5 scenarios your travel insurance may not cover
Image courtesy of Ben Beiske
After a few harshly-learnt lessons myself, I know the sheer importance of travel insurance. After being stranded in Paris over Christmas when the Eurostar broke down (worse than it sounds!), and getting stuck in the Algarve with no money when my purse was stolen; the few dollars I now shell out for insuring my travels is the most important purchase I make. Make sure you know what you’re covered for, and most importantly, what you’re not! Below are the 5 most commonly-thought insured scenarios which in-fact, aren’t.
- Risky activities: So, you can’t wait for your trip to the south of France where you’ll be taking full advantage of the exhilarating water sports and thrilling once-in-a-lifetime adventure sports, and because you’ve got your trip insured, you think you’ll be covered for any injuries, right? Wrong.
Most insurance policies won’t cover stuff like bungee-jumping, paragliding, or even the tame stuff like rafting and banana boat rides; unless you specify before-hand that this is what you intend to do. Pay the extra dosh and get covered, it’s so not worth paying out thousands in medical expenses when you’ve hurt yourself rock-climbing or jet-skiing.
- Mental illness: Ok, this is a rare one, but if you’ve been diagnosed with anything that might come under a ‘mental illness’ before travelling, such as depression or bipolar disorder; you’re not covered for anything that might happen whilst away.
Most people think mental illness would be covered by medical expenses; but it’s not. Also not covered is cancellation of the trip due to any sort of emotional or psychological crisis, so check out some specialist cover.
- Death or illness of a pet: Yep, you read right; apparently insurance companies don’t see pets as a part of your family, so if you have to cut your trip short or cancel it because of a pet’s illness or death, you’re not covered.
- War or local protests: Whilst terrorism has been added to the list of ‘covered scenarios’ in recent years, acts of civil war or political unrest generally aren’t covered. Not being covered for this could be an upsetting blow to an already scary situation. If you encounter any damages or injuries as a result of this, your medical expenses will come from your own pocket.
- Pregnancy: Basically, if you are pregnant, then don’t try and hide it! If you have any issues whilst you’re away, you’ll be accountable for all medical expenses, which could get costly. Pregnancy is classed as a medical condition, and there are plenty of specialist insurance companies which will cover you.
Believe me, worldwide travel insurance will be the single most important travel purchase you make; and it can be the cheapest. With loads of insurance compare websites, such as moneysupermarket (which I used) you can be entirely covered for any trip without breaking into your spending money.
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