Family Travel Insurance
A family vacation is no small endeavor. You want to plan the best trip for your family while also ensuring everyone stays safe and healthy while you’re away. That’s why getting a family travel insurance policy before you leave for your family trip is absolutely essential. When kids are involved, you want to minimize uncertainty and always have a plan in case something goes wrong.
What You Need to Know About Family Travel Insurance
What Family Travel Insurance Covers
Types of Benefits to Consider When Purchasing Family Travel Insurance
Benefits of Family Travel Insurance
Family Travel Insurance and Pregnancy
The Cost of Family Travel Insurance
Why Choose Family Travel Insurance?
Tips for Choosing a Travel Family Insurance Plan
FAQs
Redpoint Travel Protection Offers Comprehensive Family Travel Insurance Plans
What You Need to Know About Family Travel Insurance
Family travel insurance is a policy you can take out on behalf of all your family members before you go on a trip. Some travel insurance companies will allow you to add children who are under a certain age to your policy for free, as long as they’re traveling on the same itinerary as their parent.
At Redpoint, we don’t cover family members specifically; we cover travel companions, who, of course, can be family members — and often are.
We define a traveling companion as a person whose name appears with yours on the same travel arrangements and who, during the trip, shares your accommodations. A group or tour organizer, sponsor, or leader wouldn’t qualify, unless you’re bunking together in the same room, cabin, condominium unit, apartment unit or other lodging.
What Family Travel Insurance Covers
Family travel insurance plans can cover a range of unforeseen circumstances and mishaps, from lost or damaged baggage and disruptions to your planned itinerary to medical coverage and emergency evacuation. You’ll want to make sure you’re buying a comprehensive travel insurance policy that covers everything from the minor to the catastrophic.
If your family travels together often, you might consider taking out an annual family travel insurance plan, which will cover you for multiple trips in a given year.
Types of Benefits to Consider When Purchasing Family Travel Insurance
Families need a family travel insurance plan that includes all the standard benefits of a travel insurance policy. A good plan will typically include the following travel insurance benefits.
Travel Medical
Should you or a family member have an illness or accident while you’re on your trip, you may need to seek medical attention. Travel medical insurance should reimburse you for any medical care you need to seek while you’re abroad or emergency medical expenses that you incur.
Remember that your primary insurance from home typically won’t cover you if you’re out of network or overseas, so travel medical expense coverage is essential on a trip with your entire family.
Emergency Evacuation
Emergency medical evacuation coverage is necessary if you or someone in your family needs to be transported to seek urgent medical care. This is particularly important if you are traveling to a remote place that has limited medical facilities.
Trip Interruption
Trip-interruption insurance is useful if you have to end your trip early or before you planned due to an unforeseen event. Trip-interruption coverage should reimburse you for any parts of your trip you’ve already paid for that you won’t get to experience due to interruption.
Trip Delay
If your trip is delayed due to missed connections, an airline mishap, or other covered reason, trip-delay coverage will help cover any additional costs that you’ve incurred or alternative bookings that need to be made.
Trip Cancellation
Sometimes your long-awaited trip just doesn’t happen for reasons out of your control. Trip-cancellation insurance means you’ll get your trip costs refunded if your trip is canceled for one of your insurance company’s covered reasons. It’s a way to protect your initial trip deposit.
Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR)
While this is usually an optional add-on to a travel insurance policy, it’s a useful one when traveling with a family. It allows you to cancel for any reason — even personal preference — up to 48 hours before departure. Life with kids can be chaotic and unpredictable, and cancel for any reason coverage has you covered.
Baggage and Personal Effects
Traveling with a big family means a lot of baggage. This benefit covers you for costs incurred due to baggage delay or lost baggage. This can include buying replacement clothes and personal items for your family, and any equipment you were traveling with.
Benefits of Family Travel Insurance
Buying a family travel insurance policy gives you the peace of mind that everyone in your family is covered under one policy if something goes wrong during your trip.
Your travel insurance company will also likely have an emergency assistance line, which means you’ll have a point of contact should you need advice or urgent help. This can be extremely useful if you need to seek medical care or have a situation that requires emergency medical evacuation. Redpoint’s emergency line is +1-415-481-0600.
Health & Safety
As a parent, of course your number one priority is keeping your entire family safe and healthy, whether you’re at home or traveling. Buying family travel insurance means you’re covered for common mishaps that can happen while you’re on a trip, from losing your luggage and car seats to urgently needing to see a doctor for antibiotics or a broken arm. It’s one important step you don’t want to miss before you take off on a family vacation.
Family Travel Insurance and Pregnancy
If you are pregnant and just starting your family, you need insurance that covers pregnancy, but you don’t necessarily need a family travel insurance plan. Most travel insurance plans don’t treat pregnancy as a pre-existing condition, so you should be able to get an individual policy that will cover unforeseen or emergency treatment related to your pregnancy.
The Cost of Family Travel Insurance
Pricing for family travel insurance plans will vary depending on the nature of your trip, your destination, and how long you are traveling for. It may also vary depending on how many members of your family you want to add for your plan.
To keep the cost down, you can look out for a travel insurance provider who offers free coverage for children who you add to your plan. As a rule of thumb, you are looking to spend five to 10 percent of your upfront trip cost.
Why Choose Family Travel Insurance?
The reason for choosing family travel insurance is simple: Things can easily go wrong when you’re on the road, especially if you’re traveling with multiple kids. Emergency medical costs can be astronomical, so you want to embark on your trip knowing you’re covered in case you need it — and with Redpoint, you’re always in good hands.
Tips for Choosing a Travel Family Insurance Plan
- Ensure Comprehensive Coverage: Make sure your plan has all the coverage types you may need. This might include trip cancellations and interruptions, medical emergencies, lost luggage, and delays for every family member.
- Check Age Restrictions: Some policies have age-based exclusions — especially for very old or very young travelers — so make sure everyone in your family will be covered.
- Pre-existing Condition Clauses: If any family member has a preexisting medical condition, be aware that you may need a waiver to receive coverage for this condition.
- Family Discounts: Some insurers offer discounts for families or group plans. Other insurers will include minors on your plan at no extra charge. It’s wise to compare pricing across different plans.
- Adventure Activity Coverage: If your family plans on adventurous activities, make sure the policy includes coverage for sports, like hiking, skiing, or water activities.
FAQs
Who Can be Included in Family Travel Insurance?
Some policies allow families of up to ten people to be included on one policy; Redpoint allows up to 8. There may be coverage limits or specifications that everyone must live at the same address.
Do Family Travel Insurance Plans Cover Individuals?
Yes, your policy will name each of your family members.
Are Pets Covered Under Family Travel Insurance?
Typically no, though some policies may offer a pet insurance plan as an add-on.
Are Pre-existing Medical Conditions Covered Under Family Travel Insurance?
Standard travel insurance coverage doesn’t usually include pre-existing medical conditions. However, it’s possible to get a waiver if someone in your family, such as a grandparent, has such a condition.
Are Adventure Sports Covered Under Family Travel Insurance?
Coverage for adventure travel is usually available as an add-on to a family travel insurance policy.
Can I Buy Family Travel Insurance After I’ve Booked a Trip?
Yes, but it’s a good idea to purchase your family travel insurance policies as soon as possible after booking your trip.
Redpoint Travel Protection Offers Comprehensive Family Travel Insurance Plans
Redpoint Travel Protection’s travel insurance plans are perfect for families who want comprehensive, easy-to-understand coverage. Contact us for a quote today.