Guide to Understand, Purchase and Use Trip Insurance

More and more Americans are protecting the financial investment they make in their vacation plans, and for good reason. In 2014, 17% of Americans had their travel plans affected by medical emergencies, severe weather or mechanical problems with their carrier. Back then, just one out of every five travelers had trip insurance.

In 2018, Americans spent $3.8 billion on trip insurance, with more than 65 million people covered during their travels that year. The reason for this is straightforward. Travel, particularly overseas, is costly and booking a trip months in advance leaves it wide open for any number of things to derail it.

With that in mind, when you want to be sure you have the very best trip insurance you can get, you need to take the right steps from day one. Here is how to make sure your trip insurance offers you the best coverage possible.

Research and Read Your Trip Insurance Policy

It all begins with research. Shop around, get quotes and decide on which trip insurance plan is best for your needs. When you have purchased and are given a policy, you should have a grace period during which to decide if the plan is right for you. It is critical that you read the fine print carefully, make sure you understand the terms and contact your travel insurance provider’s customer service department if you have coverage questions.

You don’t want to risk your travel claim getting denied because you thought the plan covered everything. Something happened, they thought they were covered and then they found out they weren’t. This could have been avoided if the terms and conditions were read in full and fully understood. Generali Global Assistance’s customer service team is available 24/7 to assist with any questions on the different plans provided. You can even read a sample Description of coverage or Insurance policy before you buy in order to get full plan details.

Understand Your Medical Coverage

Different trip insurance plans cover different things. Not all of them include medical coverage. If you want emergency medical coverage, be sure you purchase a plan that includes it.

When it comes to pre-existing medical conditions, be sure to consider a plan that will provide coverage if you have such a condition. At Generali Global Assistance, our Premium plan can cover pre-existing conditions, provided certain requirements are met.

Purchase Your Trip Insurance in Time

Once you book and pay for your trip, do not wait long to purchase your trip insurance. The sooner you buy it the better.

For one thing, if you have chosen a plan that offers coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, the insurance must be purchased within a certain time period after the trip is booked.

At Generali, this time frame is before or within 24 hours after making the final payment for your trip. If you don’t purchase your trip insurance during that time period, you will not have coverage for your pre-existing medical condition.

In addition, if you want coverage for potential storms, you need to purchase your trip insurance before the storm is forecast. Once the news reports the storm or it has been named, it has become a foreseeable event and insurance won’t provide you coverage.

Don’t Think Your Trip Insurance Will Cover Inconvenience

Your trip insurance is designed to reimburse you for unexpected expenses or financial loss due to a covered trip cancellation, interruption, delay, medical emergencies or other reasons.

If you go on your trip and everything is fine, but you feel inconvenienced in some way or didn’t enjoy yourself, you won’t be covered. There must be a financial loss due to an event that is covered under the policy for you to successfully file a claim.

Keep Every Piece of Paper for a Potential Trip Insurance Claim

Should you ever need to make a trip insurance claim, you will need every bit of documentation you can get your hands on. That means keeping a paper trail, even if you don’t think you’ll need to make a claim. Some things you need to keep:

  • Every single receipt and itemized bill from your trip
  • Every piece of documentation from your airline and tour operators
  • ·Unused tickets
  • Luggage claim tags
  • Proof from your airline that your luggage has been delayed
  • Police reports for theft or accidents
  • Bank and credit card statements
  • Documentation of any settlements, refunds, or credits from other parties
  • Car rental agreements

You could risk your trip insurance claim being denied in the event you don’t provide all necessary documentation. Be sure you don’t let this happen to you. Keep track of everything just in case.

Ultimately, it pays to know your trip insurance policy inside and out. If you try to file a claim later and it’s denied, it could be that you did not fully understand your coverage. At Generali Global Assistance, we are here to help. You can call us and ask questions if you need clarification on any of our plans.

So, take the time to get your trip insurance right and understand it well. Then you can enjoy your vacation to the fullest possible extent.

A8922002

Travel Smarter™ with trip insurance
Average Customer Rating:
Reviews