5 Reasons Your Travel Insurance Might Not Cover You

You’ve packed your bags, got an insurance quote, and you’re ready to fly – or are you? Most people eager to get on the road buy travel insurance without looking into what it actually covers – if you only glance at your insurance paperwork, it could catch you out down the line.

If you fail to read between the lines up front, you could find yourself in a situation where travel insurance can’t help you, defeating the purpose of why you even got it to begin with. 

Today, we’ll go over the top five reasons insurance might not cover you, so you can be sure to check them off in your own policy before heading out.

Dangerous or Risky Tourism Attractions

Some insurance plans will be wary of covering any extreme sports you might be planning on your trip.

Activities like skydiving, snowboarding, scuba-diving, and even hiking in some parts of the world can be seen as added risk.

Insurance companies are liable to see these as such, and so will only cover them under specific provisions.

Insurance providers usually offer packages depending on which attractions you’re interested in, and these can be surprisingly useful.

Obtaining cover surrounding accidents during winter sports, for example, could also net you coverage for damage to equipment, or reimburse you in the case of mountain closures.

Medical Conditions

Pre-existing medical conditions are commonly removed from insurance coverage.

This could be anything from a broken bone to a lifelong illness – anything you have prior to purchasing the policy.

Trying to make a claim on anything that has been caused by a pre-existing condition will often be blocked.

It’s worth checking each provider’s options surrounding this, as some allow you to buy coverage for pre-existing conditions as an added extra, while others might require you to take out separate policies. 

Pregnancy and Childbirth

It’s standard for routine tests or treatment surrounding pregnancy, and childbirth itself, to be excluded from travel insurance.

If you’d like to travel while pregnant, make sure you compare insurance providers to find out which one has the best travel insurance for pregnancy-related surprises or obstacles.

Some may only cover a certain timeframe of the pregnancy, so it’s worth looking into before making travel plans.

Terrorism

Any claim you make that stems from a sudden act of terrorism will unfortunately be denied, no matter how small it is.

Most providers offer expansions to your standard package that will cover terrorist acts, but the premiums for these will alter drastically based on where you are planning to travel.

Incomplete or Missing Documentation

Insurance applications are often denied if you do not provide written proof to illustrate your claim, so making sure you get proper documentation when an accident occurs is vital.

For instance, you’d need written reports by local police to make a claim on any stolen possessions.

If you need to make a claim that’s directly tied to an establishment, like a hotel, then you would need documentation of the incident from them as well.

What can you do? 

The best way to be prepared is to compare travel insurance, and find the best fit for you and your trip.

For more information, why not get the assistance you need from glimp today? We can help you sift through the many insurance providers out there and find the one you need!