Trip protection insurance or Travel medical insurance?

If you going on a vacation for which that you have spent a lot of money and time, you want to make sure that this investment in the proposed holiday does not go waste. A planned vacation can be disrupted for several reasons beyond ones control, and unless you insure the non-refundable expenses, all or part of the planned holiday expenses can be lost. Trip protection insurance is relevant if your vacation is either cancelled, interrupted or even delayed. The insurance can reimburse eligible pre-paid non-refundable portion of the vacation. The eligible expenses can be either cruise tickets, airline tickets or hotel room bookings. The policy can also pay for losses during the vacation such as expenses due to lost, delayed, stolen or damaged baggage.

There are different trip cancellation plans available, for some the eligible benefits will be available only if the trip is cancelled or delayed for clearly defined reasons. However there are trip cancellation plans that give the 'cancel for any reason' option as well.

Travelers can also customise their Trip protection insurance to insure the health of the travelers or they can limit the trip protection insurance to only the expenses of the vacation with little to no coverage for the health of the traveler.

Trip cancellation insurance is very popular with US vacationers who plan the vacation very early and do the required ticketing much before the actual vacation. This leaves them vulnerable to last minute changes in their schedules or changes in the vacation circumstances.

The focus of these travel health insurance products is the health of the traveler. When one is traveling outside their home country, they are exposed to a totally new environment. This can include facing new weather patterns, exposed to different food and water and very different health environments. The traveler is vulnerable to falling sick or having a more serious health related situation. It is in this situation that travel health insurance is important.

Travel health insurance products are designed to insure the traveler when they are outside their home country and take care of medical expenses incurred due to accident or sickness. Travelers can customise their travel health insurance based on the maximum medical coverage , the deductible as well as the co-insurance. Older travelers or travelers having pre-existing medical conditions can choose plans which provide coverage for pre-existing ailments as well.

International travelers who are traveling to the US or to Europe find these insurance product very useful. The cost of healthcare in the US and in Europe is very expensive. Many immigrant communities in the US like the Indians and Chinese have family members visiting the US for extended stays ranging from a few weeks to a few months. Quite often these visiting family members are parents who are quite elderly. Given the cost of healthcare in the US, it is prudent to buy proper travel medical insurance while traveling to the United States.