Travel insurance necessary to protect yourselves during vacations — Allianz Malaysia
KUCHING: In an age where almost anyone can fly, anywhere, most of us still find it difficult to fork out an extra say RM20 for travel insurance.
What’s the worst that can happen, you think. Life is unpredictable, that’s for sure. And in purchasing travel insurance, you are protecting yourself from unforeseen circumstances. Imagine being seriously ill or gravely injured in a foreign country and not having the option for medical treatment or emergency evacuation. In hindsight, that RM20 would have been money well spent. “The first things we do when planning for a trip is to search for bargains on flight and hotels and you skimp on travel insurance because you think, ‘No, I’ll be fine, I’m just going for a few days’. “And if you travel frequently, you will find that most of the time, your travels go without a hitch. That does not mean that the threat is not real,” said Linda Lor, head of Digital Innovation and Special Projects, Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Bhd. Travel insurance comes in handy during travel or luggage delay.
“With travel insurance, you can reimburse your purchase of essentials such as clothing and toiletries due to luggage delay for more than six hours.
“Also, look for travel insurance that cover travel delay for various modes of transport including seagoing vessel, aircraft or train such as the Allianz Travel Care.”
When travelling on early flights, overbooked or close connecting flights, sometimes anything that could go wrong does go wrong. So safeguard your travel plans with a travel insurance that will compensate you should any of the above scenarios occur.
Meanwhile, adrenaline junkies should look for a policy that includes accidental death and permanent disablement, medical expenses, travel or luggage delay and also comes with an Emergency Medical Evacuation and Repatriation Programme, like the Allianz Travel Care which offers an Additional Sports as an optional rider covering sporting activities for as low as RM12.
“Certain travel destinations or travel period exposes you to possible natural disasters such as typhoons, flash floods, hurricane or earthquake,” she added.
“Travel insurance lets you obtain reimbursement should your trip be cancelled due to any of those disasters.”
Another situation is the loss of all your cash and passport. And it’s a double whammy when it happens to you in a foreign country where you do not know anyone or speak the language.
Most travel insurances will reimburse the reasonable cost of replacing your passport or travel documents.
“The common misconception is that all travel insurance is the same. It is actually not. So look for a policy that caters to your need and gives you maximum coverage for it,” added Lor.
“Through Allianz Travel Care, we offer simply the best value for customers with a comprehensive coverage that also includes loss or damages caused by fire and/or burglary (forcible entry only) of your vacant home whilst you are travelling.
“It is a surefire way to ensure you are protected before, during and after your trip. You can have your dream holiday because we will do all the worrying for you.”
To find out more about Allianz Travel Care, contact the Allianz Customer Service Associates at 1-300-88-1028 or by email at CustomerExperienceCentre@ allianz.com.my.