What does travel insurance mean?

The world is so big, why not go out for a walk? As more and more urban white-collar workers are eager to travel, it is essential to understand and choose a satisfactory overseas travel insurance in advance.

The author recently came into contact with such a case. Ms. He, a white-collar worker from a company in Guangzhou, went on a self-guided trip to the Philippines with her best friend to commemorate the 15th anniversary of their acquaintance by diving. Unexpectedly, due to the impact of a typhoon in Dumaguete, the boat to Tagbilaran was suspended. As a result, Ms. He and her party were unable to check into the reserved room at the bee farm that day as expected. According to the reservation policy, the farm charged Ms. He and the others the first night's room rate as a cancellation fee.

Ms. He clearly knows that the travel insurance product "Travel Treasure" she has insured provides protection against travel changes and travel delays. However, I don’t quite understand which coverage my situation qualifies for and what information I need to present. Therefore, Ms. He contacted the insurance company’s online customer service online, and based on the customer service staff’s guidance, she obtained the suspension certificate issued by the shipping company, as well as the no-stay and no-refund instructions issued by the farm. After returning to China, Ms. He submitted a claim application to the insurance company.

After verifying the materials provided by Ms. He, the claims adjuster confirmed that the typhoon prevented Ms. He from staying at the farm as scheduled. This was a travel change caused by bad weather, and a claim can be made. In addition, because the ship was suspended due to the typhoon, the continuous delay time also reached the four hours specified in the policy, so you can also obtain travel delay compensation.

In fact, the insurance company found from customer inquiries received that a considerable number of people did not know much about the specific scope of these two protections. For example, they believe that travel changes are equivalent to a kind of psychological compensation. Even if the insured changes the scheduled itinerary on a whim, the insurance company can compensate for the related expenses.

“This is actually a misunderstanding,” Ms. Chen, the senior claims manager of the insurance company, explained in an interview with the author. loss as the basis for claim”.

It is understood that travel changes refer to forced changes in the itinerary due to the death of the insured or immediate family members, serious illness, hospitalization, severe weather, natural disasters, etc. before or during the trip. Compensation will be paid Prepaid but not actually used and non-refundable travel expenses, such as accommodation fees, tickets and air tickets, etc. Travel delay means that the insured's public transportation is continuously delayed for the time specified in the insurance policy due to the reasons specified in the policy, and then compensation can be obtained. Common causes of accidents include severe weather, natural disasters and air traffic control.

“The difference between the two is that one is to make up for the insured’s actual expenses, and the other is to provide financial compensation for the insured’s wasted time.” Allianz Property & Casualty Insurance experts said , sometimes, the two may occur together during a trip. Miss He's experience is consistent with this situation.

Compared with travel delay, when applying for a travel change claim, you need to provide more sufficient materials. For example, if the insured or an immediate family member is hospitalized due to serious injury or illness, you need to provide a hospitalization certificate and immediate family members. Proof of relationship; if bad weather prevents you from checking into the hotel as scheduled and you are charged a fee, you must provide proof of prepayment and a reservation policy that shows the hotel's deductions.

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