Travel Insurance Blog

Many foreign nationals who travel to the USA know that they should get travel insurance because of the high cost of medical services. If you travel to the USA, it is recommended that you purchase the highest possible policy maximum possible. Here is an example of a recent claim incurred by a Canadian who was recently visiting the USA.

A 59-year-old was driving on an icy stretch of road in northern California when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into an embankment at 90 km/h. The driver sustained numerous injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital where he underwent several emergency surgeries. He then spent nine days recovering before being discharged. Here is a summary of the costs incurred.

What if this happened to me? What would I have done? Could I afford to pay for these medical expenses on my own?” These are important questions you should ask yourself when you purchase travel insurance. Anyone traveling to the USA should understand the true value and importance of travel insurance.

South Africa expects over 430,000 international visitors to visit the country specifically for the FIFA World Cup with Group A Matches kicking off in Cape Town on June 11th. This will be a very exciting event for South Africa and the world. Travel Insurance Now.com is offering travel insurance to foreigners traveling to South Africa that can be purchased online from their web site. While people should always purchase travel insurance, it is even more important when you travel to South Africa, which records up to 18,000 murders, 24,000 attempted murders and almost 250,000 incidents of serious bodily harm almost every year. It has been reported that there are almost 10,000 deaths each year on the South African roads. While most of these incidents involve local nationals in South Africa, tourists can and do get caught up in serious incidents. Medical expenses can be significant, especially if you have to be evacuated or repatriated.

As a result, if you are traveling to South Africa this year, make sure you purchase travel insurance before you go.

People travelling to Cuba will be required to present proof of health insurance to enter the country. To meet this new requirement, visitors should have travel insurance that covers medical expenses, the Cuban government said. Upon arrival, travellers may be required to present an insurance policy, insurance certificate, or medical assistance card valid for the period of their stay in Cuba. it was announced that “Those who do not have proof of insurance coverage may be required to obtain health insurance from a Cuban insurance company when they arrive.”

Most domestic health plans in Canada and the USA do not provide direct coverage for out-of-country emergency medical services. As a result, it is stronly recommended that visitors to Cuba purchase travel insurance before their trip. For American citizens, TFG Global Travel Insurance offers a plan from ihi BUPA which will cover them there as some US travel insurance suppliers will not cover their citizens traveling to Cuba.

Canadians visitors carrying only provincial government health insurance cards will have to pay Cuban hospitals, doctors or other providers in full at the time of treatment and then seek reimbursement from their provincial plans, which normally cover only a fraction of the charges. TFG Global offers an excellent travel insurance plan for Canadian residents traveling to Cuba.
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I recently read an article about an Australian living working in Thailand who let his travel medical insurance lapse. Shortly after, he woke up one morning urinating blood and when he went to the hospital, they sent him home thinking that it was a urinary infection. After a few days he returned to hospital, collapsed and was admitted to intensive care with what would be diagnosed as a rare blood disorder known by the abbreviation TTP – a condition where the blood starts clotting and requires extensive transfusions. Until the 1980s, there was no known treatment and it was fatal in about 90 per cent of cases.

The obvious lesson of this story is to make sure that you renew your travel insurance as the insurance company will not pay claims if you forget or don’t bother to renew the insurance. I understand from article that this expatriate was in Thailand for eight years – if this was the case he should have had an expatriate health insurance policy instead of a short term travel medical policy that is really onyl meant for trips of up to 1 or 2 years at the most. This is an important lesson that any expatriate or traveller should remember. Every month we encounter people who have let their expatriate medical insurance or tarvel medical insurance expire. Some companies will renew your policy without any problems while others will not renew or demand that the client purchase a brand policy.

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It seems that the Swine Flu or H1N1 virus panic has subsided for now. The Canadian government has recently lifted the Travel Warning for all travel to Mexico and there is now no need to postpone travel plans to that country. Even though there may not be a warning for travel to Mexico, anyone traveling to any country including Mexico should make sure that they purchase adequate travel medical and evacuation insurance to protect themselves if they catch H1N1, another sickness or become injured.

Chief public officer of Canada, David Butler-Jones, noted recently that the worst of the outbreak is behind ust, but Canadian health officials will continue to monitor the developing situation. The World Health Organization (WHO) raised its alert level to five out of six, indicating that a pandemic was imminent. However, the pandemic has not materialised. The lack of hysteria about the disease in recent days is obviously very welcome news to travelers and travel insurance companies alike. Continue Reading »

The U.S. Travel Insurance Association has recently reminded people that “travel coverage varies widely by company.” Beore assuming that a travel insurance policy will or will not cover a situation, the travel insurance organization is urging everyone to “check with their individual travel insurance company and carefully review their policy to see what is covered.”

