Things to Know Before Your Travel
If you're seeking travel life insurance, then you should take some vital steps to investigate your situation first. As a U.S. Citizen, you have access to the State Department's list of travel advisories (www.travel.state.gov). This list provides the most recent risky places to travel due to political instability, domestic terrorism, health advisories, and more. Chances are that most travel insurance companies use these advisories before approving a travel life policy. You should also check with your current life insurance provider, if any, or even your employer or travel agency. Often, previously planned trips or flights may include modest to moderate travel life insurance coverage.
If you've taken all of these steps, you should next assess the best policy for you. Are you traveling for a few weeks, or are you staying for a longer term? Are you teaching abroad? Some plans, including the International Teacher Identification Card, provide coverage for a variety of things including repatriation of remains, accidental death and dismemberment, and more. Another option is MedEx (which costs around $4.00 a day, on average, for $100,000 of coverage).
Short-term Travel Insurance
International SOS is one company that provides short-term insurance for travel, but unfortunately, this coverage is only for emergency medical care and health coverage. International travel insurance programs often include both health and life coverage in one hybrid type of insurance. In any case, the term is usually from 1-14 days for these short-term plans, so if you're planning on being abroad for more than two weeks, then you might want to look into more permanent coverage. Still, these plans are a great option for tourists.