With fall just around the corner, many snowbirds are itching to finalize their travel plans to warmer climes. If you count yourself among these lucky-ducks, make sure you've made the all necessary arrangements before heading to Florida, Mexico or the Caribbean.
Here's a quick checklistto help you get organized:
Tell a trusted friend or family-member about your plans and ask them to keep an eye on your place while you're away.
Secure your home and turn off the water.
Cancel the newspapers.
Forward or stop mail delivery.
Make photocopies of your travel and personal documents for yourself and the trusted friend or family-member as a precaution.
If you're driving to your destination, find out if you need supplemental car insurance.
Find out if you need to update your shots.
Let your bank and credit card company know about your travel plans to avoid any confusion or service disruption.
Most important, buy travel insurance.
While most people know that travel insurance is important, many people may not be aware that it is now a prerequisite for entering Cuba.
"Since May 1, 2010, Cuban authorities require visitors to provide proof that they can cover their own medical costs," said François Morel, a sales consultant at Desjardins Financial Security. "Subsequently, the Cuba Tourist Board advised that Canadians could present their provincial health insurance cards as proof of medical insurance. But, supplemental travel insurance is necessary because the provincial health insurance plans only offer minimum medical coverage abroad."
"Regardless of whether you're out of the country for a day or for several weeks, accidents or illnesses happen all the time and it's best to be prepared," said Morel. "Hospital stays abroad can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars. So, it's best to take a few minutes to buy reliable travel insurance coverage."
Here are some things to remember when buying travel insurance:
It's convenient: It can be bought on the internet or by phone.
It's flexible: You'll find the right policy that suits your needs based on your age, health situation and trip duration.
It's reliable: Coverage provides 24/7 medical assistance support so you know you can count on someone in case of an emergency.
วันจันทร์ที่ 12 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2554
Understanding Your Travel Insurance Plan
Those traveling anywhere around the U.S. East Coast this weekend will most likely be sitting tight as Category 3 Hurricane Irene barrels her way up the Atlantic. For those who bought travel insurance, you'll need to know what your policy covers to get the most out of your plan.
Travel insurance covers "unforeseen circumstances," or situations that arise due to sudden, unanticipated conditions or events. If you are involved in a car crash, injure yourself, lose your luggage during your trip, become ill, or are delayed and miss your connection, or, in this case, you run into a hurricane (and all the travel casualties that come with it), you'll be happy you had travel insurance.
The U.S. National Weather Service Hurricane Center is asking potential travelers with insurance to re-examine their coverage in preparation for the storm. If your trip is cancelled, cut short or you need to return home early because your home or property has suffered damage from the storm, most travel insurance policies will reimburse your claim for lost travel expenses.
Like us on Facebook
Unfortunately, travelers without insurance cannot run out and buy it today if you are traveling during the storm. In order for insurance to be valid against a hurricane or other bad weather, a policy must be purchased no later than the day before a tropical storm or hurricane is identified and named by the U.S. National Weather Service. After the storm has been recognized, it is no longer unforeseen and travelers cannot purchase insurance for it.
Even when you do have proper insurance, there are stipulations that must be met for your cancelled or interrupted trip to be covered. Most basic policies cover:
Weather causes complete cessation of common carrier services for at least 24 consecutive hours.
The traveler's primary residence is made uninhabitable by hurricane, flood or other natural disaster.
The destination accommodations are made uninhabitable by hurricane, flood or other natural disaster.
If your trip is cancelled for a covered reason, companies will refund the prepaid, forfeited, non-refundable trip costs up to the limit of coverage.
If you have purchased a more advanced plan, like Travel Insured's Worldwide Trip Protector plan and Worldwide Trip Protector Gold plan, you can receive additional trip interruption coverage if:
Mandatory evacuation is ordered by local authorities in the destination due to a natural disaster or hurricane. There must be 50 percent or less of the total trip length remaining after the evacuation ends for Trip Cancellation coverage to apply.
When the insured's arrival at the destination is delayed and causes the loss of 50 percent or more of the scheduled trip duration due to reasons covered by the Trip Delay benefit (described below).
You can receive trip delay coverage if:
A weather-caused delay of the insured's common carrier occurs for either six or more hours, or for 12 or more hours, depending upon the specific plan selected.