Mos travel insurance companies that offer trip cancellation and interruption policies will cover cover travelers who contract the swine flu before traveling and while on a trip, as well as travelers quarantined prior to or while on a trip, but, “coverage does not include fear of traveling to a specific region, and generally there is no coverage for cancellation due to government regulations or advisories to specific regions.” These plans also do not cover you because you fear going to Mexico because of the swine or H1N1 flu.

You should know that the swine flu outbreak hasn’t been officially declared a full epidemic or pandemic. If one is declared, most insurance policies specifically “exclude any loss due to pandemic or epidemic,” and do not consider epidemics and pandemics natural disasters.

Some travel insurance plans offer a “cancel for any reason” option that allows travelers who have purchased policies to cancel their trip due to personal choice or concern due to government advisories. It is a great options that is available from Travel Guard via TFG Global Travel Insurance.com

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It is felt by many that between airline issues, natural disasters, swine flu, terrorist threats and medical emergencies that and more more people are going to be purchasing travel insurance. The worsening economy has lead to fears of job losses that has prompted many people to purchase trip cancellation insurance policies which cover the trip cost in the event of a termination or layoff. The recent swine flu epidemic can promted those who still are able to travel to purchase travel insurance in case they become sick when abroad.

It has been reported in the press that in 2006, Americans spent roughly $1.3 billion on travel coverage. This was an almost 20% increase from 2004 according to a study by the U.S. Travel Insurance Association. People are warned that travel insurance policies differ greatly and reading the fine print is essential. Continue Reading »

More and more travelers are nervous about the recent Swine or H1N1 epidemic. With the recent recommendations from governments telling their citizens not to travel to Mexico, most people have been cancelling their trips to Mexico. Many travel operators and airlines have been very accomodating to their customers and have helped rebook travel to other destinations without any fees. Most cruise lines have or will be stopping any visits to Mexico ports until the swine flu risk subsides.

 The big question is how travel insurance companies will react. One travel insurance company announced that customers who travel to Mexico and get sick with Swine Flu will be covered, but those who cancel out of fear will not. This is the case even with the U.S. State Department advising Americans to avoid nonessential travel to Mexico.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently moved the Pandemic threat level to 5 out of a scale of 6. It is expected by many that the scale will reach 6 very shortly as the flu spreads to many more countries and within communities. The big question now is how serious is the threat posed by this flu when approximately 30,000 in the USA die each year from the regular flu. The people in the USA and Canada who have been confirmed to have the H1N1 virus have had relatively mild reactions. At this time with approximately 2,000 confirmed cases of the swine flu in Mexico and possibly 150 deaths, the mortality rate looks high, but the real mortality rate is probably quite low because there are probably many thousands in Mexico who actually have the flu. Many experts believe we are only seeing the tip of the swine flu epidemic.

If you are traveling to Mexico or anywhere else in the world, it makes the purchase of travel medical insurance to cover your emergency medical expenses even more critical. The web site Travel Insurance Mexico.com is a great source of travel insurance if you are traveling to or from Mexico. Continue Reading »

If you are traveling overseas this year and plan to drive while you are there, make sure you get adequate travel insurance to cover you and your family. More and more people are traveling from one country to another – especially Canadians traveling to the USA and Americans traveling to Canada for short holiday trips. Both citizens should make sure that their car insurance covers them while outside their respective country. But they should also remember to obtain sufficient travel medical insurance to cover potentially huge hospital and evacuation fees should one become sick or suffer a car accident. If you are renting a car at your destination, you should make sure that you obtain rental car insurance if your credit card does not provide adquate protection. Most car rental companies also offer insurance, but the price tends to be quite steep.

For people traveling to countries where the rules of the road are sketchy or non existant,  you should definitely make sure you are covered should you have an accident. Some countries, especially in the developed world, are notorious for their dangerous roads and terrible drivers. Driving standards and road habits will vary enormously from one country to another. 

You may also need an international driving license in certain countries, so check ahead with the car supplier on that countries requirements. Some travel insurance companies will offer you international breakdown and recovery policies. As noted above, your first order of business should be to obtain a travel insurance policy before you take that driving holiday this year. Continue Reading »

It is expected that the number of fraudulent claims submitted to travel insurance companies will increase because of the current recession. Many travel insurance companies are already reporting an increase in fradulent claims with many customers reporting that pricey possessions such as watches and iPods have been stolen while on holiday. Unfortunately, some people think that defrauding insurers is an easy way to make money in a tough economy.

Other travel insurance clients will fake an illness to get out of an expensive trip abroad. Some fraudulent claims will reported to credit agencies and the insurer may seek legal action. Travel insurance companies are very good at spotting false and fraudulent claims, so think long and hard before submitting a bogus travel insurance claim as the insurers are not easily fooled. Of course, the vast majority of travel insurance claims are submitted by honest customers. Continue Reading »