{"id":33399,"date":"2019-06-18T15:01:10","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T19:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=33399"},"modified":"2021-04-26T18:56:37","modified_gmt":"2021-04-26T22:56:37","slug":"everything-students-need-to-know-about-travel-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/everything-students-need-to-know-about-travel-insurance\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything Students Need to Know About Travel Insurance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The United Nations estimates 20% of all\ninternational tourists, nearly 200 million travelers, are young people\ngenerating more than $180 billion in annual tourism revenue. <\/strong>Between\nsemesters studying abroad, volunteering overseas during breaks from school, and\nonce-in-a-lifetime post-graduation trips, student travelers are taking the\ninternational world by storm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During these\ntrips abroad, many students hop from one city or country to the next. Unfortunately,\nbeing a world traveler comes with risks, and it\u2019s important for students to be\ninformed, prepared, and protected before leaving the country. That means\npurchasing travel insurance. Many schools, visa programs, and countries require\ntravelers to provide proof of coverage upon arrival. But what is travel\ninsurance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a few different types of travel insurance policies. Trip insurance policies help you recuperate nonrefundable prepaid expenses of a trip. Each plan will come with its own list of specific triggers but typically things such as sickness, death, weather, and travel provider issues \u2014 such as a strike or financial default \u2014 are covered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travel medical insurance protects against unexpected medical expenses that a customer\u2019s standard health insurance may not cover once they depart from their home country. Most plans include 24\/7 travel assistance services to help locate medical facilities, arrange for emergency medical evacuations, and help with a wide variety of travel situations and emergencies that can occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Study Abroad\nPrograms<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Four\nand a half million students are currently studying abroad, according to Go Abroad<\/a>. While studying in a foreign country can be an exciting and educational\ntime for students, U.S. students living overseas often mistakenly believe their\ndomestic health insurance plan will continue to provide coverage outside of\ntheir home country. Some domestic plans do not provide any coverage when you\ntravel abroad, and often, if there is coverage, it is limited to life-threatening\nillnesses or injuries. Additionally, there is typically no benefit for an\nemergency medical evacuation or repatriation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most schools\nin the United States require health insurance plans that are compliant with the\nAffordable Care Act (ACA), but these plans do not always provide the benefits a\nstudy abroad student needs and are often expensive. For example, a student\ntraveling to the U.S. on a J1 visa must have a minimum of $50,000 for emergency\nmedical evacuation and $25,000 for Repatriation of Remains. An ACA plan is not\nlikely to include these coverages. Investing in a travel medical insurance\nprogram is the best option to ensure a student\u2019s safety and security. Many of\nthese schools allow an international student to get an exemption from\npurchasing the school sponsored plan as long as they can show proof of a\ncomparable benefit plan such as Travel Medical Insurance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteer\nprograms<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Volunteering\nabroad is a rewarding and amazing experience. However, making being prepared for anything that might arise will\nhelp the volunteer work remain the main focus of the trip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The type of travel insurance needed\nwhen volunteering often depends on the length of the trip and the destination. Often,\nshort-term volunteers, such as those volunteering over spring break, utilize\nthe time to travel either before or after their volunteer period to see other\nparts of their destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what kind of plan is needed when\nit\u2019s both work and play? Always start with trip protection. This includes any money\nprepaid for the trip such as deposits for accommodations, tours or excursions,\nand travel arrangements like airfare. If something happens to prevent the trip,\nthe money already spent on the trip may be lost. That\u2019s why travel insurance is\nso important. It can cover travelers for a variety of reasons including canceling,\ninterrupting, or delaying their trip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graduation travel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A 2016 study found that about 50 percent of millennial\ntravelers<\/a> are globe-trotting after high\nschool and college topursue higher education, <\/strong>volunteer, <\/strong>and\nstudy a foreign language. Additionally, travel is found to have an overwhelmingly\npositive impact<\/a> on\n18- to 35-year-old travelers and nontravelers around the world, from their\ncareers to their self-confidence. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While students might be freed from the responsibilities of finals and term papers after graduation, they aren\u2019t free from the financial responsibilities of all that traveling. It can be 12 times more expensive to spend the night in a hospital abroad than a five-star luxury hotel according to Finder.com. In order to avoid that hefty cost, recent grads should avoid the most common traveling mistake: failing to purchase travel insurance. The benefits include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n