Travel Insurance Fraud – 4 Reasons Why Not to Do it

In today’s modern society insurance fraud is almost a daily occurrence. How many times have you heard friends and acquaintances speak jokingly about claiming something on insurance. In most cases, fortunately, that is where the matter ends. But for some people, the seed of an idea is planted and they become increasingly tempted to see what they can get out of a travel insurance policy claim.
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Travel Insurance Fraud – What’s is it?

Travel insurance fraud occurs when a person makes a false claim on their insurance policy. An example may be where a claim is made for bags allegedly stolen by a person or persons unknown.

The Australian Institute of Criminology states that 20% of travel insurance claims are fraudulent, which means that insurance companies face an ever-increasing battle to maintain premiums at an affordable level whilst at the same time offering adequate coverage for their clients.
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Destination Review: 6 More Beautiful But Dangerous Vacations

Most of the world tourist destinations are attractive because of their natural beauty, the warmth and consistency of their climate and the friendliness of the locals. But of course it is also true that these same places can be as dangerous as they are attractive, and if you decide to travel without adequate travel insurance you could be treading a very unsteady path.

Let’s look at some travel destinations that would not generally be classified as dangerous, but where there lurks a sting in the tail of an otherwise exciting holiday.
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Destination Review: 6 Beautiful But Dangerous Vacations

It’s no secret that having an adventure holiday can stir your spirits and provide you with that long sought-after distraction from mundane things in your everyday life. Whilst it is true that one man’s adventure is another man’s boredom, there are places on our planet that are downright dangerous no matter which way you look at it.

When you’re planning your next holiday, and you are looking for adventure, and you have adequate travel insurance in place, you might want to consider the following six beautiful but dangerous destinations.
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Travel Insurance Destination Report: Africa

Africa – one of the most exotic and fascinating locations on the planet. The continent is home to lions, tigers, and bears … and giraffes, elephants and humans that live in a very different way from us in the West! Travellers to Africa have to be mature, bold, well-planned, tolerant and willing to bend to local ways. They also have to have quite a high level of travel insurance, in order to have a chance of enjoying the vacation rather than spending it worrying. Today we look at the health and safety issues of a few popular destinations within Africa, and the recommended level of travel insurance for them.

Ethiopia

Health

Health is always an issue in Ethiopia. The population is poor and little ‘herd immunity’ exists, so the risk of developing a disease is quite high. The usual issues of travelling in less developed countries are also present in Ethiopia, including:
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Travel Insurance Destination Report: South East Asia

South East Asia is an enormously popular tourist destination. The combination of relatively weak local economies compared to the West, a beautiful climate, delicious food and picturesque settings mean that almost every Western overseas traveller makes it to South East Asia at least once. However it is also a relatively wild place in terms of health and also safety. Today we look through the risks inherent in travel to popular South East Asian countries, and how they should impact on your choices about travel insurance.

Bali

Health

As a developing country, Bali has several disease uncommon in the West as endemic there. Hepatitis A and B, typhoid, tetanus and cholera are actually quite common. All of these can be vaccinated against. Malaria and dengue fever, however, which are also common, have no vaccination. You should avoid insects using repellent and timing your outside time to the least insect-prone parts of the day.

Japanese encephalitis, a rare but dangerous disease, also exists in Indonesia. There is a separate expensive, but definitely necessary vaccination for this. The highest level of medical travel insurance is recommended.

Safety

The Australian government is currently advising citizens to reconsider their need to travel to Bali, because of the very high threat of a terrorist attack.

Fiji

Health

Hepatitis, typhoid, measles mumps and rubella, tetanus all exist in Fiji. Dengue fever and traveller’s diarrhea are also common, but insect avoidance, sensible eating and drinking, and travel vaccinations will help you stay healthy in Fiji. Fiji is actually quite safe, health-wise.

Safety

There are presently unresolved political tensions across Fiji, but mainly in Suva. If you are travelling to Suva, the government’s safety warning level is at the third highest of five levels. For Fiji overall, it is set at 2 out of five, or simply, ‘Exercise Caution’.

Thailand

Health

In addition to the ordinary South East Asian diseases mentioned above, Thailand also has regular cases of Japanese encephalitis, rabies and malaria. There are often animals in the streets, either for sale or wandering about in Thailand – avoid them to stay healthy and avoid making a medical travel insurance claim!

Safety

Most travelers from Australia to Thailand go to Bangkok or Phuket, where the alert level from the government is set at 3 out of 5 – ‘High Degree of Caution’. However for certain provinces – Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla – the highest alert level has been enacted. The government is asking people not to travel to these areas at all, because of terrorist attacks and bombings on almost a daily basis. Some things travel insurance quotes just can’t cover … we recommend following the government’s advice here.

Vietnam

Health

Vietnam is quite close to Thailand, and faces the same health issues as the peninsular country. Get all your vaccinations before you go and practice safe eating and drinking to avoid making medical travel insurance claims.

