If you have a homeowners or renters insurance policy, your luggage is protected against certain dangers, such as theft, while you travel.

You only have health insurance when you are injured or sick while in the United States. Outside the United States, you need travel insurance or additional medical assistance.

Your auto insurance only covers you while in the continental U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada if you rent a car or scooter.

Whether you’re on the road, hopping on a plane or taking a cruise, hopefully you’re relaxing and having fun! But what happens if your trip is interrupted by bad weather or an unforeseen illness? Travel insurance policy and specialized medical coverage can put your mind at ease from the moment you book your flight.

For those leaving the United States, there are two broad types of travel-related coverage:

Should a trip be canceled, interrupted, or postponed, travel insurance covers the loss of the prepaid travel costs. It can also compensate for unforeseen expenses caused by a sudden change in travel plans due to illness or other reasons.

When someone is outside the United States, specialized medical coverage protects them against life insurance risks.

Passengers can purchase insurance policy that will compensate them for “prepaid, unused, non-refundable trips if their trip is canceled or interrupted for any covered reason.”

bad weather conditions, an unforeseen illness and a delay in a passenger’s trip.

If a traveler becomes ill during a trip, trip interruption insurance can provide reimbursement for extra food and lodging costs. Some plans cover medical expenses. A traveler’s trip delay insurance covers costs incurred when resuming a planned trip or returning home after being quarantined in another nation. Many times, these various coverage options are combined and sold in one package.

The hundreds of millions of American residents who travel outside the United States each year could have adequate temporary health insurance. According to Clements International, a provider of international insurance policies, those who travel outside of America may be going beyond the boundaries of their medical insurance without knowing it.

If travelers are traveling outside of the United States for an extended vacation or business trip, they may want to think about short-term medical insurance. To determine if it is necessary, check if a domestic health insurance policy covers travel outside the country. If not, short-term medical insurance provides coverage for illnesses or medical evacuation while traveling outside the United States.

International travelers face the same insurance risks (and occasionally more) when out of the country. When someone travels for an extended period of time, their US-issued life policy may not be available in the same form. As part of the travel planning process, check on the validity of life insurance coverage.

Moving Out

Five things you should know

Most homeowners require you to have homeowners or renters insurance. Since your apartment has secondhand furniture, you may not think you need insurance. However, the landlord is worried about the damage you may cause to the common areas or other units, so you need to have liability insurance. The homeowners or renters policy includes civil liability insurance.

Every roommate needs their own renter’s policy to cover their personal property and provide liability coverage for any negligence.

Your landlord/tenant policy has specific restrictions on jewelry, cameras, musical instruments, and other collectibles. Check with your insurer to make sure all your belongings are covered. Some items require additional coverage or a separate policy.

Keep an inventory of your personal property and receipts for valuable items, as you will need a record of damaged items when submitting a claim to the insurance company. You can also take pictures or videos of the things you have in your apartment. Remember to keep inventory and documentation in a safe place outside.

Ask for Personal Property Replacement Cost endorsement to be included in your policy. A small premium is required by most insurance providers to add this coverage to replace damaged property after a loss. If you don’t have this endorsement, the amount you pay after a loss is reduced by the age and depreciation of the item. This is called current cash value or ACV.

Renters insurance offers the same personal property coverage and liability protection as homeowners insurance. Personal property includes belongings in your home or apartment, as well as items personally used, owned, used and carried by you. When your home is damaged and being repaired, liability protection offers legal rights to others and additional costs for you to temporarily reside elsewhere. If you go out and leave the stove on and an ensuing fire causes extensive damage to the whole building, you may be held liable to the landlord. Because you are not insuring a building, renters insurance is surprisingly inexpensive. The insurance company considers the value of your property and other risk factors before calculating your insurance.

fire or flame

Wind or noise explosions

noise or civil disturbance

Aircraft

Smoke theft or vandalism (sometimes known as embezzlement)

falling objects

Defrosting a plumbing system, heating, air conditioning or any other home installation system of this type

The weight of snow, snow or ice

Personal property coverage is available worldwide. Therefore, if you travel to Europe and take clothes, cameras and other items with you, your home insurance protects you from losing them. Naturally, whatever caused the loss, whether your neighbor’s property or yours, must be a cause of loss in another country.

Liability protection also extends far beyond the borders of your home or dwelling. Even if the incident occurs while you are on vacation, you would be covered if you are legally at fault for injury or loss to another individual. Personal liability coverage has limits and exclusions. For example, you are not protected for intentional damage or injury. If a fight with a neighbor turns violent and you end up hitting him, your insurance will not cover the injury or any resulting lawsuit.

A homeowners policy includes a deductible that applies to any loss to covered property. The minimum deductible amount is $250, but this amount can increase, which could result in lower insurance rates.

Payments for Medical Care to Others

It is important not to confuse this coverage with medical payments coverage under the personal auto policy (PAP). In the case of PAP, the insured and the people traveling in the insured vehicle receive medical payment. In homeowners, it is completely the opposite. This section of your homeowner’s policy does not apply to anyone included in the definition of “insurance,” but it does apply to other people who visit your home. A typical insured is you (named insured) and your family members who reside with you in your home. You wouldn’t have medical coverage, but your guests would. The purpose of medical payments coverage under the homeowners policy is to provide a level of protection against accidents.

The initial limit for this coverage is $1,000, but can be increased through policy approval. It is not necessary to establish legal liability for medical payments for them to apply. Currently, voluntary payment of medical expenses hopes to persuade someone injured not to suffer.