Be Safe Insure .com » Travel Insurance

Travel Insurance

Webmaster — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 14:10:55 +0000

Travel Insurance

You already insure your car, your home and your health. Do you really have to insure your vacation too? It could help you save money in the long run.One of the most important things to remember before you go away is travel insurance. No matter where you are going or for how long, make sure you have adequate medical and personal liability cover. Having a accident or falling ill abroad could cost thousands of pounds if you are not insured.

Travel insurance is to provide you with a safety net against the most common of problems that can happen while you are on trips, such as lost baggage, flight delays, missed departure, flight cancellation and such as becoming ill or injured during any hazardous activity.

Here is the video on Youtube:

How to Plan for International Travel

Webmaster — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 12:12:08 +0000

How to Plan for International Travel

In this video series, AAA Travel executives Betsy Sell and Tom Wilt provide tips and information to make traveling internationally easier. The series explains documents that are needed, types of travel available, and how to save for and during your trip. This series also provides essential information for travelers including safety tips, travel insurance, how to prepare for emergencies and types of currency that can be used.

Here is the video on Youtube:

International Travel Tips : About International Travel Insurance

Webmaster — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:16:57 +0000

International Travel Tips : About International Travel Insurance

International travel insurance will protect an individual from cancellation due to unforeseen circumstances, from medical expenses overseas and from baggage theft. Learn about acquiring travel insurance through a travel agency with help from a travel agent in this free video on international travel tips and preparation.

Here is the video on Youtube:

Travel Insurance

Webmaster — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:25:08 +0000

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is insurance that is intended to cover medical expenses and financial (such as money invested in nonrefundable pre-payments) and other losses incurred while traveling, either within one’s own country, or internationally.

Here is the video on Youtube:

Angel Medflight: Expensive Air Transport, But It Might Keep You Alife

Lang Insurance Advisor — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:16:54 +0000

Angel Medflight is an organization that provides a range of worldwide air ambulance services. It has a range of services, but what is special about the company is that it provides medical air transport.

Integrated Medical Transport

But Angel Medflight is not only medical air transport. As required, Angel Medflight organizes ground ambulance transfers. This can be in combination with a patient air transport, or can be separate as a stand-alone hospital transport.

Angel Medflight operates a fleet of fixed wing, 100% medically dedicated aircraft. They have staff of trained professionals, who are always on call, at the airport, next to the aircraft, ready to respond to a medical evacuation. The focus of the medical and flight crews is on the safety of the patient.

Medical Personnel

There is a minimum of two medical personnel to accompany the patient on each transfer. One of them is a physician or a critical care flight nurse. Then, paramedics, respiratory therapists, physicians assistants and perfusionists can be available to assist the patient during transport ~ it all depends upon the patient’s needs.

Angel Medflight’s medical personnel are all board certified, air certified and have at least five years experience in emergency medicine. They receive a rigorous initial orientation prior to flying with patients. Also, all medical staff participate in 100 hours of didactic and clinical continuing education each year.

Medical Equipment

On board of its aircrafts, Angel Medflight’s standard medical equipment consists of stretchers, oxygen, ventilator, cardiac monitor/defibrillator, resuscitation equipment, suction, intubation equipment, balloon pump, IV, ACLS drug complement, and any other specialty equipment necessary for each individual patient. Angel Medflight also carries the most proactive array of antibiotics for bacterial and parasitic infections in the air ambulance industry.

Is Air Ambulance Transport Covered by Insurance?

If this all sounds expensive, it is. To have your insurance cover a portion (or all) of the medical expenses, in most cases, medical necessity must be proven. The Angel Medflight’s insurance division must be contacted first, and they will work to obtain prior authorization from the patient’s insurance carrier to help lessen the costs associated with medical transport.

What is “’ medical necessity”?
It is commonly understood that ‘medical necessity’ means ‘that which is reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of an illness or injury’.

Angel Medflight has insurance contracts with the majority of major national health insurance companies, but not all. When considering their services, you should first find out if they work with your insurance company.

Typically Angel Medflight helps patients file insurance paperwork. What is important is that they help you show ‘medical necessity’ and obtain insurance authorization. Actually, Angel Medflight insurance personnel will file all necessary insurance paperwork for you.

