Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
•
Travel Insured International
(
&
800/243-3174;
www.travel
insured.com)
•
Travelex Insurance Services
(
&
888/457-4602;
www.
travelex-insurance.com)
TRIP-CANCELLATION INSURANCE (TCI)
There are three major types of trip-cancellation insurance—one, in
the event that you prepay a cruise or tour that gets canceled and you
can't get your money back; a second when you or someone in your
family gets sick or dies and you can't travel (but beware that you may
not be covered for a preexisting condition); and a third, when bad
weather makes travel impossible. Some insurers provide coverage for
events like jury duty; natural disasters close to home, like floods or
fire; even the loss of a job. A few have added provisions for cancel-
lations due to terrorist activities. Always check the fine print before
signing on, and don't buy trip-cancellation insurance from the tour
operator that may be responsible for the cancellation; buy it only
from a reputable travel insurance agency. Don't overbuy. You won't
be reimbursed for more than the cost of your trip.
MEDICAL INSURANCE
Most health insurance policies cover you if you get sick away from
home—but check, particularly if you're insured by an HMO. For
travel overseas, most health plans (including Medicare and Medic-
aid) do not provide coverage, and the ones that do often require you
to pay for services upfront and reimburse you only after you return
home. Even if your plan does cover overseas treatment, most out-of-
country hospitals make you pay your bills upfront, and send you a
refund only after you've returned home and filed the necessary
paperwork with your insurance company.
Some credit cards (American Express and certain gold and plat-
inum Visa and MasterCards, for example) offer automatic flight
insurance against death or dismemberment in case of an airplane
crash if you charged the cost of your ticket.
If you require additional medical insurance, try
MEDEX Assis-
tance
(
&
410/453-6300;
www.medexassist.com) or
Travel Assis-
tance International
(
&
800/821-2828;
www.travelassistance.com;
for general information on services, call the company's Worldwide
Assistance Services, Inc., at
&
800/777-8710
).
The cost of travel medical insurance varies widely. Check your
existing policies before you buy additional coverage. Also, check to
see if your medical insurance covers you for emergency medical
evacuation: If you have to buy a one-way same-day ticket home and
