Life Insurance in Travel Insurance: How Does it Work?
In addition to Trip Cancellation and Emergency Medical benefits, life insurance coverage is another concern for travelers. Depending on the policy, some travel insurance providers may already include life insurance benefits. They may also be offered as an additional upgrade to a travel insurance policy. There are three types of life insurance benefits which can be purchased separately or in combination with each other.
Life Insurance – Accidental Death – This benefit provides coverage for accidental loss of life or limb while traveling at any time during the trip. Keep in mind that this benefit only pays in the event of an accident. It typically doesn’t cover any loss resulting from Pre-Existing Conditions or self-inflicted injury.
Life Insurance – Common Carrier– Typically, this coverage pays in the event of death or dismemberment while traveling on ticketed public transportation. This can include planes, trains, cruise ships or buses.
Life Insurance – Air Flight Accident– This benefit provides coverage for accidental death or dismemberment during a flight only. A traveler would need to be a passenger on a regularly scheduled airline for benefits to apply.
If travelers select policies with all three life insurance options it does not mean they would receive multiple payouts. Instead, if an accidental death or dismemberment case were to fall under multiple categories, only the higher payout would be given.
As with any type of insurance plan, it is important to look closely at the policy’s Certificate of Insurance to understand what will be covered and what is excluded.