how travel insurance works
travel insurance may be sold online by travel agents travel suppliers airlines cruise lines private insurance companies or insurance brokers when booking your flight accommodations or car travel insurance companies include aig travel berkshire hathaway travel protection generali global assistance geoblue nationwide and more typically you ll purchase coverage shortly after initial bookings for lodging flights or other transportation activities and rental cars some policies may require you to do so to retain full coverage here are some terms to know for travel insurance if you buy travel insurance you may have concurrent insurance coverage meaning you re covered under more than one policy when the travel coverage is primary the travel insurance reimburses you first without needing to make a claim through another company and sparing you potentially increased policy rates if the travel insurance coverage is secondary you ll first need to attempt to file a claim with other coverage such as an airline lost baggage or your own auto insurance damaged car there are usually stipulations spelled out on how you qualify for coverage your claim must fall under the types of coverage offered for example lost baggage insurance might include coverage for personal items prescriptions credit cards and your passport or visa you may also need to take extra steps to qualify for coverage such as reporting the loss or theft to the police this is the maximum amount you can receive for the claim for example you might only receive 500 per bag you may not even receive more for expensive items such as jewelry or electronic devices you might need to provide receipts for items over a certain amount without receipts the insurer may only pay for repairs some coverage might require you to pay a deductible or flat amount before covering the remainder of your claim up to the limit these are the conditions under which your coverage will not cover the loss each policy differs for example your baggage damage coverage may not cover losses caused by animals it may exclude coverage of bicycles hearing aids or other medical devices keys and tickets or seizure by a government or customs official pre existing conditions may not be covered by travel medical insurance or may only be covered if you buy a travel insurance plan within one to two weeks of booking your trip 2comprehensive travel insurancecomprehensive travel insurance includes many types of coverage listed below bundled into one plan most commonly comprehensive travel insurance bundles a 24 hour assistance line to help find doctors or get assistance in an emergency reimburse you for trip cancellation interruption and delay baggage loss or delay and medical expense and medical evacuation coverage 34alternatively you can purchase each coverage type separately this may be wise if you already have coverage through other insurance or can cover your losses in many cases trip cancellation or interruption coveragethis insurance reimburses a traveler for some or all prepaid nonrefundable travel expenses and comes in the following forms with most of the above acceptable cancellation and interruption causes and reimbursement amounts vary by provider acceptable reasons for a claim might include the following 5you may need to pay more or meet more requirements to file a claim for a cancellation due to financial default terrorism in your destination city or work reasons 