What does travel assistance insurance cover?

As we have already said on other occasions, travel insurance is intended to provide coverage of health care costs that we may have to disburse in the event of an unforeseen event during our trip. Today we will look at the main guarantees it offers and how to get a good price on this policy.

The main coverage: health care abroad

For us, this is undoubtedly the fundamental guarantee. When you go on a trip, you know how much you spend on accommodation and transport. However, if you have a sudden illness or accident, an unexpected expense can arise, which in some cases can amount to several thousand euros. Travel insurance offers us an assistance service. This means that if we have any kind of incident during the trip, by calling the company, they will refer us to the nearest medical centre for treatment, without us having to bear those costs. Thanks to this, for very little money (perhaps even 1-2% of total trip expenditure) we can avoid unwanted surprises.

Guarantees affecting our luggage and suitcases

Travel assistance insurance always comes with complementary guarantees. They are usually policies that we call: “packaged”.”, because they come with comprehensive coverage. Regarding the goods we take with us on the journey, there are two separate moments:

• Journey: it is possible that when checking in, our luggage may be lost, delayed or damaged. This cover is provided for in the policy (always with maximum guaranteed capital sums).
• At destination: Travel insurance policies may include cover for theft or robbery (but not for petty theft); however, this is not the case with all companies and they often have many limitations. It is also possible that your home insurance policy may cover this situation (but it is usually within Europe). Therefore, it is common to take out luggage insurance when carrying belongings of a certain value, such as cameras, jewellery, etc.

It is important to be aware that the Insurance Contract Law will never allow what is known in the insurance sector as “unjust enrichment”. This happens when we lose a bag and the airline compensates us for it. In this case, we cannot expect the insurance to pay us again, because we would receive more than we had before. This is usually a point of conflict, but the airlines are strict because the law imposes it on them.

Flight delays

Travel policies often also include a travel insurance policy. financial compensation, when a flight or a route is delayed by more than X hours. Each insurance company sets a different one, although the usual is around 6 hours. The aim of this cover is to be able to pay you, with that compensation, the expenses incurred for food and drink while you wait.

Cancellation of uninitiated travel

Much like with delays too, usually, these insurance policies include a guarantee to compensate policyholders if, for specific reasons, they are ultimately unable to make the trip. We're talking about:

• Death or hospitalisation of immediate family members
• Accident or illness of an insured person
• Any serious incident in the dwelling
• Redundancy or taking up a new job

It is also common for high-cost trips to be covered by an insurance policy. specific travel cancellation policy. This is because the guarantee we discussed, in a packaged policy, has a limited maximum compensation and very specific causes. In contrast, specific cancellation policies have up to 5 times more reasons (they can go from 6 cases to 30) that justify the payment of compensation, as well as broader financial limits. This is why in destinations such as the United States, Canada, some places in Asia, etc.; it is common to take out a specific cancellation policy.

How to get cheap travel insurance

Like Insurance Brokerage with experience in travel insurance, we have negotiated special rates for our clients. Specifically, we can arrange insurance at a group rate (more than 10 people), even if only one person or a couple is going. If you are interested in taking out insurance travel insurance For your next destination, contact us and enjoy the best price, but above all, a comprehensive policy. In fact, you can now take it out immediately. If you go on travel to practice risky sports, Please do not hesitate to read this article dedicated to this issue.