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Travel with Tessa

Top 10 Tips
On The Road (Part 2): Taking care of yourself and your stuff

  1. Trips involving airfare, hotels, tours, etc. can be costly. Protect yourself against financial loss should you get sick or injured either before or during your trip. Purchase trip cancellation insurance.
  2. Check what dollar amount your policy will pay for lost luggage, for damaged luggage, for missed connections, for trip delay, trip cancellation and interruption.
  3. Make sure you read your policy and I mean REALLY READ IT!
    1. Read the exclusions.
    2. Read the conditions under which they will pay.
    3. Note the small print – little words and sentences – that can make a BIG difference as to whether they will pay or not. Example: Having ORIGINAL receipts of purchases for your lost, stolen or damaged items when the items are over a certain dollar value; for reimbursement of additional expenses incurred by you due to trip delay – expenses must be accompanied by receipts and must be considered reasonable.
  4. Some insurance policies provide non-insurance benefits with their policies. Know what they are by reading your policy and communicating with the insurer if you have questions. These benefits may include identity theft; travel assistance; travel medical assistance etc.
  5. Medical expenses, dental, and emergency evacuation insurance can be combined with your trip cancellation and interruption coverage in one policy. Again, make sure you read and understand the coverage, and the limitations.  I highly recommend having a comprehensive travel insurance policy.
  6. Medjet Assist: In the event of a serious medical situation, Medjet Assist will airlift you in a private plane with a qualified doctor and nurses, back home to the door of the hospital of your choice.
  7. Pay the extra cost at the airport to get your checked luggage ‘shrink’ wrapped. It just makes it less appealing for thieves to choose your suitcase.
  8. Place a colored strap around your suitcase and tie some ribbon around the handle. This helps you to easily identify your luggage at baggage claim and reduces the likelihood of someone else mistaking your luggage for theirs.
  9. When traveling from one destination to another, always attach a luggage I.D. tag that gives the address of the place you will be staying at, and an email address and telephone number. This helps when your luggage doesn’t make a flight or goes missing. It doesn’t help to have your home address if you’re going to be traveling for the next four weeks.
    1. Take a photo of your suitcase just before you check it. Make sure it shows the make of the suitcase. If your suitcase goes missing the better you can describe it, the better your chances are of having it located and forwarded to you.
    2. Always, Always, look after your baggage claim ticket until you have recovered your baggage. At check-in, the airline staff often attach them to your boarding pass and these get lost on the airplane under your seat, on the floor, in the seat pockets. Being able to give the airline the tracking number, helps enormously.