Most people don’t think of what might happen if they become ill or have an accident while on holiday. Travelers may find that their insurance does not cover them when they travel away from home resulting in their insurance claims being denied.
No one wants to have an accident while on a holiday, but it does happen. When it does you may not be able to gather information at the scene that will help in getting your insurance claims paid. The most important thing is to get treatment if you are seriously injured and not worry about anything else.
PAPERWORK
Get a copy of the accident report filed by the police department and submit it along with your claim, keeping a copy for yourself. Keep copies of everything when submitting a claim for holiday accidents so that you have a back-up if the insurance company says they never received the information. Keep track of any calls you make to the insurance company about the holiday accident claim. Write down the date of the call, the person at the agency that spoke with you and a summary of the phone discussion. If any of the claim is denied and you did exactly as the agent told you to do on the phone, and you can prove you did what you were told. If at all possible, send a photo of the accident with the claim. If the accident was caused by stopping for a cow in the road, take a cell phone photo and send it along with the claim. Also send any written information that was gathered from witnesses and other people that were involved. Never sign anything given to you until you read it through completely.
EXCEPTIONS
A holiday claim for an illness occurring in another country, state or province, might not be covered completely. Some providers may not take insurance coverage from someone that comes from another region or country. Even within the United States, a person that has insurance in Pennsylvania might not be totally covered when traveling on holiday to Texas. The providers may be considered “out-of-network” and the policy holder will have to pay more for using them. Contact your insurance company before traveling to find out where you can go to receive service in the vacation region. This will go far in getting claims paid quickly and completely.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
Many insurance companies provide temporary travel insurance to those on holiday. This eliminates all worries because the insurance is specific to an area and conditions of the holiday site. It also pays for transportation home if a holiday accident occurs. This is especially important when travelling overseas, but even those traveling within their own country may consider travel insurance. Purchase travel insurance for the activities being done on vacation. If you are injured deep sea diving in the tropics and this was not something covered on the policy, it will be hard to get the claim paid. Having the right type of insurance while traveling is essential to having a wonderful, care-free holiday, and keeping documentation of the accident or illness will go far in making your claim go through much easier.
David a retired UK teacher advises using irwinmitchell.com for any holiday accident claims or illness that happens whilst traveling abroad.
