If you’re planning a trip abroad, travel insurance is essential. Unfortunately, there are several pitfalls you’ll need to avoid falling into if you want to avoid problems later on.
Here are some of the key mistakes to avoid:
Not checking the small print.
Like any form of insurance, the small print matters. Many people pick out their travel insurance based on the big claims in the advertising campaigns… or worse, they go purely by price and just assume they are covered for everything!
Make sure you take the time and effort to check what is (or isn’t) covered by your plan. And, of course, if you have a pre-existing condition that you need cover for, make sure that it’s specified within the cover.
Make sure you’re covered in the event of Covid-19
In 2021, this is unavoidable. Will you be covered if a new Covid-19 breakout were to affect your holiday? Most people know to check this in terms of the holiday itself, but you need to do the same checks for your insurance.
Even nearly two years after the start of the pandemic, policies still vary as to what they’ll cover in the event of a Covid-19 problem. Some will just cover testing, but not treatment, while others cover neither. Some cover both.
It’s also worth remembering that some policies will change their Covid-19 cover depending on where you’re travelling to, so take this into account.
Get the date from before you travel
A lot of people understandably date their insurance from the day they arrive at their destination. This makes sense. Unfortunately, it can leave you liable if anything happens on the journey itself.
The last thing you want is to catch sickness of some kind, or injure yourself while on the way to your destination, and find you still have to pay up because your insurance doesn’t kick in until you arrive!
Be thorough with your documentation
There are two common reasons people are unable to claim on their travel insurance:
• They do not fill in their initial applications accurately
• They do not keep a record of all documents provided
If you are not completely honest and accurate when you initially apply for cover, it’s unlikely your claim will be paid. Be meticulous.
Once you have your cover, be sure to make copies of every document your chosen provider gives you and take them on your trip. Then, if you do have a medical issue and are treated, keep a full record of every document given to you by the healthcare provider.
Different insurers will ask to see different documents from your trip for verification, so keep everything. Even documents you wouldn’t expect to be important, such as your travel itinerary, could be requested. Don’t throw anything away!
For more insurance tips and advice, contact our single trip medical travel insurance experts today.