Need-To-Know Travel Insurance Terms

Our good friends at InsureMyTrip.com realize that for most of us understanding travel insurance jargon is like learning a foreign language. However, with a little help from them, we can become proficient and confident travel insurance consumers.

"At InsureMyTrip.com one of our main goals is to educate travelers on the basics of coverage and empower them with the knowledge they need to select and purchase the right protection for all of their travels," explains Jim Grace, President and CEO of InsureMyTrip.com. "Understanding some of the most common insurance terms and applications is the first step in the learning process."

These are a few of the key travel insurance terms every consumer should know as they prepare to purchase trip protection for their upcoming travels:

Package Policies: Trip Cancellation Package Policies offer the broadest protection, including coverage for trip cancellation, interruption, baggage and travel delay, as well as medical and emergency evacuation. To receive the most benefit from the travel insurance policy including financial default and terrorism protection as well as coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, the majority of the policies require that you purchase your policy within 10 to 30 days of your first trip payment.

Travel Delay: A delayed flight can strand a person for hours or even cause them to miss a connecting flight to a vacation cruise. These events occur often and can wreak havoc on your itinerary not to mention your wallet for hotel accommodations, meals, and transportation caused by weather-related delays and cancellations. In the event of a travel delay lasting 5-12 hours (varies by company and plan), travel delay coverage can provide from $150 to $250 a day up to $1,500 maximum (varies by company and plan) for covered expenses you may incur while stuck in limbo.

Missed Connection: In the event you miss the boat, this benefit covers missed cruise departures resulting from a 3+ hour cancellation or delay of all regularly scheduled airline flights due to inclement weather or any common carrier-caused delay. Maximum benefits up to the covered amount are provided to cover the additional costs of transporting you to the en route cruise, reasonable accommodation and meal expenses, and nonrefundable trip payments for the unused portion of your cruise. Coverage is secondary to any compensation provided by a common carrier.

Trip Interruption: Emergencies big and small have a way of happening when you least expect them to. But the cost of cutting your trip short to take care of the problem can create a crisis of its own. Most Package Policies will reimburse your trip cost (per/person) plus 50% more to get you home quickly in the event of an emergency.

Travel Medical: Providing emergency medical coverage in the event of injury or illness, travel medical insurance policies are a 'must-have' for people going abroad. These plans also provide emergency medical evacuation coverage for transport to a proper care facility and can be purchased for travel up to a year in length.

Medical Evacuation: This coverage can be purchased as a stand alone policy or it may be included in comprehensive travel policies. It provides evacuation to the nearest appropriate care facility or, in some cases, to your hospital of choice depending on the company and plan.

Accident Plans: Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) plans pay benefits if you should have a serious injury that results in dismemberment or loss of life. Loss-of-life benefits paid by these plans are in addition to any benefits paid by life insurance plans.

Destination Made Uninhabitable: If your hotel, resort or vacation rental is devastated by a storm, coverage for weather-related trip cancellations and interruptions may apply (varies by company and plan).

24-hour Traveler Assistance: Providing a host of critical services from processing prescription refills to managing and monitoring itinerary changes, the 24-hour Traveler Assistance program is truly a traveler's best friend. A value-added benefit included in all travel insurance plans, insured travelers can call the company-provided phone number collect from anywhere in the world and receive special assistance with a wide-range of travel, medical, business, and concierge needs.

Licensed Insurance Representatives: U.S. travel insurance products and sales are regulated and monitored individually by state. Licensed in all 50 states, InsureMyTrip.com's Customer Care professionals are an expert team you can depend on to recommend only the best solutions for your travel insurance needs.

About InsureMyTrip.com
2010 marks the tenth anniversary of InsureMyTrip.com as the leading, consumer-oriented online travel insurance aggregator worldwide. Featuring insurance comparisons from the top industry providers, InsureMyTrip.com is a unique, one-stop resource designed to meet consumers' comprehensive travel insurance needs all in a secure environment. InsureMyTrip.com also specializes in providing integrated technology solutions for the travel insurance industry, with over 2,000 private-labeled and co-branded travel-related websites around the globe. InsureMyTrip.com is headquartered in Warwick, RI with additional offices and data centers in Connecticut and Oregon.