TRAVEL INSURANCE SINGAPORE

Travel insurance is a short-term coverage of travel related risk such as medical emergencies as well as other emergency situations such as evacuation or missed flights. If you are an overseas traveler, you will take out travel insurance for the medical expense coverage alone but there are several other benefits to be obtained. You would generally purchase this coverage from an insurer in the country in which you live because this is where you would normally wish to return in the event of an evacuation or a medical emergency.

You can normally buy travel insurance through your travel agent, your regular insurer or a specialist travel insurer. You should be particularly careful about buying from your travel agent because you might get overcharged if he regards you as a captive customer. A lot of travel insurance coverage is the same regardless of the source and you should shop around for the best deal provided you have the minimum coverage that you need.

Types of coverage:

Medical expense coverage

travel insurance

In most cases, your domestic medical expense coverage insurance arrangements will not cover expenses incurred in countries other than your country of residence because they are often paid for by the government. Some countries do have reciprocal arrangements with other countries but you may find that these overseas countries may not provide health care to the standards that you require. Unless you have coverage under reciprocal arrangements or your domestic health insurance, you may find yourself paying your overseas travel medical bills out of your own resources and this can be an extremely expensive proposition.

When you consider buying medical expense coverage, you should carefully check out the following:

• the exact details of the medical expenses for which you can lodge a claim. For instance, if the country you are visiting has both private and public health care, you should be able to use the private system.
• The position if you have any pre-existing medical conditions. Most insurers will not cover pre-existing conditions and may invalidate your entire coverage. Some insurers will consider coverage on payment of an extra premium or the imposition of a large deductible.

Insurance for cancellations
Travel insurance can also include reimbursement of expenses related to unexpected or unplanned cancellations involving your carrier or your destination. This may include costs such as hotels, meals and other expenses that you may have to incur. You can also obtain cover for cancellations caused by emergencies such as a death in the family or a major emergency such as a fire in your house. You will generally need to be familiar with the small print before you can make a claim on your insurers because there will be a large number of conditions attached.

Insurance for loss of belongings
It is possible to buy coverage for the theft or the loss of your belongings when you are traveling overseas. In the event of theft, you will need to lodge a complaint with the police and create the necessary documentation before the insurer will pay on your claims. Insurers will generally try and limit their liability especially in the case of expensive and portable items such as cameras and laptop computers and will pay out only if the robbery is violent or involves forcible entry into your hotel room. These policies are expensive and aimed primarily at business travelers for whom the expense is relatively affordable.

A large number of travelers still choose to travel to various countries without travel insurance because they don’t really understand the benefits of getting travel insurance.  It may be that nobody has bothered to explain this to them clearly.  In the simplest possible terms, travel insurance is there to assist you in something unforeseen or bad should happen to you before or during the journey and at your destination.  This is why it is as essential a part of your baggage as your clothes or your other gear.  This is why the biggest benefit that travel insurance provides is to give you peace of mind and let you enjoy your vacation.  You no longer have to worry if you are faced with an emergency especially in a foreign country where you may not know what to do.

For instance, if your flight gets delayed or cancelled, you no longer need to hang about the airport hoping for something to happen.  The money that you get under the travel insurance policy will come in handy if you want to book another flight or stay at a decent hotel while you wait for things to be rectified.  This is particularly useful if you are on your way back home and have a problem with your flight.

Equally, your baggage may get delayed, lost or stolen.  These things have been known to happen to anybody and you could get stranded without access to your personal belongings and your clothes.  If you should be unlucky enough to be in this situation, the compensation that you receive under your travel insurance policy will enable you to buy anything that you immediately need without being out of pocket.

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Similarly medical travel insurance will protect you if you suddenly fall ill and you are on holiday.  With the right coverage, your medical expenses and your hospital bills will be taken care of and even if you need to be evacuated or repatriated to your own country for further treatment, the expenses will be taken care of…  You should be careful in disclosing any pre-existing medical conditions that you may have to the insurance company so that your insurance is not invalidated.

Even single trip travel insurance is recommended if you do not travel frequently and cheap value for money travel insurance is available to provide you with the peace of mind that you need to enjoy your holiday.  In fact, single trip insurance can be significantly cheaper than comprehensive coverage.  You should have fun and relax on your holidays instead of worrying about possible emergencies.  Let your travel insurer do your worrying for you.

Getting the appropriate travel insurance will also provide you with increased protection.  Airline and shipping companies will often provide insurance cover with your tickets but the coverage will be limited to the time that you spent on the plane or the ship.  Moreover, coverage is limited in financial terms and you could well find that your loss is not fully covered.  Travel insurance also provides you with the advantage of covering your financial losses if you should have to call off a trip because of illness or other reasons.  Without this kind of protection, the money that you have paid will be money down the drain.