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Family Travel Insurance
Travel insurance that safeguards a trip is a good idea for anyone, but even more so for families with young children.
When your kids are small, you never know what the day many bring: for example, chicken pox, the day before you're leaving on a holiday.
Read tips about several types of travel insurance below.
Types of Travel Insurance
Trip Cancellation
If your seven-year-old gets chicken pox and you have to cancel your holiday, part or all of it may be non-refundable. Trip Cancellation Insurance will reimburse you for the non-refundable portions of your trip.
Trip Interruption
These policies reimburse you if your trip is cut short because one of the travelers has an accident or serious illness. You're also protected if you have to fly home because of a serious illness, or death, in your immediate family.
Note:
* policies for these types of travel insurance must sometimes be purchased at the time you buy your air tickets, or within a few days of purchase
* trip interruption travel insurance is usually much cheaper than trip cancellation coverage
* Club Med guests are required to buy a "membership" when booking a holiday; the good news is that certain travel insurance protection is provided too
Medical
Any Canadian family taking a trip in the US, take note: your provincial insurance will only pay as much as treatment would cost at home, so be sure to buy Out-of-Country coverage! Ask your travel agent, automobile association, credit card company, or financial institution. Year-round coverage may be your best choice.
For US residents, the medical insurance landscape is more complicated. Check with your health insurance provider, to make sure you're covered while on a trip.
Weather Guarantees
Many families vacation happily in these the Caribbean during the long Hurricane Season (June through Nov.), and benefit from "summer" price discounts. Still there are weather worries: even if the chance of a direct hit is small, tropical storms can cloud the skies in a wide radius. To encourage travelers, many resorts and holiday packagers offer Weather Guarantees.
Other types of travel insurance
Flight life insurance, accident insurance, lost baggage insurance, collision damage coverage for car rentals, are all possibilities.
* the Insure My Trip site gives comparisions for many different types of travel insurance, from a number of major companies.
Tip : if you're traveling with a laptop or digital camera, ask your household insurance company what the "deductible" is: often this amount is several hundreds dollars. See if it can be reduced to zero by paying a modest sum to separately "schedule" a particular item.
By Teresa Plowright, About.com
