Travel Insurance in the Case of Natural Disasters
Natural disasters can be hard to predict, that’s why securing travel insurance for your trip is important. In the case of natural disasters, travel insurance protects you from financial losses from damage to your personal belongings, trip cancellations, and medical costs in the case of an injury.
In this article, we will go through the essentials of travel insurance from when you should secure travel insurance to how it can help you should your travel destination be affected by a natural disaster.
What is Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is an insurance policy designed to give you coverage over things that could go wrong during your travels.
Common travel insurance coverage includes:
- Standard trip cancellation provides a full refund of pre-paid, unused, and non-refundable trip expenses that you may automatically forfeit should you cancel your trip. Eligible reasons for this claim include illnesses or injuries, family emergencies, and severe weather.
- Trip delay insurance covers expenses that may come with having your trip delayed, from hotel stays to the cost of meals at an airport. This benefit is for those who have connecting flights on their trip.
- Trip interruption insurance provides coverage in the event that your trip is cut short due to unforeseen circumstances. This typically covers a one-way economy flight ticket back home.
- Personal belongings and lost luggage coverage provides coverage for your baggage and/or personal items that are lost, stolen, or damaged during your trip.
- Emergency medical cover reimburses the costs of emergency medical care and treatments (up to your plan’s limit)
When to Secure Travel Insurance for Your Trip
The best time to secure travel insurance for your trip is as soon as you have made travel arrangements. Securing your plan early on can ensure that if something disrupts your plans before you embark on your trip, such as a natural disaster, you will still be covered.
How Travel Insurance Insures Natural Disasters
In the case of a natural disaster, travel insurance can cover financial losses whether it’s damage to your personal belongings, medical costs from injuries, or financial losses from trip cancellations and interruptions.
Natural Disasters Before Your Trip
If your travel destination is affected by a natural disaster before your trip, your travel insurance will be able to cover any cancellation fees and reimburse you on payments you have already made such as flight tickets.
It is important to note that your insurer may request that you warrant you are unaware of any circumstance that will likely lead to you canceling your trip. In the case of a natural disaster, if you have secured your policy before any warning signs, you can generally expect to be covered.
Natural Disasters During Your Trip
If you are caught in a natural disaster during your trip, you can expect to be covered for losses and damage to your personal belongings and medical costs in the case of an injury as long as you can warrant that you were unaware of any circumstances that would lead to the damage and injury.
If a natural disaster cuts your trip short, you will also be able to benefit from your policy’s trip interruption coverage and be reimbursed up to 100% of your trip’s costs depending on your policy.
Travel Insurance After a Natural Disaster
If you haven’t already secured travel insurance before a natural disaster strikes your travel destination, then it is highly unlikely that you will be able to get it afterwards as your destination may be listed as a high-risk area.
High-risk areas refer to dangerous, remote, and challenging locations worldwide, including war zones, areas of civil unrest or terrorist activity, and crisis and disaster relief zones. Travel insurance typically does not provide cover for these areas.
If you have already secured travel insurance but still wish to continue to your travel destination after a natural disaster strikes, then it is crucial that you contact your insurer and confirm what coverage you can still benefit from in your travel insurance policy.
Conclusion
Even the most well-prepared travel agendas can be disrupted by natural disasters. Whilst some natural disasters have significant warning signs, that is not always the case. This is why securing travel insurance when you make travel plans is essential to prevent avoidable financial losses.
If you are looking to insure your next trip with a travel insurance policy that suits you, Pacific Prime can help.
Pacific Prime is a global insurance broker with over two decades of experience in the insurance industry. Our insurance experts can help you filter through different insurance plans from our extensive list of insurance partners to help you find a plan that suits your needs and requirements.
Contact us today for impartial advice or an obligation-free quote!
Born and raised in the cultural melting pot that is Hong Kong, and having studied at an international school, Vista has developed a multicultural perspective that he uses in his writing and strives to connect to people of different backgrounds.
In his free time, Vista enjoys immersing himself in different worlds, from video games to light novels and movies. His hobbies help him expand his writing style by putting himself in the point-of-view of different people and characters.
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