There is an old saying that if you cannot afford travel insurance, you cannot afford to travel! You need travel insurance for all international travel. Let me say that again. You need travel insurance for all international travel. If you are an employee, your company will provide insurance for work related travel. The insurance company will usually provide a card or other document with their phone number on it in case of emergencies. You need to carry this with you at all times.
Check the Detail
You also need to check the following with your company or the travel insurance provider.
- Does the insurance cover you if your stay on after the business trip for the weekend or travel to the destination early?
- Does the insurance cover you if you extend your stay for personal reasons? ie you chose to have a few days or weeks off on holiday?
- Some companies do cover these stays if you stay in the same country as your work related business trip but as soon as you move to another country you will need to provide your own cover – check for this too
- Some insurance companies require disclosure for any trip outside the work related trips so you may need to provide the person responsible for travel insurance in your company with an email stating what you are doing if you are staying on for personal reasons and for how long – check for this also
- Any other specific requirements
Purchasing your own personal insurance
- Your travel agent or other local insurers can assist you with the purchase of travel insurance.
Single Journey Insurance
- You can buy this for each relevant trip. Make sure you purchase insurance at the appropriate level for the country you are traveling to. Medical expenses and liability require much higher cover in the USA, for example, than in many other countries. For the peace of mind, it is not expensive and like all insurances, you do not need the added stress if something does go wrong.
Annual Insurance
- You can also purchase travel insurance on an annual basis which is very cost effective if you need to provide your own travel insurance regularly. Speak to your travel agent who will email you the forms to complete and sign and you will be able to pay on your credit card. There is often a restriction on the maximum length of any one stay when you buy Annual Insurance. Most insurers will sell you two types of Annual Insurance, one which has a maximum of 90 days (or other time limit) for any one trip so that you cannot be away for more than the stipulated length of time on any one trip. Alternatively they can sell you Annual Insurance for any length of stay. If you plan a long trip abroad for an assignment perhaps of say 4-6 months, then you will need the latter insurance (which is much more expensive because the exposure for the insurer is greater).
Keep the documents easily accessible
- Carry your travel insurance card or documents in your wallet if it is small or with your travel documents (passport, visa, tickets, itinerary) to ensure you know where it is.
Hot Tip: Your travel insurance card should be easily accessible to you so keep it in your wallet/handbag or in the unlikely event of a serious issue, someone will have to go to your hotel room to get it for you. It can be looked up at a later time but carrying the card on you will expedite your processing at a medical center or hospital.
Longer-term assignments or holidays – how to save some money on insurance
- Some local health insurance companies will allow you to put your local insurance on hold if you are away for more than a pre-determined timeframe (usually a minimum of 6 weeks). This is done because you will not be using your local health insurance if you are abroad. Call your health insurer to find out and this way you can save on your premium while you are away.