Safety

The political and social situation in the country is currently quite stable, and the government is simply advising you to exercise caution to avoid becoming the victim of criminal activity. However, the high risk of developing health issues means you should consider getting travel insurance that will cover all financial aspects of illness.

How Travel Insurance Can Give You A Stress Free Holiday

Everyone wants to have a stress free holiday. You go on holiday to get away from the usual challenges and annoyances of life so that you can just relax. The problem is that travelling can bring about stresses that you would not even find in your daily life. This does not mean that you should cancel your holiday or that it will be filled with stress. It only means that when you do go on holiday you should take along travel insurance.

But What Could Happen?

So what could happen on your holiday that would require travel insurance? Basically, what could go wrong when you are on holiday? To begin with, you could fall ill before you even get to go and you may have to cancel your entire trip. This would certainly interfere with your travel plans.

You could have a medical emergency or some sort of accident in the midst of your travels, interrupting your holiday or cutting it short. Depending on where you are, you may need to be airlifted to the appropriate medical facilities. On a smaller scale, your bags could get stolen or could be lost somehow, and these are just a few of the things that could happen.

What Can Travel Insurance Do?

Travel insurance can help you with each of these situations as they happen. While the odds may seem slim that even one would happen in the course of your trip, this is what every traveller thinks until they are faced with one of these calamities. You never think it will happen to you until it does.

Trip cancellation insurance will pay you back the money you lost on fees and reservations if your trip is cancelled because of illness or weather. Emergency medical travel insurance and evacuation insurance will help you with medical bills involving medical emergencies and any necessary evacuation costs. Travel insurance can also help you to recoup the money you lost in the form of your baggage and belongings. Basically, whatever happens on your holiday, there is a good chance that you can find a form of travel insurance to protect you from it.

How Can Travel Insurance Protect You In The Long Term?

While many focus on how travel insurance can help protect you from losing the money you already spent, it is also good to take a look at how travel insurance can protect you from future expenses. Medical bills do not come cheap no matter where you travel. Throw in the costs of an emergency evacuation to proper medical facilities and you could be looking at steep medical bills that could take you a very long time to pay off. Whether you become sick or injured or experience other big bills as a result of problems with your holiday, travel insurance can protect you.

Travel insurance can give you a stress free holiday because it can protect you from what might happen. While you don’t want it to happen and it probably won’t happen, if it does then travel insurance will be there for you. You can have a stress free holiday with travel insurance.

Travel Insurance is Necessary

When you are travelling, you probably let your mind go right to all the good times and activities you have planned or the business matters that you will be handling during the course of your trip. You probably aren’t thinking about what could go wrong. While you don’t want to dwell on what could go wrong, you do want to be prepared for it. The way to be prepared is by having travel insurance.

Why Is Travel Insurance Necessary?

You’re probably thinking that most leisure and business trips go off without a hitch. Nothing happens and nothing goes wrong. Why should you buy travel insurance if nothing has happened before?

No one ever thinks that something will go wrong until it does. Most people think that holidaydisasters will never happen to them. The problem is that they have to happen to someone, and on your next trip it could be you.

So what could happen? You could lose your luggage or other valuables. You could become ill and have to cut your trip short or not be able to go at all. Plus, you would have lost all the money you had already spent on plans or plane tickets because refunds can be hard to come by.

You could also face a medical emergency of some sort. This could be difficult both at the time it happens and later when trying to cope with the bills. With all the things that could happen, you know that you have to take the right precautions.

What Can Travel Insurance Do?

Travel insurance can do many things. What a policy covers depends on that policy but there are many possible areas of coverage. Here are some of the main types of travel insurance that may be covered by a typical policy.

Emergency travel medical insurance covers medical emergencies that happen while you travel. For unexpected medical emergencies this coverage picks up where your regular medical insurance policy left off. You know medical expenses aren’t cheap no matter where you are so they need to be covered.

Medical evacuation insurance covers the expenses related to when you have to be evacuated from a location due to medical problems. This may not happen often but when it does it comes with a hefty price tag. This insurance helps pay for the means of transportation as well as the medical personnel who watch over you.

Trip cancellation insurance covers the money lost when you have to cancel your trip before you get to go and can cover trip interruption too. You will want to look into the reasons for which trip cancellation or interruption is covered. There will be limitations.

Rental car excess waiver helps with costs related to damage to or theft of your rental car. If you’ll have a rental car or vehicle, you’ll want this coverage.

Travel insurance is always a necessity when you go on any kind of trip. There are so many things that could go wrong, and the right travel insurance policy will help to protect you from them. Without travel insurance, you’re just waiting for something to go wrong.