Your airport is closed due to severe weather or high winds.
A delay is caused by a documented traffic accident (such a flooding or a fallen tree) when the insured or his or her travel companion was en route to a departure, whether they are directly or not directly involved.
If severe weather conditions cause you to miss a connecting flight that can affect the rest of your trip or cruise, most plans have missed connection coverage. If a common carrier delay of three or more hours due to weather causes the insured traveler to miss his or her cruise or tour departure, then you will be covered. Depending on your plan, you can be reimbursed for costs to rejoin the trip as well as meal and accommodation expenses, and non-refundable payments for the unused portion of the trip or cruise.
If the storm directly affects your travel plans, you are entitled to a refund. But, if you are worried that the predicted storm path will be too close for your liking, you can choose to cancel a trip based on what you think might happen, and not what actually does. It is your choice and will not be covered by standard travel insurance.
Travelers with Cancel for Any Reason travel insurance do have the luxury of postponing or canceling a trip based on hurricane threats, warnings or general uneasiness about traveling during the storm. Those with Cancel for Any Reason insurance can cancel flights or trips even when carriers and hotels are operating normally. This may be a good insurance to purchase for uneasy travelers or those traveling with families as it covers many circumstances that regular travel insurance does not.
If you are still unsure if you will be covered this weekend, or anytime in the future, check with your specific travel insurance company for details about your trip and your policy.
If you don't have travel insurance and are a frequent traveler, consider purchasing a plan to save the most the next time "unforeseen circumstances" arise.
Travel insurance covers "unforeseen circumstances," or situations that arise due to sudden, unanticipated conditions or events. If you are involved in a car crash, injure yourself, lose your luggage during your trip, become ill, or are delayed and miss your connection, or, in this case, you run into a hurricane (and all the travel casualties that come with it), you'll be happy you had travel insurance.
The U.S. National Weather Service Hurricane Center is asking potential travelers with insurance to re-examine their coverage in preparation for the storm. If your trip is cancelled, cut short or you need to return home early because your home or property has suffered damage from the storm, most travel insurance policies will reimburse your claim for lost travel expenses.
Like us on Facebook
Unfortunately, travelers without insurance cannot run out and buy it today if you are traveling during the storm. In order for insurance to be valid against a hurricane or other bad weather, a policy must be purchased no later than the day before a tropical storm or hurricane is identified and named by the U.S. National Weather Service. After the storm has been recognized, it is no longer unforeseen and travelers cannot purchase insurance for it.
Even when you do have proper insurance, there are stipulations that must be met for your cancelled or interrupted trip to be covered. Most basic policies cover:
Weather causes complete cessation of common carrier services for at least 24 consecutive hours.
The traveler's primary residence is made uninhabitable by hurricane, flood or other natural disaster.
The destination accommodations are made uninhabitable by hurricane, flood or other natural disaster.
If your trip is cancelled for a covered reason, companies will refund the prepaid, forfeited, non-refundable trip costs up to the limit of coverage.
If you have purchased a more advanced plan, like Travel Insured's Worldwide Trip Protector plan and Worldwide Trip Protector Gold plan, you can receive additional trip interruption coverage if:
Mandatory evacuation is ordered by local authorities in the destination due to a natural disaster or hurricane. There must be 50 percent or less of the total trip length remaining after the evacuation ends for Trip Cancellation coverage to apply.
When the insured's arrival at the destination is delayed and causes the loss of 50 percent or more of the scheduled trip duration due to reasons covered by the Trip Delay benefit (described below).
You can receive trip delay coverage if:
A weather-caused delay of the insured's common carrier occurs for either six or more hours, or for 12 or more hours, depending upon the specific plan selected.
Your airport is closed due to severe weather or high winds.
A delay is caused by a documented traffic accident (such a flooding or a fallen tree) when the insured or his or her travel companion was en route to a departure, whether they are directly or not directly involved.
If severe weather conditions cause you to miss a connecting flight that can affect the rest of your trip or cruise, most plans have missed connection coverage. If a common carrier delay of three or more hours due to weather causes the insured traveler to miss his or her cruise or tour departure, then you will be covered. Depending on your plan, you can be reimbursed for costs to rejoin the trip as well as meal and accommodation expenses, and non-refundable payments for the unused portion of the trip or cruise.
