Travel Accident Insurance

There are a handful of insurance carriers offering this type of policy to individual travelers and their families. Policies can be purchased on a one-off basis for individual trips or annually for all travel occurring during a policy year. On the personal lines side, it is possible to purchase a standalone policy from a carrier who does not write any other policies for the client.

The policies can cover costs associated with trip delays as well as reimbursing money lost if a trip is unexpectedly cancelled. In addition, these policies can sometimes cover the cost of medical emergencies including medical evacuation. We recommend these to clients who are traveling internationally in remote areas where hospitals are not available or are not sufficient to treat serious injuries. We have seen situations where the insurance carrier will pay for the cost of flying the affected individual to another country or back home in order to receive proper medical care.

Companies and organizations sometimes purchase international coverage on a commercial policy which can include travel accident coverage as part of a larger package.

If an organization has employees who travel internationally for work purposes, especially in riskier areas of the globe, it is a good idea to consider including this within the overall insurance program. It can help provide extended workers compensation coverage for injuries sustained by employees while abroad. It can also step in to pay medical evacuation expenses and kidnap and ransom expenses.