If you’re planning a trip abroad and thinking about buying travel insurance, you need to know the minimum coverage it should offer you.
There’s a wide range of insurers on the market, plus separate companies that sell travel assistance. Keep in mind that these are two different things.
Insurers pay for and handle everything needed both before and after something goes wrong. Assistance companies, on the other hand, only offer a help service ahead of an incident. In other words, the recommendation is to buy insurance.
“Traveling with insurance guarantees you’ll be covered in any situation, whether it’s a lost passport, a lost suitcase, or something else. The best part is that travel insurance is affordable and covers a lot of possible mishaps,” explains Santiago Pachano of the insurer Sagicor.
That’s why this list covers the basic features and coverage your travel insurance should have:
- It should give you minimum coverage of at least $30,000.
- It shouldn’t charge you a deductible when you use it, meaning you shouldn’t have to make any payments afterward.
- Choose one that doesn’t work by reimbursement. In other words, the insurer takes care of the payments if you need to use it.
- It should include coverage for pre-existing conditions.
- Coverage has to include repatriation of remains, medical repatriation, emergency dental care, and early return because of a family member’s death.
- It should cover pregnancy complications (at least through week 28), compensation for lost or delayed baggage, and legal assistance in case of accidents.
- It’s very important that it has worldwide coverage.
Ask about all of these points when you buy your travel insurance, since some options may leave out these important requirements.
Pachano added that plans should also include coverage for COVID-19 infection, assistance if you lose your documents, and ambulance or helicopter transport to get medical care.
So if you’re about to travel, whether for work or on vacation, keep this information in mind so you can choose the best travel insurance.
