Hi, and welcome back to the channel.
If you're new here, my name is Megan
and I create videos with actionable tips and hacks
to help you make the most of your next trip.
Speaking of which,
where are you going?
Let me know in the comments down below.
And I know that you are taking a trip,
because I highly doubt that you are watching this video
for the sheer joy of learning about travel insurance.
Not a fun topic,
but super important.
Which is why, in today's video,
I'll be giving you an overview of what travel insurance is -
and what it isn't -
as well as the four main types,
so you know what to look for and can make an informed decision
while getting a policy for your next trip.
(Music)
Travel insurance is emergency care for when things go unexpectedly wrong
when you are traveling outside of your home country.
It is designed to be there for accidents,
both health and nonhealth related,
and unexpected events that you honestly thought
would never happen to you.
You can be the most careful person in the world
and something unexpected can still happen.
Travel insurance is not a substitute for your health insurance back home,
and it's often not going to cover you for any preexisting conditions
or any routine checkups.
So, if you need a physical or you need to just go to the dentist
to check if you have any cavities,
you will not be covered by your travel insurance.
It's meant for emergencies, the unexpected things.
In Thailand, earlier this year,
a friend of mine was scratched by a stray cat
and ended up getting three rounds of rabies shots.
There are stray dogs and cats all over Thailand.
And yes, it was highly unlikely that this particular cat had rabies,
but the risk is not worth it.
Once you start showing any signs of rabies,
even just a mild headache as a symptom,
the disease has most likely progressed to a point where it's fatal,
so it's definitely not worth the risk of not getting the rabies shots.
In Thailand they weren't that expensive; he was reimbursed for them,
but it wasn't that big of a deal.
If this had happened in the US,
it could've been tens of thousand dollars for that hospital stay
and the exact same shots.
Usually how it works is, something unexpected happens,
like you break your leg or your baggage is lost,
you pay for what you need to pay upfront, out of pocket,
and then you contact your insurance
and they'll reimburse you for eligible expenses later on.
By contact your insurance I mean submit a claim.
You usually submit a claim on the insurance provider's website.
You'll likely be asked to describe, in detail,
what happened and then what all of your expenses were.
You'll also probably need to support these expenses with receipts,
so keep absolutely everything.
And often also a report from the authority involved.
So, if you're in a bus accident,
you would need a report from the bus company
or, if you're at the hospital, you would need a report from the doctor.
You'll also need to provide them with your bank details
and this is just so, if you are approved -
which hopefully you are -
they'll be able to reimburse you those costs.
the process can the lengthy
and involve a lot of information from you and from other people.
You'll also need to submit a new claim
for each individual event and each type of expense.
Once you've submitted your claim and all of the documents,
you'll receive notice of if your claim was approved or declined.
If it's approved, it could take weeks or even months
to actually get the money reimbursed back into your bank account,
and how much money you're getting reimbursed
is going to depend on the policy that you choose.
If you are declined,
don't take it as a final answer.
They'll usually give you a reason why,
and it may just be because you didn't provide enough documentation.
So, if you can go out, get that documentation
or find some way to make their reason invalid
and resubmit the claim; you may be approved later on.
So, never take a decline as a final answer.
Some insurance companies will actually pay the hospital directly.
So, this way you're not having to pay out of pocket and being reimbursed;
they're paying upfront.
What you'll need to look for in your policy
is something called "The direct pay clause,"
and this will tell you how they will go about paying for your expenses.
There area a few universal rules when it comes to travel insurance
and every company and every policy is going to be a little bit different.
They also use all of these fancy words in your policy
and I swear they're trying to confuse you by neglecting to you simple human terms.
For example, "premium."
Why don't you just say, "What the insurance is going to cost you"?
Or "deductible," which is the amount that you'll have to pay upfront
before they start covering your insurance.
So, for example, if your deductible for a medical expense
is $250,
you will be required to pay for any of your medical expenses up to $250
and then they'll start paying after that.
So, if you go to the hospital and it costs you $500,
250 of that is what you'll need to pay
before they start covering any of the insurance.
Not only is every policy a little bit different
depending on the company that you go with,
but it's also different depending on who you are
and where you are traveling.
We could get the same policy with the same company
and end up paying different amounts and have different coverage
based on our age, our country of residence,
and where we are traveling to.
There's a lot of other factors too.
A lot of factors.
Read that policy.
Now that you know travel insurance is meant to cover you
for emergency health and nonhealth-related expenses on your trip,
Let's break it down into the four main types of travel insurance
that you'll probably come across while looking for a policy.
The main types of travel insurance that you'll come across
include emergency medical,
emergency evacuation,
trip interruption and trip cancellation,
and then loss of baggage or gear.
You can buy policies that cover all of these areas,
which are typically called comprehensive plans
and are going to cost a lot more,
or you can also get policies that are going to cover just specifics
based on what you need.
You may think these different categories sound self-explanatory...
I personally did, I figured "Gear coverage.
Okay, so they'll insure my stuff."
But...
what does that really mean?
It wasn't until I started traveling and really thinking,
"Wait a second. So, gear coverage.
If I go swimming with my iPhone in my pocket and I destroy it,
does that mean they'll pay me back for it?
Will they pay for the whole thing?
Can I tell them it was an iPhone X when really it was my iPhone 6...
with a cracked screen?
What if I'm planning a trip with my boyfriend and then we're fighting,
does that count as trip cancellation
and I can get reimbursed and not take the trip?"
When you start looking in the details,
and actually applied to the trip that you're going on,
you'll realize these different areas are not self-explanatory.
So, what I'll be doing next
is breaking down the four different categories,
so I hope you'll join me back here for that one next week.
In the mean time, definitely check out one of these videos over here
as they'll also help you prepare for your trip.
Have a good one, happy travels,
and I can't wait to see you back here again next week.
Bye.