Medical Transport Choice

Sometimes air transport makes the critical difference between life and death, and yes, air transport is paramount for the health and survival of the patient.

At other cases, when the patient is more stable and time is less critical, alternative ambulance services are to be considered. This is what specialty patient medical transport services Angel Medflight can offer besides its famous air ambulance service:

Long range ground transport. We transport the patient via ground ambulance staffed with two drivers, medical personnel, equipment and medications

AMTRAK medical escort. We reserve a special needs car and staff it with our medical personnel and necessary medications and equipment.
Commercial flight with medical escort. Patient is accompanied by an ER or ICU Physician, Critical Care Flight Nurse or Critical Care Flight Paramedic (and of course all necessary medical equipment) on a commercial airline.
Commercial airline stretcher service. For international flights only. We arrange with the airline to remove several passenger seats from the rear of the aircraft to accommodate patient, stretcher, medical personnel, and equipment.

Contact details for Angel Medflight, patient medical transport is tel. 1-877-ANGEL70.

Before you call them, just a bit of warning re. the expenses. As a reflection of the current economic conditions, insurance companies are pulling a much longer insurance claims process, even for pre-authorized medical flights. Angel MedFlight has expanded services to include specialized medical claims processing, however, do not be naive. Healthcare insurance carriers are watching their claims more carefully as medical costs rise and their profits and insurance adoption decrease. What this means is a virtually automatic denial of coverage for air medical flights, and a longer, tougher road to claims payment.

How to Make a Travel Insurance Claim

Be Safe Insure — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 07:00:06 +0000

By Darren Faulder

Taking a holiday or business trip is usually quite straightforward. Most of the time, you buy your tickets, fork out a bit extra for travel insurance (because it’s just what people say you should do) and jump on the plane.

But what happens when something goes wrong, and that safety-net insurance policy you bought actually needs comes in to play?

Many people’s first reaction to realising they have to make a travel insurance claim is slight panic – what evidence and documentation do you need? Does your situation even warrant a claim? What happens if it all falls through? Don’t worry – there are a few basic things you need to remember, and if you can do that, all should work out fine.

Who do I Contact, and When?

Depending on what it is exactly you’re claiming, you have differing amounts of time to act. Before you leave on your trip, you should take two copies of your travel insurance details, packed in separate places. This should contain the full name of the travel insurance company, the policy you chose, the dates you’re covered for, full contact details, and most importantly your unique policy number. More often than not, the company will provide you with a handy wallet-sized card with all of this information. If in doubt, take as much information as possible.

Generally, the sooner you contact your insurance company the better. In cases of medical emergency this is important. In non-life threatening cases, and where you don’t have full details of your policy with you, it might be best to contact the company to see if you’re covered before you opt for whatever insanely expensive treatment you may need. Due to the higher costs involved, your company needs to know ASAP. They will obviously also need to be contacted ASAP if you need to be evacuated home, such as from an area where you may not be able to get quality care.

If, on the other hand, you’ve lost or had something stolen, you generally don’t need to contact anyone from the company until you get home – and you often have up to a month to get around to this. What you do need to do, however, is report all theft to the local police, and obtain a report of the ‘crime’ in question. Be aware, in developing countries with high numbers of foreign tourists, this is seen by many police as a waste of their time – you might have to slip the officer in question a few bills to get anything done. (Incidentally, this won’t be covered.)

If you’re lucky enough to have your luggage lost by an airline, bus company or even hotel, try and obtain a report from them admitting culpability. Without this, your company may dispute your claim. The people who lost your goods may offer a private settlement themselves – get this written down as well.

Where’s the Proof?

Large numbers of people take out travel insurance, and, feeling slightly annoyed that they haven’t been the victim of a mugging or hostel robbery, attempt to claim that aging analogue camera as stolen. To claim, you must present proof of ownership. This is often easily done by showing the receipt for the item, but as many people simply don’t keep receipts that long, other methods are accepted; bank or credit card statements, warranty cards, even photographic evidence can be used to show that you owned a given item. If you can’t provide anything whatsoever, you may not be able to claim. Check your policy. And if they think you’re telling porkies, they might just investigate your case further – you’ve been warned.

