With the holiday season around the corner, many travelers wonder: do I need travel insurance for my summer trip?

Stefany di Manno Ceccato already knows the answer. But she discovered for the bad. A holiday friend in Mexico broke his head on a nightstand at his hotel, suffering a serious injury.

“He had to fly to California to receive medical treatment, which cost him $ 75,000,” she says.

Travel insurance could have covered all its expenses.

Ceccato says that now he always buys travel insurance for herself. And, as a travel advisor, it is also recommended to its customers.

But what covers travel insurance this summer? No Cover? What needs to know absolutely about the purchase of travel insurance? And how can you determine if you need it?

Travel insurance can meet your vacation needs

“If you travel to more than 100 miles from home, you should consider buying a travel insurance plan,” says Will Nihan, CEO of Travelex Insurance Services.

You have more options this summer than ever, he says. Travelex recently launched a complete set of new travel plans, presenting new coverage, benefits and improvements that travelers and travel advisors have requested. The idea of ​​adjusting coverage around the traveler, instead of the other way around, is gaining ground in the travel insurance business. And just in time.

“Think of all things that can go wrong,” says André Disselkamp, ​​CEO of the German travel insurance website. “Travel insurance can make the difference between enjoying its trip and stress on it.”

All of which takes us to the number one error that summer travelers commit: do not buy travel insurance or depend on a lower coverage of your credit card.

“That could lead to strong losses in case you find travel interruptions that prevent you from making your summer trip, such as a disease, an extreme climate or a delay of a travel carrier,” says Jenna Hummer, a spokesperson for Squaremouth.

What generally covers travel insurance?

Travel insurance generally covers the cancellation of the trip, the interruption of the trip, the delay of the travel and the medical expenses.

“While there are many other coverage available, travelers generally want to protect their travel investment by covering medical costs if something happens,” explains John Rose, director of Risk and Security of Altour.

A type of related coverage, but often overlooked, is emergency assistance, he says. For example, if you are without necessary medications, you need someone who can help you replace it quickly. Or if your trip is interrupted and needs to reach your final destination, who will help you?

Rose says that a travel advisor can help, but travel insurance can fill the gaps.

What does not cover travel insurance?

But travel insurance is not a magical bullet if you are protecting your trip.

“It does not cover interruptions like a hurricane that was already predicted to affect its destiny,” says Joe Cronin, CEO of International Citizens Insurance.

You can obtain coverage of pre -existing conditions in certain circumstances, but if you try to obtain hurricane coverage when a storm already has its destination in your point of view, good luck with that.

The closest to a magical bullet is a policy of “canceling for any reason”, which is more expensive than a regular policy, but will reimburse at least part of its prepaid and non -refundable expenses, regardless of the reason for the cancellation. “

Jason Block, executive director of Worldvia Travel Group, a collection of travel companies in the United States, explains the process. Travel insurance can cover pre -existing medical conditions through what is called an exemption of pre -existing condition if it meets specific requirements.

In general, you must buy insurance within 14 to 30 days after your initial travel deposit, you must ensure 100 percent of your non -refundable prepaid travel costs, and you must have medically capable of traveling at the time you buy the policy, “he says.” It is crucial to understand the specific requirements of the policy. “

Travel insurance can also include activity limitations, such as an exclusion for extreme sports.

“It is horrible to discover that her disease or injury is not protected because she participated in a restricted activity,” says Harding Bush, associate director of Global Rescue security operations.

How to understand your travel insurance policy

One of the biggest problems with travel insurance is that people do not take the time to read the small print and understand what it is, and is not, covered.

Mitch Glass was traveling to Mexico with his pregnant wife when she discovered how her travel insurance defines “pre -existing” conditions.

His wife got sick on the second day of his trip and spent five nights in a hospital.

“It turns out that it had a hemorrhagic dengue, which is a potentially deadly infection that comes from mosquito bites,” he says. “We had travel insurance coverage, but our claim was denied because dengue has an incubation period of 7 to 10 days before the symptoms appeared. Therefore, although it felt perfectly well when our coverage began, the insurance company said it must have been bitten by the mosquito before leaving home. “

Glass, a travel coach, says it is an absurd way of defining pre -existing conditions.

“When he buys travel insurance, he is confident that he will be covered if he gets sick abroad. But with this reasoning line, he could hypothetically perform a one -week trip and never be covered for this type of diseases that have periods of incubation,” he says.

How to make a travel insurance decision this summer

While travel insurance can cover many things, nor does it cover many others, there is a main reason to get it this summer: if you travel internationally and need medical coverage.

“Most national health insurance do not cover it abroad, and universal medical care is not intended for travelers,” explains Jeremy Murchland, president of Seven Corners Travel Insurance. “Therefore, you need travel insurance to pay the treatment if you get sick or hurt or need an emergency medical evacuation.”

Murchland says anything can happen when you travel this summer. It could be as mundane as flu or as deadly as a car accident. Medical systems in other countries generally require them to pay the treatment in advance or before they download it.

“You won’t want to be in a medical emergency, unable to get the necessary attention or return home because you can’t pay it,” he says.

How to know if you need travel insurance this summer?

Each trip is different. For example, a weekend visit to see relatives this summer may not be something to ensure. But a safari in Tanzania, definitely.

“You must evaluate the complexity, cost and potential risks of your trip before deciding on coverage,” says Raymond Yorke, spokesman for Redpoint Travel Protection.

Check all types of coverage:

• Travel or interruption cancellation: Refund for prepaid and non -refundable expenses if their plans change for a covered reason.

• Medical emergencies: Coverage for unexpected medical expenses or evacuation needs while traveling.
• Lost or delayed luggage: Compensation for the essential if your luggage is delayed, damaged or lost.
• Travel delays: Refund for additional expenses caused by significant delays.

Ask yourself: What kind of coverage do I need? And what are the exclusions?

“To determine if travel insurance is necessary, consider factors such as international destinations, expensive prepaid activities or potential risks such as extreme climate or disease,” adds Yorke.

Common mistakes include ignoring policy exclusions, the underestimation of coverage needs or the purchase of insurance too late in the reserve process.

Do not wait too long to buy travel insurance

One more thing. If you are thinking of getting insurance, time is important.

“When analyzing thousands of customer decisions, I have noticed that summer travelers often make the mistake of waiting until the last minute to buy insurance,” says Eamonn Turley, CEO of Multi Quote Time, a travel insurance site based in the United Kingdom. “Buy early, ideally when you reserve your trip, ensure that you are covered for cancellations prior to the trip to get the highest value of your policy.”

In other words, this is the ideal time to think about travel insurance, before reserving your trip. Execute all the scenarios and consider the best coverage for your summer trip. You will be glad to have done it.