If you are traveling, alone or with your family, it is essential that you get adequate risk cover for everyone. Travel insurance is a must, since it covers you for all exigencies during your trip.

If you are traveling with your family, you should take a family travel insurance plan that covers your spouse and children. In case you have an extended family, you can go for either the extended family plans or the group travel plans. These work out to be far cheaper than individual coverage plans. However, the actual policy that a travel company offers would depend on the number of members traveling with you.

In case you have missed out on an extended plan, do read the offer document carefully and check if your family members are included in the plan. Since the insurance companies look out for ways and means for offering less for more, it is up to you to ensure that you have adequate insurance and that you have seen and checked the fine print in the offer document, something that most of us miss to do.

To ensure that you are getting value for your money, read the exclusions and restriction clauses carefully. Some of the common exclusions are sporting risks like bungee jumping, mountaineering, etc., recurring treatments, particular age groups and specific cases of pregnancies. The standard policies also exclude use of alcohol and drugs, any terminal illness not reported at time of taking the policy, self-inflicted injury, AIDS, etc. If you are a sports freak, please have a look at the extreme sports insurance cover. Though the premium will depend on the activities included and the provisos, it will cover you while you enjoy your favorite sport. However, check for the exclusions here also.

If you have read these terms and conditions carefully, it will help you if you need to file a claim. Since the insurance company looks for the smallest of the reasons to disqualify your claim, it is in your interest to know what is covered and what is excluded and also the correct procedure for making a claim. Be sure that you send a completed claim form along with all the relevant receipts including medical reports, police reports and others, to ensure that your claim is processed in your favor. Since the insurance company will look out specifically for false and misleading information in the exclusions and also the paperwork submitted with the claim, it will help if you have read and understood all the procedures beforehand.

Misfortune can strike anyone. Even a seemingly innocuous activity like camping can turn dangerous since you are staying outdoors and there may be wild creatures in that part of the country! Hence it is better to be safe than to be sorry afterwards. If you are a frequent traveler, you can opt for an annual plan. And if you travel once in a while, you can take the temporary policies that cover you for the duration of your travel. Whatever the case, it is prudent to be insured and wise to know the details of your policy.