In the case of purchases that had to be made (medical treatment, taxis when you missed your connecting bus due to a delayed flight, quick flight home due to civil war unexpectedly breaking out, etc), keep the receipt, and be prepared to present credit card statements and possibly contact details of the organisation in question.

How Long do I Wait?

Generally speaking, a simple claim on a stolen item should not take very long. Companies differ, but most will process a claim in around ten days if they have all the details they need, they will either say no, or send you a cheque. If your claim is, in their eyes, dubious for any reason, it may take longer. In cases where large amounts are to be paid out, such as those which have arisen due to medical expenditure, the gathering of all the relevant proof and information may itself take some time – you might just have to be patient.

This article has been brought to you by Travel Insurance Direct, providers of reliable online Travel Insurance for travelling Australians. Fore more information on seniors travel insurance and cheap travel insurance click the links.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Darren_Faulder

Travel Insurance for Hurricane Season – What You Need To Know

Be Safe Insure — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:43:01 +0000

Tropical Storm Bertha is currently blowing in the Atlantic, and the August peak of hurricane season is coming soon. With experts forecasting higher than usual hurricane activity this June through November, Squaremouth, America’s fastest growing travel insurance comparison web site, today announces some essential tips and terms to help customers sort through options for hurricane coverage.

Tropical Storm Bertha is currently blowing in the Atlantic, and the August peak of hurricane season is coming soon. With experts forecasting higher than usual hurricane activity this June through November, Squaremouth, America’s fastest growing travel insurance comparison web site, today announces some essential tips and terms to help customers sort through options for hurricane coverage.

Hurricane insurance tips

1 – No insurance covers absolutely everything that could happen when a hurricane hits or you need to be evacuated. New “Hurricane Warning” coverage from Travelsafe and Global Alert Administrators, for example, works only if the warning that a hurricane is about to hit comes within 24 hours of your departure date, and only if you’ve held the policy for more than 15 days.

2 – Buy the policy before a storm is named … Or you won’t be covered for losses relating to that storm. This is because insurance is based on unforeseen circumstances; once a storm has a name it’s deemed to be foreseen. (The same is true for things like airline strikes: if the impending strike becomes public knowledge before you buy insurance, you can’t make a claim.)

3 – The wording of a policy may be vague. Some policies don’t refer to hurricanes at all; coverage may fall under the catch-all category of a “natural disaster” instead. And often they’re interpreted case-by-case at claim time.

4 – Some benefits that don’t specifically mention hurricanes can help. An example is “cancel for any reason” cover, though most policies pay out less than 100% and stop within two days of departure (you’ll be covered for canceling travel plans ahead of time if a hurricane threatens; not for an emergency evacuation once the storm rolls in).

5 – If bad weather is predicted, but no warning is given … No travel insurance carrier will pay claims in this situation. The only option is to buy “cancel for any reason” coverage.

6 – Consider options offered by the airline, cruise or tour operator. If you’re offered an alternate trip with the same travel dates, you can’t make a claim if you refuse their offer. If the dates are different, most insurance companies will pay the claim, however, you must surrender the tickets.

7 – There’s plenty of variation in hurricane benefits from one company to the next, so it pays to shop around. But keep in mind that policies offered by the same company tend to offer similar protection against hurricanes, although the carrier’s higher-end product might afford slightly better coverage.

Hurricane insurance terms

1 – “Accommodation at destination made uninhabitable”
In the past, even if your hurricane soaked hotel were flattened and the pool awash in filth, you’d be on the hook for a vacation as long as the airline could still fly you there. With this benefit, you may cancel if you can no longer reach the resort, it has become unsafe, or has lost electricity and running water. Only AIG defines the term “Accommodation at destination made uninhabitable” although every carrier offers versions of the same cover.

2 – Mandatory evacuation “Conditionally covered” or “Not covered”
If you’re thinking of cutting short your trip because of a hurricane, check your policy. “Conditionally covered” means you’re covered for going home early if you have a certain amount of your trip left; this varies by carrier and is usually 50 percent, or four days or less remaining at the end of an evacuation order. If you’re “Not covered,” you can’t make a claim if the hurricane missed your destination despite the order to evacuate. (If the hurricane does hit, you can make a claim under the “Accommodation at destination made uninhabitable” portion of the policy.)

