip. At the end of this article, we’ll provide you with some links to comparison sites that let you compare rates from all major companies at the same time.

What exactly do the insurance companies do?

The job of the individual travel insurance companies is simple: they design the product (the policy), they market and sell it, then administer and issue the policy. But it doesn’t end right there. They are also there for a very important reason; possibly the most important when it comes to insurance: support.

Imagine you are traveling in Laos on a 3 week honeymoon. While embarking on a cycling day-trip through the countryside, your new wife takes a tumble and breaks her wrist. What now? You are in the middle of a foreign land, where you do not speak the language, don’t know anyone, let alone the best hospital to take her to. Not to mention how you get her there. This is where good support plays a part.

The insurance companies have support centers with trained insurance professionals that can answer your question; before and after the purchase. They will handle claims and claim questions as well. They provide assistance in foreign countries, help you find a hospital, and even to get through language barriers. They can arrange special transportation if the nearest hospital is not adequate.

The ability of a travel insurance company to provide great support is a very important factor in making your buying decision.

How do I know these travel insurance companies are reliable?

Travel Insurance CompaniesI have written another post on this specific topic; how can you know that you are buying travel insurance from a reputable company? There are a few trustworthy organizations that give credibility to the different trip insurance companies; here is a brief review of them.

The official rating company in the insurance industry is A.M.Best. A.M.Best is a full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial services industries, including the banking and insurance sectors. They have ratings for every reputable and trustworthy insurance company; on a letter scale (A+, B-, etc.) This a good place to check when you are not sure about a certain company.

The US Travel Insurance Association (UStiA) is a group whose mission is to, “…foster ethical and professional standards of industry conduct, cultivate effective state and federal government relations, inform and assist members, and educate consumers.” Representatives from various travel insurance related companies act as Officers, and travel insurance companies and related companies can pay a membership fee and be listed as members. UStiA does not rate companies, but their membership, and therefore inclusion in the group, helps credibility.

How can I compare rates from the different insurers?

There is actually a very simple way to compare different plans from the different travel insurance companies. In the “old” days (10+ years ago), booking airfare was a very different process than it is today? People typically used a travel agency, or spent hours on the phone with customer service representatives from United Airlines, Northwest Airlines, TWA, and others. You would writing down the different times, connections, and fares. Then you would compare all the prices; and figure out when you wanted to leave, when to return, etc. Sound familiar?

Then along came Expedia, Travelocity, and the other online travel sites. They took the role of travel agent, and made it easy for us to look at all the available airfares from several airlines, and compare prices side-by-side. Much easier, right?

The same thing exists for the travel insurance companies. Instead of using an agency, or calling the individual companies, you can go to comparison websites and see all the different plans, compare the coverage, and even compare quotes (NOTE: in the travel insurance industry, you are able to get instant, accurate quotes for your travel insurance premium. You don’t need to submit your information and wait for an email or call; you can get a quote for travel insurance in less than a minute.)

The other nice thing is that you can instantly purchase and bind coverage, right online. Using a credit card, travelers can get a quote and purchase their policy instantly. The companies generally mail the policy out to you, but you will also receive an email with all the important policy information. You can print this out and get right on the plane.

Related Links
How do I know my travel insurance company is reputable?
3 Steps to finding the right travel insurance
Who has the best coverage for lost luggage?

What’s the smart way to find the best travel insurance?

July 22, 2007 By Leave a Comment

First, you need to decide what coverage you need
You need insurance for your vacation. But how do you find the right policy, and how do you know that is the smart choice? The answer: 10 minutes of homework.

Figure out what kind of coverage you need. If you are worried about getting sick and missing your flight, you need coverage for missed flights. If your elderly mother is ill and might take a turn for the worse, you need trip cancellation coverage that covers illness to family members. If you just worried about getting sick while abroad, you need travel medical insurance. You get the idea.

Jot down your thought about what you want to cover. We’ll use this in a few minutes.

