Everything You Need to Know About Family Travel Insurance

It’s dull but necessary: family travel insurance is something you should think about when you plan a trip that at least involves booking a hotel and a flight. It protects you from two main events that are more possible with kids than without:

1) Trip Cancellation or Interruption Insurance:

Little Duncan’s been looking a bit off-color all week but the red spots that appear the day before departure confirm that it is none other than chickenpox. Yep. Trip canceled. Similarly, your 11-year old contracts malaria on an African safari and you are pretty sure you want to head home and complete her treatment there. Trip interrupted. The right insurance can save you some money instead of forfeiting what you already paid for, in addition to your vacation dreams.

2) Medical Insurance:

In the unfortunate circumstance in which one of your family members does require hospitalization or emergency care, medical coverage will prevent you from having to pay exorbitant fees out of pocket. Some family insurance plans may also cover adult care for your children should anything happen to you or your partner while traveling. (Isn’t this fun?!).

Other Reasons To Buy Family Travel Insurance:

Other reasons to consider insurance that are not restricted to family per se are weather protection (you have the misfortune of hitting the Caribbean just when a major storm does), personal goods protection (that $300 camera with the $2000 lens might be worth insuring especially since things seem to break and get lost so much easier with kids around), missed connection protection (again, things like this didn’t happen when it was just the two of us), and baggage protection (airlines will cover an issue with their service but this is in case the luggage is lost in a taxi, hotel or the like). If you are particularly weary of international travel, insurance will also give you peace of minding knowing that most plans include 24/7 assistance for emergencies. And finally, if you are the thrill-seeker type, you may want to consider outdoors or hazardous activity insurance. (We should have had that when we took the plane in the pic above).

Things to Watch Out For When Buying Family Travel Insurance:

1) The famous list of “exclusions”: Often the list will exclude things that occur out of negligence (“the child was carrying the camera” is an example). Make sure you know what else is not covered before you sign up.
2) The age of family members covered: Some plans will not cover babies ie. children under a certain age so read up and make sure all your family members are eligible. Similarly, if you are traveling with seniors, you may need to buy additional coverage (another reason to take the nanny instead!).

Finally, cost is important but it cannot be the primary driver of this decision. Quality service from a reputable institution will ensure that your money is well-spent and your family is taken care of. Check with your local travel agent on recommended providers or do some research on the internet. One way or another, it’s worth spending a minute on.

Watch this brief video on things to consider when purchasing family travel insurance:

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