The holiday season is ending; hopefully, it was a great one for everyone. From the Christmas holidays to Chinese New Year, there were millions of trips made worldwide. However, with amazing travel stories comes some travels disasters, especially during the busy holidays.
Travel issues are very common during the holiday and actually happen daily throughout the year. These issues include flight cancellations, delays, baggage loss, medical emergencies abroad and more.
Unfortunately, when faced with these situations, many just stress, fight and accept the damage. Imagine getting back all that money you may have lost. Travel insurance is perfect when facing these situations and smoothly reimburses financial loss.
Travel insurance is a must, and this article will help you understand how to process your next travel insurance claim without stress.
What Does Travel Insurance cover?
According to Economist Intelligence, global tourism will rise by 30% in 2023. Although experts predict cancellations, baggage loss and delays will increase as the travel industry is still not equipped to handle the increase.
Travel insurance is a policy that protects travellers from certain financial risks and losses while travelling.
The insurance will cover these travel insurance claims on a day trip or month-long holiday. As travel situations can occur at any point of all trips. Travellers can purchase insurance for an individual or a family and a single journey or annually.
The insurance covers travel risks such as:
- Sudden or Forced Cancellations
- Baggage Damage or Loss
- Medical Emergency Abroad
- Third-party Accidents
- Lost Passport or Personal Items
Steps To Take When Submitting Travel Insurance Claims
1. Purchase Travel Insurance
The first step to gaining an advantage of travel insurance is to purchase it before your trip. It can be a few days before the trip or months, but it has to be before the unfortunate situation.
This step may be obvious, but some believe they can gain from past travel issues, even if the insurance is bought later. Purchasing travel insurance beforehand will instantly cover any financial loss if the incident happens during the policy period.
The insurance may not bring back the time wasted or magically find your bag, but it will help you deal with travel insurance claims easily.
2. Read Your policy
When purchasing travel insurance, you must understand the policy, which includes what is covered, exclusions and limits. These details can help deal with the situation better when they occur. For example, the insurance may not cover some journeys to certain countries.
Knowing if the travel risk you are dealing with is covered or not can save you time and money. You do not want to relax about a cancelled flight, where the reason for cancellation is an exclusion. If there is ever a doubt, contact your insurance provider.
3. Contact Insurance Company
As mentioned in the previous tip, contact your insurance provider if ever in doubt. This includes if you have suffered a medical issue abroad. If you have injured yourself or are feeling ill, contact your travel insurance provider before getting official treatment- (unless an emergency).
The insurance company can provide information about your coverage, expert advice on dealing with specific travel insurance claims and what documents you need. Contacting your insurance company is easy, as most companies offer a 24/7 helpline.
Make sure you note down or take the emergency contact details wherever you go. One call could save you thousands of dollars.
4. Gather Relevant Documents
When submitting travel insurance claims, you need all the documents related to the claim(s) and more. Each type of claim has its own set of documents the policyholder must provide for success. Below are the important documents you may need per type of claim.
Flight Cancellation or Delay
- Email/Letter from Airlines (If Due to Airlines Negligence or Weather)
- Reason(s) Of Cancellation (Proof You Had to Cancel Flight)
- Flight Ticket Invoice
- Hotel Invoice
- Copy Of the Itinerary
- Any Other Rental Invoice (Financial Loss Due to Cancellation or Delay)
Baggage Loss or Damage
- Full Description of The Incident
- Email/Letter from Airlines (If Due to Airlines Negligence)
- Description Or Picture of Original Baggage
- Invoices/Receipts of Important Items Inside Bag
Medical Emergency
- Full Description of The Medical Issue
- Letter From Doctor or Medical Facility
- Medical Bills/Invoices
Lost Passport or Personal Items
- Police Report
- Details About Incident
- Documents To Proof the Cost of Personal Items
Third-Party Accident
- Police Report
- Details About Incident
- Invoice of damage caused – (don’t pay anything until you have discussed it with the insurance provider)
When submitting any travel insurance claims, it is better to double-check with the insurance provider about the specific documents needed and if any additional documents will make the process smoother.
5. Submit The Claim As Soon As Possible
After you have understood your issue is covered, and you have your documents – it’s time to submit the claim. When submitting your travel insurance claims, you must be sure you have provided everything for it to be quick and successful.
It is best to submit the claim as soon as possible; it doesn’t have to be exactly the next day but at least a few days after the trip or situation. It should be within three months maximum for everything to be valid and gain back the financial loss.
Some claims may be online, where you will be required to upload everything, or you can physically go to your insurance agent and submit copies.
6. Claim Settlement
After submitting the claim, it’s time to wait and hope for a quick reimbursement. Most claims take around one month to investigate and reimburse, but it can take longer depending on the claim size. The repayment will be either straight into your bank account or a check depending on what you have discussed with your insurance provider.
It is a great moment when travel insurance claims are successful. With these steps, you will be able to submit your travel insurance claim with ease. Travel risks can affect your trip at any point, and with insurance, you can be ready for the worst.
We hope these steps reduce that unwanted stress next time your flight is cancelled, or your bags are lost.
To learn more about travel insurance and manage your next travel insurance claim, Contact Red Asia Insurance.
