• 28
  May
  2010

• Trip Cancellation Insurance for Travel to Any Corner of the World

  
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There is usually many a slip between the cup and the lip—in life, and especially in international travel. Purchasing travel insurance, most commonly in the form of trip cancellation insurance, can help you absorb the financial strain of a trip not going according to plan.

The RoundTrip plan from Seven Corners International offers just such coverage. The plan offers two options RoundTrip and RoundTrip Choice. Along with enhanced benefits, RoundTrip Choice also offers coverage for trip cancellation due to any reason. Both plans offer coverage for the non-refundable parts of the travel.

The RoundTrip Choice plan offers nearly double the maximum benefit amount for most benefits. Both plans offer optional flight accident and collision damage waiver insurance. These benefits can be purchased on paying an additional premium.

The medical benefits offered by both plans are minimal. The RoundTrip plan offers $50,000 for emergency medical expenses, and the RoundTrip Choice plan offers twice that amount. The RoundTrip plan also offers an emergency medical evacuation/repatriation benefit of $350,000, which is $1 million in the case of the RoundTrip Choice plan. if additional medical coverage is needed, Seven Corners offers a whole bunch of other plans as well.

• 26
  May
  2010

• Sam’s Insurance Escapades-II: Missionary Insurance and Emotional Trauma

  
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Sam Traveler counts among his friends a great many travelers who do so for humanitarian purposes. Most of them, he finds, are covered by missionary travel insurance. He recounts the tale of a co-passenger on a flight who told him about why it is important to look for some kinds of coverage in travel insurance for missionaries in particular.

His friend, Sam says, first started as a career missionary with a stint in the forests of Namibia. He had gone as part of his church group. Not only did his group face extreme pressure and resistance, the conditions there were simply abysmal.

He witnessed atrocities that he had never even imagined possible, and being just 21 years old and fresh out of college, he bent toward the bottle. Soon, he was drinking like a fish, and obviously needed professional help. The silver lining was that his insurance plan was a solid one—HTH Worldwide’s Global Navigator health insurance plan.

Many missionary insurance plans include coverage for mental, emotional and nervous disorders; alcoholism, and drug abuse as well. Sam’s friend was covered at 100% for alcoholism and drug abuse when in Namibia, and at 80% or 60% up to the coinsurance maximum upon return to the U.S., depending on whether the caregiver was part of the network or not.

Travel tip: While religion is a great salve for emotional needs, do not underestimate the conditions under which you will be working, especially in under-developed areas of the world.

• 25
  May
  2010

• Jane’s Adventures with Travel Insurance-II: Hotel-Like Hospitals

  
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Jane Wanderlust, our intrepid traveler, loves telling people that she has had two types of experiences: staying in hotels that were like hospitals, and hospitals that were like hotels! The first was because of an unfortunate incident which, thankfully, her international travel insurance covered.

When Jane was traveling in Cambodia, she suddenly felt ill. She, as was her practice, had an international travel health insurance plan with Liaison Majestic. The problem was that when she felt ill, there was an outbreak of the flu going on where she was traveling. So, although she needed hospitalization, there just weren’t enough beds to accommodate her. The doctor whom she consulted as an outpatient said that he was willing to take care of her where she was staying.

Jane somehow managed to get a hotel room very close to the doctor’s clinic. The hotel room literally served as her hospital bed. So did she have to pay for this hotel room out of her pocket? Fortunately, no. Under the Liaison Majestic plan, the hotel room charge when no hospital room is available, is covered. So Jane was able to get reimbursed for the accommodation on producing a certificate from the doctor and the hospital.

Travel tip: In such cases, the hotel room is considered hospitalization, and you must inform the insurance company either before check-in (if not an emergency) or as soon as possible after check-in (if an emergency).

• 24
  May
  2010

• Year-Round Protection with TravelGuard Insurance

  
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Some years, you simply need to make many international trips; a situation that begs for annual travel insurance. Making several trips can be for various reasons: maybe your significant other is in a foreign country; maybe your business dealings take you far and away; or maybe the year is just one that you have devoted to travel.

Whatever be your reasons, the best option in such a situation is clearly a yearly travel insurance plan. Annual travel plans typically offer medical benefits and other travel insurance benefits, but do not offer trip cancellation insurance. Some plans, such as TravelGuard’s Annual Travel Insurance plan, offer trip cancellation insurance up to a set amount per year (in this case, $1,000), or per-trip ($2,500 maximum).

The TravelGuard plan also includes the following benefits: medical expenses, emergency medical evacuation, baggage delay or loss, travel document protection, pet care at home, hotel overbooking, and renter’s collision insurance. The plan also offers additional services that come in handy during travel.

Some of these services include travel advisory services, emergency message relaying, translation services, medical referrals and case monitoring services, and assistance in case travel documents are lost. As always, it is best to read the insurance document carefully before purchase.

Travel tip: When considering annual travel insurance, make a realistic assumption about the number of international trips you will undertake. Sometimes, the cost of purchasing two plans may be less than an annual travel insurance plan.