Weekend getaways are great to take you away from the heavy schedules of work. Most of the travelers believe that weekend trips don’t require any travel insurance due to the short duration of the visit. Even though you might be tempted to save money on these short trips, giving into this temptation could prove to be expensive. You can face the same troubles on a weekend getaway as with longer duration trips.
Risks that can be insured in an International travel insurance plans
Good International travel insurance plans provide coverage for risks involved in any trip, even weekend getaways, such as:
1. Flight or stay delays and cancellation: In case of flight delay or cancellation, the travel insurance plan covers the overhead expenses incurred. This would ensure that you could make alternate travel or stay arrangements without halting your trip.
2. Damage or loss of passport and luggage: Not all weekend getaways translate to road trips. Short international trip for a weekend getaway would involve traveling by public transport. And losing luggage on such trip is a common occurrence; many travelers can vouch for that. International travel insurance plans offer coverage for such incidents. It is a crucial benefit, especially in the case loss of passport, having international travel insurance; you are privy to round the clock assistance that can expedite the process of completing the necessary formalities.
3. Medical expenses: Medical emergencies can strike anywhere and while on vacation, you wouldn’t want the doctor’s fee or other medical expenses to mount your credit card bill. International travel insurance plans provide cashless medical assistance or reimbursement of the said bills, subject to the policy terms.
4. Emergency evacuations: Natural disasters such as wildfires, flood, earthquake or man-made emergencies such as political crisis etc. can result in the need for emergency evacuations. Charges for emergency evacuations runs in tens of thousands of rupees, especially emergency medical transport. Comprehensive international travel insurance plans include such contingencies and provide assistance in such situations.
In addition to these, International travel insurance plans also include some other benefits to ensure that all possible aspects of your weekend travels are covered. Some of these benefits are:
1. Personal Liability: Personal liability is the expenses incurred in case someone’s property is damaged or you injure someone. By including this benefit in your domestic or international travel insurance plans, one more unexpected expense can be addressed and you can enjoy the vacation more relaxed.
2. Additional Expenses: While your travel insurance plan might cover the costs of flight delay or cancellation, you might have to incur some extra unprecedented expenses while you wait for the changes travel arrangements.
3. Amendment and cancellation costs: In some cases, you might need to alter or even cancel your plans altogether. These can change your booking costs and a good international travel insurance plan can help take care of these charges.
4. Accidental Death: In an unfortunate event of death, some International travel insurance plans pay a lump sum benefit.
Merits of travel insurance for weekend getaway
While the majority of people believe that travel insurance is a necessity for long vacations, what they don’t realize that the correct travel insurance policy would provide a similar cover for short vacations, even the weekend getaways. In fact, the same risks are covered for both international and domestic trips. Hence, it is a smart and practical choice to buy one of the domestic or International travel insurance plans while you plan for an exhilarating vacation because no matter where you travel, a vacation must be relaxing and stress-free.
Making travel insurance for short trips affordable
1. Opt for basic cover: If you are taking a short trip with fewer contingencies, you can opt for a basic cover. For example, your stay booking is refundable or in case of an interstate weekend getaway, you would be traveling by your own car then benefits for cancellation or delay won’t hold much value.
2. Plan ahead: Just like your bookings and tickets, it is always beneficial to figure out your interstate or International travel insurance plans ahead of time. This will give you a clear picture of your situation and requirements. This also helps in covering the costs incurred due to any change in plans during the months leading to your departure date.
3. Know your needs: It is essential to identify your needs and goals for a travel insurance plan. This helps in looking for a product whose terms are suitable and match your needs. For instance, if you prefer weekend getaways at the beach and are a minimalist traveler, you need not have the benefit for insured valuables in your travel insurance plan as those generally result in higher travel premiums.
4. Buy online: It may seem a pretty straightforward and hassle-free step to buy the interstate or international travel insurance plans from your travel agent or select the travel insurance checkbox on the flight booking website. But this could mean you paying more for your travel insurance as most of the times travel agencies and flight booking websites have their own commissions added to the premium. Hence you should always purchase the travel insurance online from an insurance portal or directly from the policy providers website.
5. Compare products: Before purchasing any of the domestic and international travel insurance plans available, shortlist the ones that suit your needs while falling under your budget. Now compare these selected products to pick out the ideal travel insurance plan for you.
6. Discounts: The insurers sometimes offer existing customers discounts on travel insurance plans, making it lucrative to purchase the plan from them.
7. Annual Policy: If you go for frequent short trips or weekend getaways during a year, purchasing an annual policy can actually be more affordable and suitable for the long run. You should go for an annual policy of you would be taking at least two or more trips in the 12-month span.
Even though you might be going for just a weekend getaway, always opt for at least the basic coverage that includes all possible risks without burning a hole in your pocket once you have compared and studied the various domestic and international travel insurance plans available in the market.
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