Travel insurance: understand the benefits and choose the best option!

Vacation travel does not match with unforeseen circumstances. For this reason, taking out travel insurance is the most practical and guaranteed way to avoid excessive spending and stress with problems such as lost luggage or documents, accidents or sudden ill health.

It is a mistake to consider travel insurance a luxury and then cut it from the budget. There are several types of coverage and different services in each plan. Besides international, it is also possible to hire to national destinations, cruise trips, and exchanges. If your destination is Europe, stay tuned! In places like France, Italy, Germany and Portugal it is only possible to enter with this documentation.

We have separated a quick guide to understanding how this service works and how to choose the best option for your trip. Check it!

What is travel insurance?

Travel insurance is a contingency protection. This service is paid, charged per day or daily, and helps you not to worry about spending in dollars or euros to be taken care of by a doctor in another country, for example. In this case, you do not have to pay the hospital bill on time, as the expenses will be covered by insurance. If you need to locate baggage, this aid may also be included in the coverage. There are several types of plans and prices, and in Europe, it is mandatory to prove that there is insurance contracted to enter more than 20 countries.

What is travel insurance for?

You should only activate the service if you need medical attention or assistance in case of accidents, loss of luggage, loss of personal documents or help to reorganize if there are changes in schedules and dates of flights. It all depends on the destination and what you include in the coverage. With travel insurance, you will not be alone to deal with any difficulty that may negatively impact your roadmap.

What types of travel insurance?

The most common coverages include medical expenses, death status and refunds for lost luggage or damaged luggage. You can plan to get more comprehensive plans with travel cancellation facilities, coverage for pre-existing illnesses, family airline tickets, legal assistance or even extended stay. The main change in each type of plan is the repayment amount.

How does it work?

In most cases, you just need to sign documents regarding your travel insurance on the day it is taken care of. In cases of health problems, you can trigger the insurance to be referred to the nearest hospital or receive the doctor at the hotel, for example. If you need to buy drugs or have problems with luggage you can fill out the refund request after the trip so as not to be at a loss.

Where is travel insurance compulsory?

In addition to passport care and international travel, entry into 27 European countries requires travel insurance with a minimum coverage of 30 thousand euros. To find out if it is mandatory on your trip, check if you are going to go through the countries that are part of the Schengen agreement: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden, and Switzerland. In the case of exchanges, Australia requires health insurance, which guarantees access to the Australian public health system.

International travel insurance

To be sure that coverage is effective, research the costs of medical care in the local currency in the destination country. The United States, for example, tends to have higher health costs compared to the same service in Brazil. Among the insurance available on the market, health costs can be covered from $ 40,000 to $ 1 million. When comparing prices, often the higher value difference can compensate, especially in specific cases, like accidents during the practice of extreme sports.