If the storm directly affects your travel plans, you are entitled to a refund. But, if you are worried that the predicted storm path will be too close for your liking, you can choose to cancel a trip based on what you think might happen, and not what actually does. It is your choice and will not be covered by standard travel insurance.
Travelers with Cancel for Any Reason travel insurance do have the luxury of postponing or canceling a trip based on hurricane threats, warnings or general uneasiness about traveling during the storm. Those with Cancel for Any Reason insurance can cancel flights or trips even when carriers and hotels are operating normally. This may be a good insurance to purchase for uneasy travelers or those traveling with families as it covers many circumstances that regular travel insurance does not.
If you are still unsure if you will be covered this weekend, or anytime in the future, check with your specific travel insurance company for details about your trip and your policy.
If you don't have travel insurance and are a frequent traveler, consider purchasing a plan to save the most the next time "unforeseen circumstances" arise.
Why a $200 Travel Insurance Policy is Better than a $500 Policy, Advises Squaremouth
The recent increase of hurricane activity has many travelers inquiring about travel insurance. The most common question is why some travel insurance plans are less expensive but offer more benefits. The answer is simple, they hit the “sweet spot.” Squaremouth.com, a site for comparing and purchasing travel insurance, explains that the situation is common among travel insurance policies and simply means someone has qualified for the best rate.
“Don’t be concerned that the travel insurance policy is inferior simply because of it’s low price,” says Sarah Byrne, Marketing Manager at Squaremouth. Since travel insurance providers all have an ideal customer in mind, each product is aimed at a different demographic.This explains why some plans are less expensive but offer better benefits.
“Although the ideal customer will vary from one insurer to the next, travelers who look for their sweet spot can typically find significant savings,” says Chris Harvey, CEO of Squaremouth.
For example, someone buying a travel insurance policy close to the departure date should look for plans from CSA Travel Protection. Since CSA is the only travel insurance provider that changes the cost of their policies the closer someone is to traveling, these policies can be a better value one month before the trip versus one year before the trip.
Other travel insurance providers determine their ideal customer based on the traveler’s age, trip length and trip cost. Travelex Insurance Services, Travel Insured International and Travel Guard offer policies that cover kids for free. “Since traveling with the whole family can get expensive, it’s wise for travelers to be aware of these money saving opportunities,” says Byrne.
It is also common for travel insurance providers to target students studying abroad. iTravelInsured offers the Student Travel policy that is competitively price for someone in their 20s, however, it typically has less medical and medical evacuation coverage than many other travel insurance policies.
Whether a travel insurance policy is $200 or $500, it’s important to remember that the price of the policy does not determine the quality of coverage or service. Compare policies, if a less expensive policy has the same coverage as a more expensive policy, it’s the sweet spot.
“Don’t be concerned that the travel insurance policy is inferior simply because of it’s low price,” says Sarah Byrne, Marketing Manager at Squaremouth. Since travel insurance providers all have an ideal customer in mind, each product is aimed at a different demographic.This explains why some plans are less expensive but offer better benefits.
“Although the ideal customer will vary from one insurer to the next, travelers who look for their sweet spot can typically find significant savings,” says Chris Harvey, CEO of Squaremouth.
For example, someone buying a travel insurance policy close to the departure date should look for plans from CSA Travel Protection. Since CSA is the only travel insurance provider that changes the cost of their policies the closer someone is to traveling, these policies can be a better value one month before the trip versus one year before the trip.
Other travel insurance providers determine their ideal customer based on the traveler’s age, trip length and trip cost. Travelex Insurance Services, Travel Insured International and Travel Guard offer policies that cover kids for free. “Since traveling with the whole family can get expensive, it’s wise for travelers to be aware of these money saving opportunities,” says Byrne.
It is also common for travel insurance providers to target students studying abroad. iTravelInsured offers the Student Travel policy that is competitively price for someone in their 20s, however, it typically has less medical and medical evacuation coverage than many other travel insurance policies.
Whether a travel insurance policy is $200 or $500, it’s important to remember that the price of the policy does not determine the quality of coverage or service. Compare policies, if a less expensive policy has the same coverage as a more expensive policy, it’s the sweet spot.
สมัครสมาชิก:
ความคิดเห็น (Atom)