Unraveling travel insurance terms and conditions explained

Demystifying Travel Insurance Terminology

Navigating insurance plans can sometimes feel like decoding an unintelligible language. In an attempt to clarify matters, we have compiled a glossary of essential travel insurance terms for a hassle-free understanding of your travel insurance before embarking on your journey.

Common Travel Insurance Terminology

Adventure & Extreme Sports: This optional add-on offers coverage for medical and transportation expenses in the event of injuries sustained during high-risk activities, such as skydiving, bungee jumping, motocross, or free diving. It is essential to review your policy to ensure the inclusion of your preferred activities.
Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR): A flexible add-on that allows travelers to cancel their trip for any unforeseen circumstances, beyond the usual justifications covered in standard policies, up to 48 hours before departure.
Claim: Refers to the process of submitting proof of a covered event (e.g., a medical emergency, trip delay) to your insurance provider for reimbursement. Payment and approval depend on your policy's coverage. Guidelines for filing a claim are available if you are traveling with our platform.
Emergency care coverage: Covers medical care that requires urgent attention during travel, including hospital visits, urgent care, and doctor consultations.
Emergency evacuation: Provides transportation to the nearest medical facility capable of treating the traveler's condition in case of a severe injury or illness.
Emergency medical expenses: Offers coverage for sudden and unforeseen medical costs while traveling, including doctor visits, hospital stays, and prescription medications.
Excess vs. Primary coverage:
Excess (Secondary) coverage: Kicks in only after any other applicable insurance (such as health or homeowners' insurance) has made payments.
Primary coverage: Payments occur first, eliminating the need for claiming from another insurance provider before the travel insurance covers costs.
Exclusions: Situations, events, or activities that are not covered under your travel insurance plan.
Lookback period: The timeframe within which an insurance provider assesses your medical history to determine if a condition qualifies as pre-existing. Typically, this period ranges from 60 to 180 days before purchasing your policy.
Pet care: Covers pet-related medical expenses if your pet falls ill during your trip or requires quarantine due to sickness, or if your delayed arrival results in additional kenneling expenses.
Pre-existing medical conditions: Any health condition diagnosed before purchasing travel insurance. To be covered for cancellations or interruptions due to pre-existing conditions, you usually need to:
- Buy your policy within 14 days of your first trip deposit.
- Be medically fit to travel when you purchase your travel insurance plan.
Primary: Refers to the order of priority for payments when filing a claim. For example, if you purchase a travel insurance plan with primary emergency medical benefits, the travel insurance company is the first to make payments or reimbursements for those benefits.
Rental car care: An optional add-on that offers coverage for rental car-related accident and theft expenses, such as collision, loss, and damage coverage.
Repatriation: In the event of an illness or injury, your insurer will arrange for your transportation to return home for medical treatment. Repatriation coverage also includes arranging the necessary transportation home if the traveler passes away during the trip.
Telemedicine: A 24/7 virtual healthcare service that allows you to consult with licensed doctors. Some providers may offer prescription services in regions where they are legally permitted. Our policyholders on international trips from over 75 countries have access to a telemedicine offering through Air Doctor.
Trip cancellation: Covers non-refundable travel expenses if you need to cancel your trip due to a covered reason, such as serious illness, injury, or weather events.
Trip delay: Covers costs if a traveler has to shorten their trip or miss part of it due to circumstances beyond their control, including flight delays or passport theft. This coverage helps reimburse travelers for lost prepaid expenses and unexpected travel costs to return home.
Trip inconveniences & snafus: Refers to inconveniences faced by travelers during their trip due to flight delays, cancellations, security delays, or late arrivals at hotels.
Trip interruption: Covers expenses if a traveler needs to cut their trip short or extend it unexpectedly due to unforeseen circumstances, including emergencies at home or illness abroad, changing their planned return date.
Urgent care: Medical care that requires immediate attention but does not pose life-threatening situations.
Vacation rental damage protection: An optional add-on that offers coverage for unintentional damage to a vacation rental (like Airbnb or Vrbo) during your stay, such as broken furniture or stained carpets.
Whole-trip travel insurance: Comprehensive coverage that protects your entire trip, from departure to return, and includes trip, health, and luggage protection. Our platform's entire trip protection covers your trip, your health, and your belongings. For a detailed breakdown of our coverage and add-ons, visit our website.

Still have questions about our platform's coverage? Our customer experience team is available 24/7, 365 days a year to assist you via our mobile app (iOS and Android) or by email at [email protected].

Seeking more insights on travel insurance, trip planning, and staying safe abroad? Explore our blog for valuable tips and advice. Read more at our blog.

Purchasing travel insurance can help cover unexpected expenses such as flight delays, emergency medical care, and vacation rental damage during your travel lifestyle.
When planning your trip, it's essential to understand terms like trip interruption, trip cancellation, and trip delay to ensure you're adequately insured for various travel snafus.
To ensure your hotel accommodations are covered, consider adding rental car care or vacation rental damage protection to your travel insurance policy.
Understanding travel insurance terminology, such as primary versus excess coverage and exclusions, can help you make informed decisions about your travel plans and the insurance you need for a hassle-free vacation.