How Travel Insurance Can Save You Money

Travel insurance can definitely save you money, but only if you have taken the time to research a policy that suits your needs! Anytime you are planning to travel, be it for business or for pleasure, you need to purchase a travel insurance policy before your trip begins. Those who are unfamiliar with travel insurance tend to think that it is a waste of money. Seasoned travellers who are familiar with travel insurance, but want to cut corners so that they can save money on their holiday, are making a mistake they will deeply regret if something should go wrong while they are travelling.

A good travel insurance policy could save you hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars. Many people travel with some valuable items, such as laptop computers, jewellery, and certain types of mobile phones and iPods. Would you have the money to replace these items if you should lose them while you were travelling?

On the other hand, what if you reach the airport and discover that your suitcase became lost somewhere en route to your destination? You would have to go out and purchase a couple of new outfits as well as the necessary undergarments and toiletries in order to continue your trip. Travel insurance can reimburse you for valuable items that you lose, or that are stolen from you. It may also reimburse you for any items you bought because of your luggage becoming lost.

Most people would agree that it would be very annoying to lose any of their belongings while travelling. However, your health is even more important than any of these, and travel insurance recognizes this fact. Suppose you have some sort of accident while you are visiting a remote section of a foreign country. It will be incredibly expensive to airlift you via an air ambulance and take you to the nearest hospital.

Medical care in other countries can be very expensive, and you are going to need surgery. In just a very short time, your hospital and medical bills could be up in the tens of thousand dollar range. The medical insurance that you use at home will not cover you while you are out of your home country. How are you going to manage to pay that huge bill? The doctors and hospital will want their money before you are allowed to leave. What will you do? If you had travel health insurance, all of these expenses would be covered for you. That would be a huge money saver!

Suppose you were having a great time on holiday when you got word that there had been a death in your family, and you were needed at home. Of course, you would head for your home as quickly as possible. Would you just have to forfeit the rest of your trip? Not if you had a travel insurance policy! Some policies will even allow you to deduct some of the money you spent to fly back home with, and then will let you continue your holiday. Think of the money this would save!

If you want to make certain that your travel insurance can save you money, make sure that you read the fine print! This information outlines what your policy will and will not cover, and is included with every insurance policy as the Product Disclosure Statement. You can learn a lot about the type of policy you are considering with a careful examination of this document. It is the best way to find out whether or not a travel insurance policy is the right one for you.

Comparing Travel Insurance Policies Online

You have decided that you are going to purchase a travel insurance policy online for your next holiday. Congratulations! You have joined the league of smart travellers with your decision. Buying travel insurance is the best way for you to protect the monetary value as well as the time element you will invest on this holiday.

The time you spend online reading and comparing travel insurance policies in order to decide which one is right for you is truly time well spent. No two travel insurance policies are the same, and the type you choose can vary, depending on what you are planning to do on your holiday.

Do you travel several times over the course of a year, on business as well as on holiday? You would want to look online for a multi-trip travel insurance policy. This type of insurance would protect you for 12 months, no matter how many trips you took. Multi-trip insurance will save you money compared to the cost of taking out a separate policy every time you travel. Perhaps you only travel once a year. In that case, a standard travel policy would serve you well.

Let’s say you are planning a wonderful skiing holiday. While you are comparing policies online, you’ll want to look at insurance companies that are able to offer coverage for expenses that are related to snow skiing. Just in case you have an accident on the slopes, you will want to make sure your travel insurance policy has medical coverage for skiers. A big medical bill after taking a tumble could very well spoil your entire holiday! Of course, you also will want coverage in case something unforseen happens and your trip is cancelled or you crash into someone on the slopes and they decide to sue you. Hopefully, you will not have to make a claim for any of these reasons, but it will be a comfort knowing that you are protected.

When going on holiday with your family, it’s a good idea to plan ahead, and a good travel insurance policy can help you to do just that. What if your trip is interrupted because your flight was cancelled, and the next flight to your destination isn’t until the next day? You and your partner and children will need to have a hotel room for the night as well as a taxi to reach that hotel. Choose a travel insurance policy that will cover a reimbursement of the amount you had to spend for these items.

Once you have determined the type of travel insurance policy that would best suit your needs, it’s time to start looking around online. On most travel insurance sites, you will simply fill out a form with some information such as how many people are travelling, their ages, the dates of travel, travel destination, and the length of your trip. This information is needed to give you an instant travel insurance quote on a policy.

Don’t make the mistake of allowing price to be your guide when doing your policy comparisons. Cheaper isn’t always better! You want insurance that will protect you and give you peace of mind, not a cheap policy that you have a world of trouble out of when attempting to file a claim.

Make sure to read the fine print in the Product Disclosure Statementfor any travel insurance policy you are thinking about purchasing. You need to understand exactly what is and what isn’t covered. Taking the time to read the details can make comparing travel insurance policies online much easier for you, and you won’t have any unpleasant surprises in case you do need to make a claim.