Dont leave home without it!

Preparing for a holiday is an exciting time and travel is a wonderful and rewarding experience, but when the unexpected occurs far from home, such as sickness or injury, travel delay, baggage loss, or worse, it can become a daunting and expensive experience... You often hear and read horror stories about inadequately insured travelers who go off on holiday feeling perfectly well and then an unfortunate accident puts them in hospital... suddenly they find themselves very far from home without personal support systems in place and they're left with thousands of dollars in medical bills. Not fun!

Medical costs have increased dramatically worlwide and even countries with subsidised National Health plans now demand that foreign visitors pay in full for medical services rendered. At the same time the cancellation policies of travel suppliers such as airlines, and tour opertaors have become more restricitive, so if a trip has to be cancelled it is likely that a substantial portion of the pre-paid travel expenses will not be refunded, and if a trip has to be interrupted mid-way, a last minute, one-way economy air fare is now likely to be more costly than ever. There are also the realities of global economic instability, increased travel industry bankruptcies, global terrorism, and the overall unpredictability of life today causing many people to seek ways to minimise the financial risks associated with travel.

As a result, smart travellers purchase travel insurance in order to protect against the potentially staggering financial costs resulting from any number of crises or events that may occur during a trip.

Travel policies cover a range of possible events such as:

• Trip cancellation or interruption
• Resumption of journey
• Travel delay
• Emergency medical and dental coverage
• Accidental death
• Emergency evacuation
• Emergency assistance
• Luggage and personal effects
• Personal liability
• Loss of income
• Rental vehicle insurance excess
  

There are several types of insurance plans to choose from and it is very important to shop around for a policy which suits your individual needs, budget and region of travel. The policy documents should be read carefully before buying insurance to ensure that the events covered and level of cover for each event are appropriate and that you are aware of any special conditions and excluded circumstances and events.

When considering travel insurance, make a choice you will be comfortable with, then enjoy your trip, confident that you won't be worrying about... "What if?"

• Remember the Scout motto "be prepared." You can go without additional coverage, go "bare-bones" or buy a "deluxe" package that will cover you even if you should get bitten by a camel on an Australian outback adventure.
  
  
• Check carefully any health policies you already have. Find out if your coverage extends to emergency medical services outside your home country... what that coverage entails and whether that coverage is adequate if anything goes terribly wrong on holiday. Then begin looking for any extra protection needed.
  
  
• Don't take chances... Understand, that whether you are away from home for two hours or two months, accidents are never planned and ill health can come on very suddenly . You could find yourself too sick to travel home for medical treatment and we all know how expensive even a short hospital stay can be... and remember you can't buy your insurance when you start to feel badly... Policies must always be paid in full prior to your departure.
  
  
• Do your research. Allow the same time and consideration when choosing a travel insurance policy as you would when deciding a travel destination, shopping for your airline ticket or buying a backpack. The wrong backpack can mean a sore back... Choosing the wrong travel insurance could mean thousands and thousands of dollars in unnecessary debt!
  
  
• Personalize your policy. Think carefully about the kind of coverage you need. Are you pregnant?... Is this a skiing holiday?... Are you traveling with children?... Are you a diabetic?... All of these factors will play an important role in your choice of policies and they must be considered very carefully... For example, did you know that many policies don't automatically cover pregnancy-related conditions or nursery care for premature infants?
  
  
• You know the saying... "you get what you pay for!"... Never buy a policy based solely on the amount of the premium... If one travel insurance company is charging far less for premiums than another, be wary... This is the time to ask the questions because like the premium the chances are the coverage will also be less.
  
  
• Never lie or 'stretch the truth'!... Emergency health insurers have very stringent rules in regard to pre-existing medical conditions... It's absolute folly to go off without advising them of your medical problems because, in the long run, you could lose your coverage and no payments would be made.
  
  
• Ask about the company's emergency procedures. What happens if you become injured and need medical assistance immediately?... Is there an Assistance Center staffed 24 hours a day? How quickly and effectively will their medical staff react to your particular needs?... If their emergency number doesn't operate from where you are going, will they accept collect calls?... Will the person at the other end of the line speak English?
  
  
• Find out about the non-medical services your policy provides. If you are traveling with a child and you're the one who's hospitalized, will there be provisions for the interim care of the child?... Will they help if your passport or airline tickets are lost?... You tend not to think about these things preparing for a holiday but they become important when you actually find yourself in trouble.
  
  
• Finally, network with others. Sound out your friends about companies they've dealt with and how well any claims were settled. Ask them to assess both the medical services and the non-medical services. You'll be surprised at the helpful bits and pieces of information you can pick up along the way.