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- New Travel Insurance Glossary Simplifies Travel Insurance
We’ve all been there. You need to renew your health insurance plan, or your tour operator recommends trip cancellation insurance for the safari you are planning. But when you look at the plan benefits, you don’t get it and your eyes glaze over. "Pre-Existing Conditions? Beneficiary?"What does this stuff mean?
Insurance, including travel insurance, has a language of its own. It is easy to get lost or overwhelmed. If you’re new to purchasing travel insurance, or just unsure of what you’re buying, this new Travel Insurance Glossary will help you understand some of the common industry terms.
Travel Insurance Service, industry experts since 1973, just published the Travel Insurance Glossary as a service to people considering travel insurance. Written in simple language, it will clarify and help you have confidence that the coverage you purchase is really what you want and expect. - Beijing 2008 Olympics Links
The Olympic Games afford us a refreshing and inspiring opportunity to see citizens from all over the world coming together and interacting in peace through sport. With the 2008 Summer Games only two weeks away (the games run August 8 - 24), we thought you'd like some helpful and fun Olympics links--see our list below. Most people will enjoy the games via TV and the Internet as virtual travelers. And for those of you lucky enough to be traveling to China for the Games, it is still not too late to sign up for travel medical insurance.
- Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
- Schedule of Events
- Learn about the Sports that are part of the Games--origin, history, equipment, rules, and list of events.
- Official Website of the International Olympic Committee
- Get sports and life advice from Olympic Trainers at Olympic Personal Trainer.
- Play the official mini game, where you can compete virtually in High Dive, Archery and Weightlifting.
- Take the Host City Challenge. Here you can test your knowledge of cities that have hosted the Olympics.
- U.S. Television Coverage--Get TV and online coverage schedules and view results of events.
- Learn how to pronounce some basic Chinese phrases at Learn Chinese.
- Take a photo tour of Beijing, courtesy of National Geographic.
- Wikipedia Beijing entry
- China Internet Information Center's History of Beijing - Coming Soon to an Airport Near You: A Fee to Check Your Baggage
American Airlines, citing skyrocketing oil prices and the current economic environment, has decided to charge passengers $15 for checking a bag beginning June 15. The second bag will cost you $25. Other airlines are expected to follow suit. Read more in Peter Pae's story today in the LA Times: American Airlines to Charge for Checked Baggage.
So what's a traveler to do? Other than try to cram everything in into your carry-on and risk popping the zipper, or fork out the extra cash and grin and bear it, we thought it might be time to revisit some tips for packing more efficiently. Independent Traveler offers some great advice in this Packing Tips article and with this Interactive Packing List. Traveling-light guru Doug Dyment maintains a complete guide to packing well on his detailed and informative site One Bag , including his road-tested One-Page Packing Checklist.
And don't forget 24/7 baggage insurance for your next trip, in case your carefully packed bag is delayed, misplaced, or stolen anytime during your trip. - Climb Every Mountain, But First Explore Adventure Travel Insurance
If skiing, skydiving or climbing The Matterhorn are your idea of relaxing vacation activities, or if you’re planning a couples bungee jump during your honeymoon, first be sure you're covered in case you get hurt. Some health and life insurance plans exclude coverage for Adventure Sports (also called Hazardous Sports, Hazardous Activities or Extreme Sports). Read the Exclusions section of your policy to check if it excludes these, or talk with your insurance agent.
Typical sports that may be excluded:
- Jet, snow and water skiing
- Mountain climbing (not hiking but the kind using ropes)
- Skydiving
- Bungee jumping
- Whitewater rafting
- Surfing
- Parasailing
- Motorcycle driving
- Spelunking (cave exploration)
When planning travel, think in advance if you may be doing any of these Adventure-type activities. If so and you don’t have good coverage elsewhere, a travel insurance plan with a Hazardous Activity Option can be an affordable solution. With this coverage, WorldMed short-term travel medical insurance starts at about $40 for two weeks, and Voyager annual travel insurance starts at around $70/year.
Our Kathy Barlow discussed this topic last month with KVTA talk show host Maria Sanchez in an adventure travel insurance radio interview . - ATA and Aloha Bankruptcies Underscore Need for Travel Insurance
This week, passengers were hit hard with the realities of airline bankruptcies. Monday, Aloha Airlines ceased operations and today ATA Airlines followed suit. Thousands of travelers were left stranded and scrambling for flights. This not only causes stress to the travelers, but it will cost many of them lost prepaid trip monies for tours they may miss out on, and added money they're shelling out for alternate flights.
But travelers who planned ahead and bought a travel insurance plan that includes travel-supplier Financial Default coverage can rest assured that they should recover lost costs.
Early in their trip planning process (usually 15-21 days after making their first trip payment), travelers can buy trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance that covers Financial Default of airlines, cruise lines, and tour operators. They must buy the insurance before bankruptcy is declared. This coverage is available in our Travel Insurance Select's Elite and Plus Options. - Business Travel Insurance Easy with Customized Annual Plan
Protecting traveling staff is now a quick, once-a-year task for the corporate travel buyer, corporate travel planner, or executive assistant. Voyager is versatile, annual travel insurance for those who travel several times each year (on business, for personal reasons, or both). It’s particularly nice for buyers at small to medium-sized companies that may not have a business travel accident, or annual medical evacuation plan (especially one that covers the risks of international travel). Voyager covers staff any time they are 100+ miles from home, so it works well for domestic or international trip