Be ready to purchase right away
There are big benefits to purchasing your travel coverage immediately after booking your trip. The biggest “problem area” in trip insurance, the issue that causes the most misunderstandings and aggravation, is the Pre-Existing Medical Condition. Essentially, travel insurance companies need to exclude illnesses and injuries that happened before their coverage began. If you are diagnosed with a condition in January, but buy insurance in March, that won’t be covered. You didn’t have insurance when it happened.

There is something you can do, however. Many travel insurance companies offer a Pre Existing Medical Condition Waiver. To qualify, you must purchase your insurance within a certain period of time of your first trip deposit. This period is usually 10-15 days.

So, if you are planning on buying travel insurance, there is a huge advantage in getting it right away, even at the same time as booking your trip.

Compare prices with a search engine
When you search for airfare, you probably use a search engine like Expedia.com or Orbitz.com, right? Most people do, because that way they can compare different airlines prices, flight times, layovers, and service. That’s the smart thing to do.

Well, the same is true for travel insurance. There are several websites where you can enter your trip dates, and a few other pieces of information, and get instant quotes from all major carriers. Then, while considering the prices, you can compare their coverage and find the right policy.

Use a travel insurance comparison site
Comparison sites have built  very simple sites, and made it easy to compare coverage. When you find the right company, just click “buy”. You can enter your credit card information and personal information in a secure site. Once complete, you will receive a confirmation email immediately. Then you’re ready to go (see How to Compare Quotes with a Travel Insurance Comparison Site)

3 steps to finding the right travel insurance

April 12, 2007 By Leave a Comment

Finding the right travel insurance can be difficult. There are many products to choose from, and all travelers have different needs. This simple guide will help you find the right coverage for your trip.

1. Determine your needs

Ask yourself this question and write down the answer:

“What are my 3 biggest concerns about this trip?”

Some people want to make sure the cost of their trip is covered if they need to cancel, others want their health and medical needs covered by travel medical insurance. Maybe you have a nice new set of luggage to protect, or you heard about the astronomical cost of emergency evacuation.

Everyone looks for travel insurance to cover different needs. You need to determine what your needs are, and find the policy that works best.

For more help understanding travel insurance coverage, check our Travel Insurance 101 guide.

2. Compare all quotes from all companies

This is actually quite easy. Instead of visiting several different websites and getting trip insurance quotes one at a time, use a comparison engine. These work much like Expedia .com, where you put in the trip dates and see all the options from all companies at the same time. Then you can decide based on features.

(see How to Compare Quotes with a Travel Insurance Comparison Site)

3. Match the plan that fits your list

Start looking at the different plans, specifically checking the coverage for the 3 things you wrote down earlier. If the coverage is the same for one area, check that off your list and move on to the next one. If they all offer similar coverage, you can then simply shop based on price.

Some products, however, will offer better or worse coverage than others. If you find a company that offers better coverage in one of your chosen areas, you have a reason to choose them over the rest. This is where price is not a concern, but getting the right coverage is.

Travel Insurance Review will help answer your questions

February 8, 2007 By Leave a Comment

Hundreds of free articles to answer your questions

Travelinsurancereview.net is an independent website that reviews all the different travel insurance companies. With over a dozen companies offering over 100 different plans, finding the right plan for your trip can be very confusing. Individual companies only show the benefits of their products. Our articles discuss the benefits of all different companies and all different products.

Full reviews of each plan are updated all the time

If you do want information about a specific company or insurance plan, the Reviews page is constantly being updated. Here you will find an easy-to-read grid with all the different plans, with links to full reviews. To the right you will also see a link where you can get an instant quote. This take you to a comparison site, where you can enter your trip details and get an instant quote comparison.

Read the actual testimonials from others

Looking at the reader testimonials, you can see that Travelinsurancereview.net is answering the right questions. Readers are able to read informative articles, company reviews, and plan details. When your questions are answered, feel confident making your travel insurance purchase.

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