7 Strange Stories Where Travel Insurance Paid Out

When you’re applying for group or family travel insurance, it is always a good idea to read the fine print before signing anything. Doing so helps you better understand where you are covered and where you are not.
However, there are some events that are simply too strange to be realistically listed down in the fine print. Here are seven of the kookier ones where claims were successfully paid out.

1. Falling Coconuts – A traveller in Sri Lanka was injured due to a coconut falling on her head and was lucky enough to be insured when it happened. This is actually a fairly common problem in the tropical regions, which is why you often see de-nutted coconut trees lining the beaches of resorts and hotels.

2. Buried Treasure – Two well-meaning children in Cornwall took it upon themselves to safeguard the video camera belonging to their parents by burying it in the sand. They unfortunately forgot where they buried it, but the insurers paid out just the same. You may want to expand your family travel insurance to include your gadgets, especially if they’re pricey enough to warrant the extra protection.

3. Rampaging Rodents – One contributor to BusinessBalls.com shared how a client of his broke an arm cycling to work. The reason? A herd of guinea pigs ran him off the road! A local farmer supported his story, telling how his daughter’s guinea pigs escaped and bred to plague-like proportions. You probably won’t get run off the road by guinea pigs, but animals can pose a danger when you’re abroad – large or small.

4. Hungry Rhinos – Speaking of animals, an Australian traveller in Africa volunteered to help out in a local zoo. Unfortunately, the poor man lost a finger when a rhinoceros bit it off completely. It clearly pays not to underestimate animals, whether you’re in the wild or in the confines of a zoo.

5. Fatal Attraction – One young Briton broke his nose while walking into a bus shelter in Athens. He claimed that he was distracted by a group of women in bikinis and, luckily for him, his insurance provider paid out! Sometimes it pays to be honest and straightforward in these cases, although it could be a bit problematic for spouses to use this excuse when it comes to family travel insurance.

6. Best Foot Forward – A traveller in Fiji was trying out spear fishing and in his eagerness, he mistook his own foot for a fish – you can guess what happened afterwards! The provider in this case was gracious enough to cover the accident, which would have been easy to dismiss as a self-inflicted injury if they had been less reputable.

7. No-Show Snow – A woman raring to test out her brand-new skis on the piste filed for a pay-out from her insurance company for a lack of snow when she arrived. Some providers guarantee specific events during the trip, like skiing or horseback riding, so it is worth reviewing the contract to see if you will be covered due to factors beyond your control.

While these stories above sound too strange to happen to you, it is worth noting that they actually happened. You’ll be very grateful for the protection of single or family travel insurance packages if something just as strange happens to you!

Important Aspects to Consider For Family Travel Insurance

Travelling is an extremely personal experience, so is naturally customised from the flight details right down to what kind of food one prefers while abroad. Planning a holiday is imperative if things are to run smoothly and, especially for families who are on a budget, even small details are crucial to its success.

One of the most important components in the planning stage is figuring out what type of family travel insurance you need. While there are myriad options to choose from, this doesn’t automatically make the process easier – on the contrary, it might even cause confusion to some when searching for the right policy. This is why it’s so crucial to ask the right questions, starting with the following.

Do Pregnant Women Get Automatic Coverage?

When it comes to family travel insurance, pregnant women are considered high risk – especially those who are already in their third trimester. But being pregnant doesn’t necessarily mean not being able to travel at all – it just means that you may need to observe more caution. (The rules, of course, vary depending on insurance providers.) If you’ve already purchased an annual family policy, if you’re pregnant you might be able to get at least partial coverage (such as basic medical assistance) in select destinations. However, for a more thorough coverage, it’s still best to update any existing policies and include flight cancellation or, if possible, comprehensive healthcare service abroad in case the baby comes early. Naturally, it might be a little more expensive than normal rates, but given the situation, getting a good policy is imperative.

Can You Cancel or Postpone For Any Reason?

This is one of the first questions that need to be cleared up. Basic family travel insurance may have coverage for flight cancellations due to inclement weather or terrorist threats in the city or country destination; however, there are many more possible reasons why you may need to cancel or at least postpone flights, and these possibilities need to be addressed accordingly. For instance, if a family member (especially a child) suffers a medical emergency on the day of the flight, everybody’s flights would need to be cancelled as well. While perfectly understandable, there are some companies that will not refund the entire cost of the plane tickets. Specifying this possibility before buying your policy could at least ensure a partial refund in the event of cancellations for any reason.

Does Your Policy Include Collision Coverage?

Some people think that travelling to another country means mainly public transport or walking everywhere. This might be true for short trips and relatively short distances between towns in some countries, but when planning a month-long holiday with the entire family, it often makes more sense to rent a car in order to be able to get around conveniently. This is where the collision coverage comes in handy in a family travel insurance policy. However, as much as it offers convenience, driving abroad also has its risks. Getting cover for any vehicular damages due to collision is a great idea, however this needs to be on top of an already existing medical policy covering any injuries sustained.

Introduction to Consular Services

When you plan an international trip, you need to use consular services. These services assist you to get all the necessary documentation for any kind of travel planned. Since different kind of international trips require different kinds of documentation, consular services cater to all kinds of requirements.

Since the field is so vast, it makes sense to define it in terms of potential activities – Do’s and Don’ts – that are typically needed for international travel. Embassy support is essential during any international travel. More often than not, it may not always be required. However, in case of any event, they can:

• Provide you with replacement travel documents
• Offer travel-related information, advice and consular assistance
• Notify next-to-kin or family emergency contact in case of death, arrest, accident or any form of medical emergency hospitalization.
• Arrange visitation rights with an arrested national
• Support fair and humane treatment of the arrested citizen as per local legal system
• Liaise with the local judicial, police and prison system to provide the information and obtain a official lawyer for the arrested national
• Provide non-financial assistance in case of repatriation, medical emergency or professional attention
• Provide all possible support in the event of civil unrest or natural disaster
• Register a citizen’s birth abroad

There are limitations to embassy services, though. You know, you can’t do everything that you do so easily in your own country. International travellers are bound by quite a few limitations. Here are some services that an Embassy or consulate cannot provide to its citizens:

• Travel booking, postal or banking services
• The foreign exchange services
• The local legal advice or assistance such as posting bails, negotiating special treatment or early release from prison, intervening in local civic or commercial disputes, etc.
• The employment services – arrangement of the local accommodation, translator services, forward mail address or other professional or personal services
• Criminal investigation
• Financial support in terms of loans, stand as guarantor, cashing cheques, paying medical or hospital bills, etc.

These are very generic and standard details. In other words, the support any Embassy or consulate can extend depends on a lot of specific factors such as the foreign policy of the nation, the foreign relations with the particular country and the local support available. It may seem irrelevant to many international travellers. But, you must take them into account as medical, financial, legal or other emergencies are not planned occasions.