Planning Your Next Trip? Here Are the 7 Travel Insurance Mistakes That You Should Keep In Mind

Traveling sets you free. It gives you that much-needed me time. Travel breaks the monotony and replenishes your soul. When one makes travel plans, he/she keeps only beautiful and pleasant things in mind. It’s not a bad thing but one should not forget the risks that accompany travelling so they can be prepared to neutralize them.

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for”- and we couldn’t agree more. Travel wherever you want to, swim in the deepest oceans and trek the most challenging mountains. Nothing should stop you. And you can be sure to avoid risks that come with travelling by purchasing online travel insurance plans.

1. Avoid Travel Insurance Mistakes

Mr. Shyam has booked a flight ticket from Delhi to London for his daughter - Suhana. He has also purchased a travel insurance plan recommended by the airlines. His daughter was pregnant and her due date was near to her date of travel. If she didn’t have travel insurance coverage, the airlines wouldn’t allow her to travel. Luckily, she had insurance coverage. However, she was shocked to be informed that her travel insurance didn’t cover her.  

If Suhana had comprehensive insurance coverage, then she would have extensive coverage for any exigency. The best thing about having comprehensive insurance coverage is the cancel-for-any-reason cover.

Suhana’s case raises questions that trouble travelers who don’t travel on a frequent basis- What if my travel plan doesn't provide sufficient coverage?

There are a few insurance mistakes that travelers make while buying travel insurance plans. In this article, we will discuss such travel insurance mistakes and we will tell you how you can tackle them.

2. Policy Not Required

One of the biggest mistakes people make- they don’t read the details of their credit card policies.  There are people who aren’t sure so they assume that their credit card won’t cover them. They purchase a travel insurance plan. If you are one of them, before you buy a travel plan, carefully read the fine print of your credit card details. There can be chances that you would waste money on travel insurance coverage when the coverage you already have, covers it.

3. Full Trip Not Covered

Travel insurance experts recommend making adjustments here and there to widen the umbrella of travel insurance coverage when you select a plan. Include all your travel expenses, so that your entire trip is covered. It makes sure that when you file a claim, it gets approved.

4. Perils Not Covered

Carefully, read the insurance plan details. There can be times when one has to be evacuated from a cruise on medical grounds. If you buy an insurance plan with its premium in mind, you might miss out on sufficient insurance coverage as situations like emergency medical evacuation might not be covered.

When you are in a foreign country, travel insurance coverage is the only support cushion you can have. Don’t compromise on the quality of that cushion if you want to travel with comfort and convenience. Make sure that your insurance provider covers most of the natural as well as man-made catastrophes. 

5. Sports Activities Not Covered

In order to know which activities are covered and which aren’t, you’ve to go through the fine print of the insurance document. In case your plans revolve around high-risk activities such as sky-diving, white-water rafting, paragliding etc, some insurance providers won't provide you the necessary insurance coverage. In that case, you can buy a travel plan exclusively for high-risk sports activities. 

6. Country Not Covered

Most of the times, new travel insurance buyers (by mistake) buy an insurance plan that doesn’t provide coverage for the country they’ll be traveling to. Generally, insurance providers don’t provide insurance coverage for East Timor along with other countries that share their borders with two continents such as Egypt (Africa-Asia), Georgia (Europe-Asia), and Turkey(Asia-Europe).

7. Insufficient Time

When it comes to buying a travel policy, people make the mistake of thinking that they have plenty of time. In most of the cases, this isn’t true. Various plans are supposed to be bought soon after you have booked your tickets. Your circumstances can drastically change from the time you book a trip to the time you actually take it. For instance, sometimes cruises are booked in advance. Meanwhile, the travel insurance premium might increase.

Parting Words

Now that you know these travel insurance mistakes, make sure you don’t make/repeat them. Just like travel plans, travel insurance needs are individualistic. If the basic insurance coverage does not fulfill your insurance expectations, you can always buy add-on extensions. Buying overseas travel insurance online is hassle-free, convenient and time-saving.

Apart from this list, there are several travel insurance mistakes which are made by travelers. Do your homework and know more about the potential pitfalls of purchasing travel insurance. With planning and informed decisions, you can easily avoid these most common yet frequent travel insurance mistakes.