3 – “Hurricane warning” coverage
Timing is everything when it comes to buying peace of mind this hurricane season. New “Hurricane warning” coverage from Travelsafe and Global Alert Administrators works only if the warning that a hurricane is about to hit comes within 24 hours of your departure date, and only if you’ve held the policy for more than 15 days.

4 – “Complete cessation of common carrier services”
If your airline has stopped flying due to the weather and you can’t get to your island, you’ve missed a cruise departure or connecting flight, or you’re stuck in an airport, most carriers will let you make a claim. The difference between policies is in the number of hours the airline is down: at least 24 hours of downtime is usually required, though some policies allow claims for any period of downtime.

5 – “Covered for inclement weather”
This benefit is a more liberal version of “Complete cessation of common carrier services” and will let you claim without the required number of hours’ downtime. This means that if a flight cancellation impacts you in some way, you can claim the loss.

If your trip includes a cruise:
If a hurricane makes you miss your departure, insurance will pay for you to catch up at the next port of call. If the cruise is canceled, any losses not reimbursed will be covered. If the itinerary is changed and you refuse an offer of an alternate route with the same travel dates, you won’t be allowed to make a claim. If the dates offered are different, most insurance carriers will pay the claim (you’ll have to surrender the tickets).

If your trip includes flights:
If your flight is canceled, depending on the policy and your trip itinerary, you could claim for an alternative flight, cancel and go home, or wait for the flight to be rescheduled and claim for expenses.

If it’s a car trip:
A small number of policies all from the insurer AIG will cover a delay if you’re traveling by car, including any expenses incurred during the delay. Or you could cancel the trip and go home.

Ensure You WEAR Your Life Jacket on Your Boat

Be Safe Insure — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:38:04 +0000

Boating season will soon be in full swing, and enthusiasts from across the country are getting ready to hit the water for a season of sun. Before hoisting anchor, however, captain and crew should take a few moments to review boating basics: according to the latest available data from the U.S. Coast Guard, there were almost 5,000 vessels involved in accidents in 2006, resulting in almost 3,500 injuries.

“A fun day on the water can turn unpleasant—even deadly—if caution isn’t used,” said Joan Harnish, who oversees claims for MetLife Auto & Home’s marine unit. “On average, over 700 people die in boating-related accidents every year. Over two-thirds of all boating fatalities involved drowning, and 90 percent of the victims were not wearing life jackets.”

“The goal of National Safe Boating Week, which takes place this week, is to heighten awareness among recreational boaters about the importance of wearing a life jacket,” said Virgil Chambers, executive director, National Safe Boating Council. “It’s not enough to simply carry a life jacket; you actually need to wear one. Accidents on the water usually happen too quickly to reach a stored life jacket.”

The following tips can help boaters stay afloat safely this summer:

–Brush up on the basics. According to the Coast Guard, 80 percent of all boating fatalities occurred on boats where the operator had not completed a boating safety education course.

–Make a habit of buckling up. Wearing a properly secured life jacket is one of the most effective ways to prevent accidental drowning. Check jackets annually for flotation and fit, especially for children. One size doesn’t fit all.

–Make plans public. Inform someone staying on land about the details of a trip—the destination, the participants, and the planned length of time on the water.

–Limit alcohol consumption. Half of all boating fatalities involved alcohol.

–For safety purposes, “water wings” just don’t fly. Never use swimming devices such as water wings in place of life jackets or life preservers on children. These toys are not intended to be personal flotation devices.

– Learn to swim. It’s never too late to learn this potentially lifesaving skill. Swimming classes for adults and children are available in most communities.

To help boaters chart the course to a safer season, MetLife Auto & Home offers a free boating safety guide, endorsed by the U.S. Coast Guard, which highlights the best tips and tools for water safety from 15 Coast Guard publications. Younger sailors can also learn boating safety with a coloring and activity book that features the beloved PEANUTSä gang. Both are available free by calling 1-800-MET-LIFE (1-800-638-5433).

