It is a fact that travelling can make your life much better and happier in many ways. When you travel, you get to learn new things and understand how things happen on the other side of the world. However, all parents want to be safe together with their kids when they travel then a travelling insurance is very important. With kids, things are probably very likely to go wrong than when travelling alone. This is because kids are more susceptible to getting ill or hurt due to the changes in environment.
In addition, when you are travelling together as a whole family everything needs to be done beforehand. You will probably have a large luggage and will need to book for accommodation and tickets for attractions in advance. This is why it’s very important to take your time before you buy that insurance travel policy that your travel agency or airline is selling.
To help you, here are 7 things you must consider if you are travelling with your kids:
1. Whether your kids can get free insurance
When choosing a policy, it is important to ensure that the policy covers all people you are with in your trip. There are some insurance covers that cover the whole family including your kids, spouse, and parents. However, you should be cautious of the age limit set since some insurance plans only cover kids up to only a certain age. It is also important to know what they are being covered for to ensure that nothing gets excluded. If you are lucky, you may also come across an insurance plan that allows many kids to get free cover.
2. Whether your kids are excluded from any types of protection
Policy coverage and exclusions is very important when choosing a travel insurance policy. Even though you might be under same policy cover with your kids, it doesn’t always mean that they will get covered completely just as you are. You might be covered for events like when your car crushes, however, your kid maybe excluded if he takes the wheel. This is why it is of utmost importance to read and understand all the words carefully before settling down for the insurance plan.
3. Activities that are excluded
Most insurers always include a list of the risky activities that they are not willing to offer insurance against. Some of these activities include diving, trekking, mountaineering, skydiving, paragliding, and motor racing. Although it is very easy for you to refrain from these activities, it might be quite hard for your teenage kids. This is why you should always let them never do anything that goes against the insurance policy.
4. Whether your children have any pre-existing health conditions
In most cases, travel insurance policies tend to reject claims when they come from a pre-existing medical condition. This is because most policies do not cover for any pre-existing sicknesses. However, keeping n mind that every one out of five children in our country Singapore suffer from Asthma, you should not ignore those statistics. If your kid happens to be one of those suffering from conditions like eczema or asthma, you can arm yourself with the necessary medical supplies. Since you won’t be even insured for the medical costs, you should take it on your own to do a research on how you will find affordable medical services in case of any of these medical conditions gets out of hand while travelling.
In addition, please ensure that the travel insurance policy also provides enough medical evacuation to transport you back to Singapore or to a better hospital that is fully equipped to deal with the medical condition.
5. Check if it includes outpatient treatment
Sickness causes much confusion and suffering and the last thing that you may want to happen to you s falling sick in another land. When you are far away from Singapore, you many not know the language they speak there nor the location of medical services. This is why most parents often consider postponing treatments until they get to return back to Singapore. To be on the safe side, always check carefully the outpatient treatment policy plans. If it does cater for it, you can proceed to make a claim when you see a doctor when you come back but only within a certain period of time.
6. Cancellation Policy
Travelling is very fun, however, it’s never fun when you fall sick and can’t travel. When travelling with kids, problems are very very likely to pop up even before the trip begins. Therefore, you should read carefully your insurance policy since not all policies cover flight cancellations. In some cases, there may be an outbreak of a certain disease when you are already there. If this is relevant to you then you can check if the policy covers trip cancellations or postponements in case a family member contracts the disease.
7. Book your policy immediately you buy your ticket
One of the most important tips when buying your insurance policy is to buy the policy as soon as you can. Although many people prefer buying their insurance policy only a few days when they are about to travel, this is not a good practice. As soon as you have booked your travel ticket, you can proceed to get your insurance policy. This is because the insurer will be more able to compensate you in case of emergencies before you travel. When you buy your policy just immediately you buy your air ticket and you or your kid contracts a disease and can to, your travel expenses will be refunded. However, when you buy the policy after the incident has happened, the insurer will not cover the trip cancellation expenses.
Conclusion
Travelling with your kids is one of the toughest things especially when they are teenagers. This is why it’s very important to get a travel insurance to ensure the safety off all your loved ones. Hopefully, with these tips you will be able to choose a good insurance policy that will fit your needs. Just remember to be vigilant, never take anything for granted, and understand all the risks you are likely to face on your trip.
