Buying Travel Insurance

Travelling can be hazardous so getting a travel insurance is another must-get on my list. Of course, we hope that nothing happens during the trip but it's imperative to be prepared. You never know what may happen. But you don't want to blindly buy any insurance off the Internet, so here is an article by Straits Times on the things to look out while purchasing an insurance policy. All the important points are there, so do read up.

Now you might be someone who doesn't believe in travel insurance and thinks it's a scam. But it can really come in useful, especially when you lose your belongings or get hurt in an accident. On top of the tips offered in the ST article, you may want to make sure that your policy doesn't require you to see a doctor during your trip before you claim post trip medical expenses. The reason why I say this is that we all assume that travel insurance is supposed to cover post trip medical expenses. However, the insurance that I usually buy doesn't actually do that.

I hurt my foot during a recent trip to Japan and while it was painful, I thought I'd see a doctor in Singapore instead. After all, I know where the doctors are and it's easier to tell them where I hurt and to get medication instructions. This is not really possible in Japan since I hardly speak the language. Anyway, I filed a claim and all, but they rejected my very small medical claim by saying I had to seek medical advice during the trip first and follow up with a post trip medical visit before I could claim anything. It's like so WOW that I'm amazed. Isn't it a given for travel insurance policies to cover post medical expenses?

Anyway, I'm not going to purchase any policy from them in future but I thought I should put this here to remind my readers to make sure all angles are covered adequately before you purchase a travel insurance policy. Don't just be attracted by the price or promotion! XD

In any case, to make things easier for your comparison, there are a few websites where you can check out the differences in pricing as well as features. MoneySmart is one and GoBear is the other, so have fun comparing! :)