Travel Insurance

At True Travel, your safety and security are our highest priorities. While we meticulously plan every detail of your trip to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience, it is essential we strongly recommend that you have appropriate travel insurance in place before you depart. Providing you reassurance from the point of booking to your return.

Travel insurance can be complex, and it’s essential that your policy aligns with your individual needs and travel plans. We encourage you to review any potential policy thoroughly to ensure it provides the right coverage for you.

Travel Insurance: Frequently Asked Questions

What is travel insurance?

Travel insurance is a purchased plan that protects you from certain financial risks and losses that can occur while traveling. These losses can be minor, like a delayed suitcase, or significant, like a last-minute trip cancellation or a medical emergency overseas.  In addition to financial protection, the other huge benefit of travel insurance is access to assistance services, wherever you are in the world.  They can arrange medical treatment in an emergency, monitor your care, serve as interpreters, help you replace lost passports and so much more.

A few things you should know about travel insurance:

  • Benefits vary by plan so it’s important to choose a plan that fits your needs, your budget and your travel plans.
  • Travel insurance can’t cover every possible situation.  Most travel insurance policies cover only the specific situations, events, and losses included in your plan documents, and only under the conditions as described.
  • Travel insurance is designed to cover unforeseeable events or events outside your control.  If, for example,  you wait to buy insurance for your safari until after you receive an unexpected diagnosis, your losses wouldn’t be covered.

In most scenarios, travel insurance reimburses you for your covered financial losses after you file a claim and the claim is approved.   Filing a claim means submitting proof of your loss so that your insurer can verify what happened and reimburse you for your covered losses.   How does this work in real life?  Let’s say you purchase a plan which includes trip cancellation benefits, to protect your upcoming safari to Africa.   Two weeks before departure, you become ill, and your doctor advises you to cancel the trip.   Without travel insurance, you’d lose the money you’ve paid for your trip, because safari travel is non-refundable.  As a serious illness is almost always considered a covered reason for trip cancellation, you would be reimbursed for your prepaid, non-refundable trip costs.  Travel insurance may also pay your expenses upfront if you require emergency medical treatment or transportation while traveling overseas.

Trip interruption occurs when a traveler must unexpectedly cut short their trip and return home. Additionally, interruption can cause you to stay at your destination longer than originally planned.  Trip interruption insurance can refund lost prepaid costs, minus any available refunds and up to the maximum benefit amount and cover the cost of your extra accommodations and/or your trip home.  Trip interruption benefits only apply if the interruption is caused by a covered reason. Travel insurance plans list many covered reasons for interrupting or canceling your trip. Some common covered reasons include the serious illness or injury of the traveler, traveling companion or a family member; a natural disaster that renders your home or your destination uninhabitable; and the cessation of services by your airline, causing you to miss more than half your trip.  Trip interruption insurance is essential for those travel emergencies you just can’t predict. Imagine you’re in the middle of a safari in the Serengeti when you receive word that your mom has been hospitalized. You need to return home asap!  With the help of the travel expert assistance team, you can get on the first available flight out of Kilimanjaro and travel back to the U.S.   Trip interruption insurance can help cover the cost of the flight and reimburse you for the unused portion of your safari.

Trip cancellation insurance covers situations when you must cancel your trip before you depart, for a covered reason (generally, the same covered reasons that apply to trip interruption coverage.)  Trip cancellation benefits can refund the prepaid, nonrefundable costs of your trip, such as airfare, tour bookings and accommodations.   Plus, if you prepaid for shared accommodations, and your travel companion needs to cancel their trip for a covered reason, you can be reimbursed additional accommodation fees.

The travel delay benefit helps you get through short(ish), unexpected pauses in your travel plans. It can reimburse you for lost pre-paid expenses as well as eligible costs you incur because of the delay, including meals, accommodations, communication and transportation.  Note that for such an event to be considered a delay, it must last for the minimum time stated in your plan. Also, the delay must have been caused by a covered reason as listed in your plan, such as a travel carrier delay or lost travel documents.

  • The best time to buy travel insurance is as soon as you have made a non-refundable payment.  However, you must buy your plan within 14 days of your reservation fee payment in order to be eligible for the pre-existing medical conditions waiver.
  • A comprehensive travel insurance plan will generally cost about 5% – 10% of the value of your trip (depending on your age).
  • Children under 18 are usually covered under their parent’s policy at the time of purchase.
  • Read the fine print and call the insurance company with questions.  If you’re not completely satisfied with your plan, you have 10-15 days to request a refund, provided you haven’t started your trip or initiated a claim. Premiums are non-refundable after this period.
  • If you need to use your medical benefits, call the insurance company to ensure you are covered and get advice on which doctor/service to use.
  • Some credit cards carry travel insurance policies, but you have to use the card to pay for your trip and you MUST double check to see what they actually cover, which is usually not sufficient for travel to Africa.
  • Most insurance companies will reimburse you for costs you incur during your trip, like a doctor’s visit.  So keep your receipts.

Our Recommendations on Travel Insurance

Choosing Travel Insurance

Before purchasing travel insurance, speak with an advisor and read the full policy. Check for exclusions, especially regarding age limits, trip length and value, pandemic cover, and pre-existing medical conditions. Some activities—like winter sports, high-altitude trekking, scuba diving or zip-lining—may be excluded or require an extra premium. Single trip or annual multi trip policies are available and should be considered.

Does True Travel sell insurance?

No, we are not regulated to do so. However we can point you in the direction of Campbell Irvine, a leading UK travel insurance provider, known for their extensive experience and specialist cover across a wide range of activities.

You can find out more by visiting Campbell Irvine’s website.

Redpoint Travel Protection offers a range of comprehensive insurance plans, making them a reliable choice for any destination. We value their strong coverage and responsive customer service.

For more details on the plan benefits visit Redpoint’s website.