Tag: Opera

Should I Purchase Travel Insurance, Travel Tips

This is one of those age-old questions with no definitive answer. It’s estimated that 30 percent of Americans purchase travel insurance, which is a drastic increase since 9/11, when less than 10 percent of travelers were insured.

If you’re flying on a $150 ticket to see Aunt Irma in Wisconsin, you probably don’t need travel insurance. But on a trip such as yours, travel insurance can come in handy if something unexpectedly disrupts your trip. Your first step is to compare the cost of the trip versus the cost of the policy.

The most common situations when travel insurance comes in handy are:

Your flight is canceled

Your passport and wallet are stolen

You require medical treatment while abroad

You need to cancel your trip due to illness

An unexpected hurricane hits your destination

Your airline/cruise line/tour company go bankrupt

Reasons NOT to purchase travel insurance are:

You’re afraid of terrorism

A hurricane is going to hit your destination (this applies if the storm has already been named by the National Weather Service)

Your pet is ill

Your flight is delayed for so long that you want to cancel

One major caveat: Never purchase travel insurance from the same tour operator or cruise line with which you’re traveling. If that company goes out of business, there may not be money to cover your claim. Use a third-party provider (that includes travel agents).

Also, don’t forget about medical insurance. Even if you are covered for basic emergency care overseas, in almost all cases, your current health insurance does NOT cover you to evacuate you and fly you back to the U.S. Something called “Medical Evacuation and Repatriation” insurance comes in handy here. You pay a yearly fee, and if you get sick or injured overseas, the policy will get you treated, stabilized and flown back to the U.S. to the hospital of your choice, not theirs. There are a number of good companies that provide this type of plan, such as MedJet Assist.

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Affordable Student Health Insurance – How To Get Student Health Insurance Cheap

Are you one of the many college or university students who plan to travel and study abroad during an upcoming semester, If so, you need to consider purchasing overseas student health insurance. Overseas student health insurance can be affordable and cheap, especially when compared to medical costs you would have to pay out of your own pocket if you were to get sick or injured while studying in another country.

Students who plan to study abroad can usually purchase travel insurance from an insurance company that specializes in travel insurance. Overseas student health insurance can be purchased to last anywhere from one week to one year, depending on the insurance company from which it is purchased. You can also purchase long-term overseas student health insurance if you plan to study in another country for more than one year.

When you are looking for affordable overseas student health insurance, be prepared to provide specific information about the trip, yourself, and anyone else to be insured. Questions will vary among the different insurance companies, but all of the insurance companies will way to know:

The country, or countries, in which you plan to study.

The date you plan to depart and the date you plan to return.

Your age, and the age of any other family member to be covered, such as the age of your spouse and the age(s) of your child(ren).

Just as when you purchase any other insurance policy, you need to take certain steps when shopping for an overseas student health insurance policy. Always check the ratings of the insurance companies you are considering. Try to get ratings for both the financial security of the insurance company, as well as the operating stability. You can find this information from your state’s department of insurance, or from independent research companies. Ask your state’s department of insurance about any other information they can provide about the company.

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Travel Arrangements and Insurance

There are many different types of traveller. There are business men and women who are flying from one city to another for brief meetings, then there are families taking a two week holiday to the sun with young children, then there are students or gap year travellers who will be backpacking around exotic locations on extremely low budgets. There are really about as many different types of traveller as there are different types of person.

There are many different approaches you can take to booking your travel arrangements. Your main priority may be convenience, for example if you have a meeting near the airport you will need airport accommodation and little else, however, if you are travelling for pleasure, you are likely to have far less restrictions and will be willing to consider all types of arrangements. You can have these arranged for you by a travel agent or you could do it for yourself online. Or alternatively, you may wish to simply travel to a city or country with absolutely no plans and just see what happens when you get there.

On of the things you should always travel with is proper health and travel insurance. Obviously your requirements will again vary depending on what kind of travel you are undertaking. If you are travelling for business, full travel insurance that will provide you with alternative flights if yours is cancelled or delayed will be important. For most holiday travellers, this may not be quite as important. If you are travelling with children you may wish to consider it, but otherwise you may be quite flexible and tolerant if delays do occur. But you may be more worried about your luggage and belongings and wish to have good coverage for loss or damage to your property. All these options are available today with the various travel insurance companies that are operating in the market.

Generally speaking, you will always need health insurance when you travel. You cannot afford to take the risk that an accident or serious injury occurs and you do not have proper coverage. There are many parts of the word where free national health insurance is not provided and if you do require medical treatment, it will only be provided if you can pay for it. Particularly if you are travelling with children, you should always arrange adequate travel insurance with medical coverage. This is simply a risk that you do not want to be bearing yourself especially when the cost of travel insurance is so affordable.

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