March 21 marks the International Day of Forests. To help you see the wood from the trees, with regard to how travel insurance works, we’ve put together the following guide, so just read on.
How your destination affects travel insurance
Later in this article, we’ve suggested the best world forests to visit and knowing where they are is an important first step. The way travel insurance works is that your destination is one factor affecting the cost of the policy. It’s because medical costs, medical repatriation charges and some other components, such as liability costs, are much higher in some geographical regions or countries.
For that reason, your travel cover pricing will vary, with European destinations typically resulting in a lower premium than worldwide destinations and with US and Canadian policy prices being at the top of the travel insurance tree. You need to buy cover that will protect you in the specific locations to which you will travel.
How your European health card works and why travel insurance is still a must
You also need to tread cautiously if you are a European or UK resident visiting a forest in Europe. You should not over-rely on the EHIC or GHIC. These European health cards will only cover the cost of essential medical care in European state-run healthcare facilities and provide care to the extent that a local resident would enjoy. If you were treated in a private medical facility, which might be the only option according to your location, your medical charges would not be covered. Similarly, if you needed to be brought back home by an air or road ambulance or with on-board medical assistance, or needed to be transferred off a mountain or out of a remote area, you would have to personally pay for that, if you had no travel insurance. The cards offer no protection outside of Europe. That is how this element of healthcare works.
This is why you should always buy travel insurance for your travels, regardless of where you go. If you travel to an area where medical charges are sky-high, you could be paying thousands of pounds or Euros a day for your care. Also, without travel insurance, you would have to make your own alternative arrangements to get home, after your care. Any travelling companions would need to sort out their own accommodation, if they stay behind to be with you whilst you undergo treatment. If you had travel insurance, however, it would make provision for such friends or family travelling with you, and make arrangements for them.
How travel insurance works with regard to health conditions
When you take out a travel insurance policy, it is vital to get assurance that the health conditions from which you already suffer are covered. In Europesure’s case, this is easy to check. There is a list, to which you can refer, of conditions already covered by your policy. If your condition is on the list, you are covered. If it is not on the list, it is not covered.
But what if you are suffering from something that has not been diagnosed yet? What if medical tests are ongoing? If that’s the case, you will probably not be able to get any travel insurer to cover that situation, as it is impossible for the insurer to determine what the condition may be. You can buy travel insurance for situations of which you are aware but not for those that doctors have not yet identified. If you travel and suffer an incident related to these, you will have to pay for your own charges, if care has to be administered for them. On this basis, you should decide if travel is advisable.
How travel insurance works with regard to cancellation
Another thing to consider are travel cancellation costs. If you are visiting a far-flung place, you will be paying a lot of upfront costs, in terms of flight and accommodation charges. Anything could happen between the day you book and the day you depart, so you should purchase your travel insurance as soon as possible after booking. That way, if you need to cancel for unexpected reasons, your costs can be recouped.
Cancellation might be required if a close relative or travelling companion fell ill. However, it could just as easily be because you are called up for jury service. With various reasons possible, it pays to be covered. But if you do not buy your policy some time ahead of your travel date, you might not be.
Baggage and possession
Baggage and valuables cover is something that you may already have on other types of insurance policy, such as your home insurance. However, you need to check, as you will probably need to have an all-risks policy and, in Europe, that is not always available. For this reason, Europesure gives customers the choice of adding or not adding this element of protection to their policy. It also offers a special gadget cover extension, recognising that, in some European countries, gadgets can be difficult to protect when taken out and about.
Terrorism-related travel insurance cover
Terrorism is a growing threat worldwide. Be aware that you should not travel against your Government’s official travel advice. If you do, travel insurance will probably not protect you, if you need to call on its help, even if it has kidnap and ransom cover. Again, you could have foreseen a situation in which this risk existed, because it was highlighted on official Government websites. If travel is deemed safe, there can still be an ever-present terrorism risk, sometimes more likely in certain places than others.
If you want to protect against any disruption caused by a terror incident, you can purchase an add-on policy option from Europesure, which will provide key elements of protection.
Activities
Your travel insurance policy will cover you for normal sporting activities that are not deemed excessively dangerous. In Europesure’s case, these are listed for you, so you know what you are covered for, should you choose to partake in an activity. If it is a wintersports activity, or you are going on a cycling or golfing holiday, you may need to buy an add-on policy. These are all available from Europesure. Do check the details and take care with your activity choices. There is a reason why an organised safari would be covered, but a do-it-yourself safari would not!
Liability cover
One of the lesser-appreciated benefits of travel insurance is liability cover. Have you ever considered what might happen if you ran into that fellow holidaymaker by the pool and they suffered a broken bone? Have you thought what might result if you managed to hit someone with an out-of-control surfboard or even a hard ball kicked in error on the beach? What if your actions damaged someone’s property? Here, you would need your travel insurance policy to step in, as any liability you have in your own country is unlikely to extend abroad.
Reading the policy terms
Just because you have a travel insurance policy does not mean you will automatically be covered in the event of a claim. The way that travel insurance works is as a contract. That means it comes with terms. These terms lay out the basis on which you have cover, according to the eventualities that are covered, which are unforeseen circumstances. However, it also comes with conditions by which you must abide. If you do not, you could invalidate the policy.
For instance, some policies might not pay out for any medical condition that results from you not having organised recommended vaccinations. Policies will typically exclude any claims resulting from reckless behaviour such as balconing, planking or climbing buildings. If you incur injury whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you are most unlikely to be able to claim, as your own actions contributed to your decision-making.
These are just some examples of wording that your policy might contain. It is also imperative that you check that you are covered, according to your age. Furthermore, double-check that your dates of cover are correct and cover your travel time frame and that, if you have an annual policy, it has not expired.
This is a just quick rundown to explain the basics of how travel insurance works. But what about some forests to which you could travel with your insurance policy in tow? Here are 10 great forests to explore at your leisure, not just on the International Day of Forests, but on any day:
- The Hoh Rain Forest, Washington Stage, USA
- Hallerbos Forest, Belgium
- The Black Forest, Germany
- The Amazon Rainforest (spanning Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam and French Guiana)
- The Crooked Forest, near Gryfino, Poland
- Daintree Rainforest, Australia
- Muir Forest, California
- Yakushima Forest, Japan
- Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica
- Great Bear Rainforest, Canada
If you need help getting your travel insurance in place, please visit us and review the different bands of cover you can buy, according to how much protection you want in place and your budget.
Lead photo - Photo by Steven Kamenar on Unsplash
