You will need travel insurance when you plan to volunteer abroad. Most companies that organize travel trips insist or recommend you having travel insurance. Travel insurance is an insurance that is intended to cover medical expenses, financial and other losses incurred while travelling. Travel insurance can be gotten directly from insurance companies, travel agents and travel suppliers. The insurance covers student travel, business travel, leisure travel, adventure travel, cruise travel and international travel. Buying travel insurance is tricky especially when finding the right plan for you that will cover you extensively. Travel insurance covers you against risks such as severe weather, last minute cancellations, terrorist attacks, emergency/accidental care, and travel delays, missed connections, lost baggage etc. Most people buy travel insurance so that they are medically covered when they are abroad; they don’t want to lose money due to cancellations and others want to prevent losing their luggage and travel documents. There are various companies to buy travel insurance from depending on your location, price and what you want. Some insurance companies provide travel insurance which is niche specific where they specialize in student travel; others offer simple policies for everyday travelers, some offer just medical insurance or evacuation plans. Depending on what plan you want there are generally two types of plans which are package plans and travel medical plans. When planning to buy travel insurance consider the following: Trip Cancellation insurance Trip cancellation coverage provides reimbursement for lost travel expenses if you need to cancel your trip. Unexpected events like sickness, death, severe weather, industrial strike, terrorist incidents, something happens to your destination residence, theft of travel documents like passports, financial default by tour operator, and you may be needed back at work. Trip cancellation insurance is important because some volunteer abroad fees are expensive which can go up to $ 5,000. With some organizations you are asked to plan early in advance in order to confirm a place with them. In such a situation during the period of waiting a lot can happen and you may need to cancel your trip. Also volunteer abroad programs involve a lot of several stops and connections and they have a higher risk of problems and things to go wrong. Trip cancellation is important as you may choose to volunteer as a group or as a family and you may need to cancel because one of you may fall sick. This will save the money that could have been lost. Depending on the insurance company you use, they each have a number of reasons for you to cancel and they will reimburse you. Trip cancellation coverage should be bought early in advance to make sure you get the full benefits. Medical insurance Health insurance from your country only covers you while you are at home. When you decide to volunteer abroad you will need travel insurance. Travel insurance takes care of medical coverage while you are volunteering abroad. When you are abroad despite of the vaccinations you are given you are still prone to be infected by indigenous diseases. The coverage includes being taken to hospital, being treated, charges for hospital stays, the cost of drugs, and evacuation back to your home country. Medical insurance is important since when you are in a foreign country and you might know where the hospital is. Also they may be speaking in a foreign language and getting help might be a bit difficult. When you are evacuated back to your home country, they will take you straight to hospital for further treatment. When buying medical insurance, inform them of your preexisting conditions to make sure you are fully covered. Other advantages Travel insurance covers against lost or damage baggage. This happens a lot due to connecting many different flights. It also protects against your property being stolen. There are some occasions when you arrive at your destination and your baggage is delayed. The cover includes reimbursement of essential items like toiletries, and basic clothing. Some companies offer extra coverage on car rental damage protection, identity theft, and adventure travel coverage. Consult your travel agent on which is the best insurance company to use and what exactly they cover Examples of travel insurance companies There are many companies, travel agents and specialty travel companies that provide travel insurance. They vary greatly on price and what they offer or cover.

Clearly, not many people are faced with seeing their home burn down but damage and loss to your home can occur in many ways. Storms, gas explosion, vehicle accident and flood may spring to mind. But don’t forget that a thief will probably damage your house whilst gaining entry or might cause damage to your doors or decorations whilst ransacking your home. They may even try to steal the strangest of items – yes your toilet could even be on their shopping list!

If you have a leak, you’re responsible for having the leak repaired, but the structural damage caused by the leak will be covered by your Home Insurance. Often the cost of repairing a leak is small compared with the cost of repairing the damage caused. For example, a big problem can occur in the winter if the owners go away and a burst develops because of the cold. If the burst is in the roof, ceilings will come down and the water will damage a large part of the house. This happened to someone we know who returned after a Christmas break to find a stream of ice cascading from their front door. The house took two months to repair.

What else is covered? Falling trees, crashing cars, an aircraft landing on your house (or something falling from one), rampaging farm animals, earthquakes, explosions and lightening? Yes if your house is damaged you’re insured.

What about damage by vandals (insurance companies call them “malicious persons”) or a riot? Yes the structure of your home is well insured.

Are you covered for landslip, land heave or subsidence? Yes, and these can really cause major damage to your property. You are insured against all these perils but your insurer will want to know if your house is in an area known to be at risk from these problems. If you are, then these higher risks will be reflected by a higher premium.

Your Home Insurance cover allows you to claim for the cost of repairs or even the complete reconstruction of the property if it is damaged or made uninhabitable. If your home is rendered uninhabitable, most good policies will also allow you to claim for alternative accommodation during the repairs works.

When you consider the risks, no matter how remote some of them may seem, and the impact they’d have on you and your family, it’s best to be safe and insured.

And finally, if you have a mortgage, your mortgage provider will make it a condition of their loan that the property is insured and the insurance is maintained at all times. If you fail to do this, then they will probably require immediate repayment of the whole outstanding mortgage.

DUDUCTIBLES:

Today many agents are using substandard deductibles. For example in order to reduce the total premium a 2% or even 5% deductible will be placed on the policy. (Sometimes unknowingly to the consumer)
Example: If you receive a quote for a home insured for 5,000.00 with a 5% deductible; your responsibility would be ,750 before the insurance company would pay a penny.

CONTENT REPLACEMENT COSTS:

In order to lower the quoted premium significantly some agents are not including Replacement costs as part of the home owner’s policy.
If you suffer a loss do you want the insurance company to pay you the amount it takes to replace your loss at today’s cost or at the lower depreciated amount? Replacement!

IMPORTANT COVERAGE LEFT OUT:

Windstorm and Hail Coverage

We have seen quotes from a major carrier actually leaving out wind and hail coverage in homeowner insurance policies.
Living in Texas would you want a policy without Texas windstorm and Hail coverage? NO!

Discharge of Water

Discharge of water is also a coverage that some agents are leaving out of home owner policies.
Do you want the damage covered, if your hot water heater or a pipe bursts in you home causing thousands of dollars in damage? YES!

Back Up of Sewers and Drains

Are you covered if water backs up through a sewer or drain, or overflows from a sump pump?
Water backup can be caused by:
Blockages Due to Tree Roots
Blockage of Sanitary Main
Cracks in foundation leaks water into the basement

Foundation Coverage

Do you want the damage covered, if a waterline breaks under your foundation causing the foundation to sink
The foundation coverage endorsement is the most commen coverage left off Texas home insurance policies.

The internet is a great way to buy and sell products, but in this highly competitive market many agents will cut corners to quote the cheapest price. The problem is you may not realize that until it is too late.

Ask these questions before you purchase a Texas homeowners insurance policy:

How long has the agency been in business?
How many companies does the agent represent?
What kind of claim service does the company offer?
What deductibles is the agent quoting you?