Travel Insurance for Families – The Cost of NOT Purchasing
Family holidays are usually treasured memories for both parents and children. Despite the inevitable horror stories, travel while children are young has some enormous benefits – in learning tolerance and respect for other cultures while they are still in their formative years; the potential for language learning while still young, and even practical positives like the fact that children under 2 generally fly internationally for free. However the potential for trouble is also compounded when there are children involved, with their smaller, fragile bodies and unpredictability. In the sage words of the Australian government, if you can’t afford family travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel. Here we look at how family travel insurance differs from regular singles or adult travel insurance, and the potential cost of not purchasing it.
Family travel insurance differs from the ordinary variety in that it must cover every member of your family, and is therefore often more expensive. You’ll find that most providers give a discount over what the applicable single rates would be – you won’t have to pay four times the single rate if there are four members of your family. You may feel discouraged when looking at your family travel insurance quote – simply remember to shop around and find the best price that meets your needs. Remember that the same disclosure obligations apply to every member of your family. You will need to let your travel insurance provider know about any pre-existing conditions for every member or your family, and anything that a reasonable person would expect to affect the likelihood of making an insurance claim.
If you are travelling with young children (under 8 years of age), having a family travel insurance policy that covers medical events is especially necessary. In most states children’s mandatory vaccinations are not completed until around age 8, and some of the diseases that have been ‘vaccinated away’ in Australia are still quite prevalent in less developed countries. These include tuberculosis, diphtheria, measles and polio. You will need to make sure that any medications that apply to your children are legal in the country you are visiting – even family travel insurance cannot cover all costs incurred by breaking the law (whether knowingly or unknowingly).
Even in countries that are considered relatively developed and safe, family travel insurance is a necessity to protect against crime. Parents who have their attention and hands occupied with caring for children are more vulnerable to pickpockets and petty thieves. It may not only be your clothing and cameras that are stolen – it may be important medication for your children that you don’t have the prescription for, or it may be your airline tickets.
If you are travelling with older children, make sure you are especially informed of local laws, and that they are also. Children can be subject to adult penalties for legal infringements from quite a young age in some countries, and some legal infringements may be activities that would be completely innocuous in Australia.
