Travel insurance can a little tricky to understand. There are so many travel insurance agencies that then offer multiple different plans that contain their own policies. In a nutshell, you just have to do the research and find one that covers your most likely to occur needs. There are also 5 basic things that traveler insurance covers (cancelled trips, medical emergencies, emergency evacuations, lost items/delays, and travel assistance). If you’re considering travel insurance you should know what you’re buying, at least with a basic package.

What Does Travel Insurance Cover: In Depth

When you buy a plan make sure that their policy covers the scenarios you want, many times they only cover specific events or items.

• Cancelled trips is one of the most likely things to occur when you travel for vacation or work. Some of the things as plan might cover will be cancellation due to injury, weather, terrorist acts, and the travel company going bankrupt.
• Most medical insurance companies don’t provide coverage to people that become injured or ill outside of the United States. If you buy medical insurance for oversea travel, keep in mind that this provides you with coverage for treatment in whatever country you’re in, which may be inadequate for your needs.
• Emergency evacuation coverage is for emergency airlifts and flights to your home, so you can receive the treatment you want from a doctor you trust. Make sure that you can choose the hospital they take you to under their policy. Sometimes their policy will take you to a hospital of their choosing.
• Inconveniences, such as lost luggage and delayed baggage/ flights is another common item that travel insurance covers. Keep in mind that these are very limited in what they can reimburse you with, but they can actually a pretty nice addition. Essentially they’ll reimburse you for lost or damages luggage, pay for essentials if your luggage is delayed (toiletry, clothes, etc.), and provide you with hotels and meals in case of a flight delay.
• Travel assistance is another item that’s not necessary, but nice to have at times. This generally just gives you free 24-hour customer service, searches for lost luggage, travel information for your specific flights, and even language interpretation assistance.

There are some other types of coverage offered by companies, but the ones above are generally the most common for basic insurance plans and policies.