Travel Insurance - Why it's important

When traveling abroad I always purchase travel insurance.  As you know, most companiew in America only cover you while you are in the 50 states.  Coverage insurance covers you ONLY  while you leave the states but gives me and my family significant peace of mind.



Travel Insurance

This year I traveled to Britain for 12 days and wanted to make sure I was covered against any type of accident that could easily happen while in the London, UK area.  I used InsureMyTrip.com to compare different coverages from multiple sites and then decide on a company.  I ended up going with HCC Medical Services and was happy to pay the low fare of only $16.57 that included coverage of the following:

Trip Interruption $5,000 max.
Travel Baggage $250
Medical $50,000 
Complications of Pregnancy First 26 weeks of pregnancy only
Terrorism $50,000 max.
Dental Included in Medical
Emergency Medical Evacuation $500,000 max.
Lifetime Limit
24-Hour Emergency Assistance Yes
Sudden Recurrence of Pre-Existing Conditions
Acute Onset $15,000
Medical, $25,000
Medical Evac.
Pre-Existing Condition Period 2 Years
Renewable Yes Insurance
Company Lloyd's
A.M. Best Rating A
Refund Policy Varies by Request Date
Accidental Death - 24-Hour $25,000 max.
Accidental Death - Common Carrier $50,000 max.
Accidental Death - Flight Included in Accidental Death - Common Carrier Policy Fulfillment
 Email Additional Options $0 ded.
Additional Notes $100/day; 5 day max. Natural Disaster Benefit Included

So basically this policy covered me up to $50,000 for stuff and would include an emergency flight home if I needed it.  Having the accidental death was nice BUT not the reason I bought it since I already carry over 1 million of that on myself.  It's also nice to have dental included incase an accident includes a face injury.  Most people don't realize that your mouth is considered a whole different "medical" problem. I also believe in getting companies that have an A.M. policy of A or higher, this ensures that my claim comes from a company with the money to pay it. I also chose the policy because it trip interruption and travel baggage protection.  These are my 2 common occurences on flights and I don't want to be hassled with the expense of dealing with it ON TOP of my time to deal with it.

Hope this helps you and if you have any other tips when you buy insurance to travel I would love to hear them.

The Educational Tourist - why I am different

I consider myself an educated tourist.  I use airbnb for most of my travel accommodations and try to live with the locals to truly get a feel for a new city or area while traveling for business abroad.  I have been in hostels, shared rooms with families, crashed with business partners in their homes, and even found vendors at conferences with open hotel rooms because an employee had to leave early for some reason or another.

I also discovered tourists are always willing to take photos of you IF you kindly take a nice photo of them first.  I love traveling the off beaten paths of metro cities and discovering the little gems that usually only locals know about.  I tend to avoid the high traffic tourist attractions and wander down the side roads on my early morning jobs to discover the real life and breath of a city.

David Patterson in London capturing a pic with
Big Ben, Red Phone Booth, and Red Double Decker Buses