Annual Travel Insurance Policies – Great For The Regular Traveller

Be Safe Insure — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 04:20:42 +0000

Just as we need to insure life, home and possessions, we need travel insurance against travel risks. Insurance companies have custom made plans for every type of travel so that you do not end up paying more if you are a frequent traveler. Standard plans offer risk cover for at the maximum for 90 days whereas a frequent traveler may not be sure of his travel plans which can be on the spur of the moment or premeditated.

Annual Travel Insurance is devised for those who travel frequently in a year. Annual Travel Insurance may appear a bit more expensive than a standard plan but it makes up with an extended duration as it remains active for a full year with one time premium.

Before buying an Annual Travel Insurance plan you need to read the fine print and understand the terms and conditions very carefully to avoid heart burns later in case of claim being filed with the company. Most of the travel policies do not cover risky activities like dangerous sports nor damage to your pets.

Another condition worthy of a scrutiny is that of an Excess waiver. This similar is to a deduction that most of other types of insurances have where you promise to pay a portion of the claim from your own pocket to avoid higher premiums.

Purchasing online travel insurance results in a saving of as much as 40% for customers. As companies save on overhead costs by selling policies online they offer reduced premiums and offer to cover more risks than they would do if you were applying in the conventional manner through an application. Such extended coverage offers may include home insurance and that of possessions. Buying insurance cover online actually translates into paying lesser premium for more coverage.

Companies have Annual Travel Insurance plans customized to the needs of an individual, group or institution. For example families that travel for Golf Tournaments often, may opt for a plan known as Annual Golf Travel Plan which will most of the time cover the risk of loss of golf materials as well as injury caused to a third party or any other liability incurred from playing golf.

For those traveling in groups requiring insurance cover for ten or more persons there are custom made Annual Travel Insurance plans for families, groups and institutions like schools that organize travel for sports events et cetera. Family packages are restricted to immediate members and for groups of non family members you have to look for policies meant for extended groups. Extended group insurance plans are less expensive and at the same time cover each member of the group.

Summing up, if you are a frequent traveler you should deliberate Annual Travel Policies and Group Travel policies if you travel in groups of more than ten. All policies have limitations and vary from company to company. It would do you good to scrutinize the terms and conditions and go through the fine print with a magnifying glass. If you are fond of sports and/or indulge in risky activities then you may consider Sports Travel Policies or Golf Travel Insurance, which ever suits your demands better.

By Scotie Keithlow

To find more information regular travel and annual travel insurance visit http://vacation-secrets.com

Travel Insurance Companies Will Not Let You Claim Frequent Flier Miles

Be Safe Insure — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:49:13 +0000

With this month’s decision by major airlines, including Delta, United and American, to cut capacity by double digits, experts predict it’ll get even harder to cash in on frequent flier miles. You’ll needlessly increase the cost of your premium.

But for those who are lucky enough to fly free this summer, a further pitfall awaits: If your first class flight to Europe ‘worth’ thousands of miles gets canceled, you won’t be able claim for it on travel insurance.

This is because travel insurance only lets you recoup non-refundable cash losses. So don’t include intangibles like frequent flier miles or the value of timeshare weeks paid for years ago when calculating how much insurance to buy, warns Chris Harvey, CEO of Squaremouth, America’s fastest growing comparison web site for travel insurance. “You’ll needlessly increase the cost of your premium.”

Depending on the policy, however, “you may be eligible to recoup the cost of an airline imposed change or reissue fee; plus a similar amount for re-banking frequent flier miles,” Harvey adds.

Squaremouth’s Help and Advice section offers insider advice to help you choose the right travel insurance. This travel insurance comparison site helps customers instantly quote, compare and buy policies from every major carrier: AIG Travel Guard, CSA, Elvia, Global Alert Admin, Global Underwriters, HTH Worldwide, ITravelInsured, Medex, Medjet Assist, MH Ross, Multinational Underwriters (MNU), Seven Corners, Travel Insurance Services, Travel Insured, Travelers Liberty, Travelex, TravelSafe and USA Assist.

International Medical Insurance – http://www.squaremouth.com/international-medical-insurance