Insurance: Travel Horror stories And How Travel Insurance Will Save You

Travel insurance is largely overlooked, and it reminds me of one of my closest friends telling me how one of her bosses travelling from France came to Nigeria for work and her luggage was left behind in France and she had to go without, buying a few articles of clothing before her luggage came in. 

You have probably heard of one person’s luggage going missing or maybe it got broken into or something of the sort.

A tweet I saw the other day and this conversation with my friend prompted me to write this article for my Naija people who dey japa or maybe just going on a vacation to another county. 

How do you protect yourself in situations like this? How do you mitigate the financial losses that you might incur in the cases of missing pieces of luggage and any other issues that might come up as you travel whether internationally or domestically? 

Travel insurance is the answer to this question. Travel insurance is a type of insurance that is designed to protect travellers against risks and financial losses that could come about when you travel whether domestically in your country or internationally.

Why Is Travel Insurance Important

Some Nigerians don’t know about travel insurance and while some do, they don’t really place stock on its importance. They don’t see the use and need for it. It is usually a gamble when and if you travel with no insurance, you never can tell what could happen and for me, I think it’s better to be safe than sorry. Travel insurance will be there to protect you from so many things that could possibly go completely wrong while you jet around the world.

• It protects you in case of medical emergencies or any other emergencies
• It will come through for you if you are in a lurch and you have to cut your trip short due to reasons beyond your control.
• If you miss your flight or your flight gets cancelled or the flight time changes or is delayed, travel insurance will cover the additional expenses.
• It will protect you if and when your luggage gets missing, lost, damaged or stolen.

Different insurance companies in Nigeria have different categories of travel insurance and the coverage for each category of insurance bought is different. It also covers different countries, regions and continents and reasons for travel.

Some categories include damaged, stolen, missing or lost luggage, some cover the medical emergencies that might be incurred by you as you journey, it could be a medical evacuation, sickness and injuries. Could also cover flight delays and interruptions. 

Some Insurance Companies in Nigeria Include

• Nem Insurance

The travel insurance that this company offers covers Schengen and Worldwide Travel Plans. 

Their travel insurance is earmarked to cover medical expenses, lost luggage, flight accident and other losses incurred while travelling internationally, they say you’re also guaranteed access to a wide network of healthcare services around the world.

They offer emergency services anywhere in the Schengen states like Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and more.

Also, worldwide policies, cover everywhere in the world except your country of residence. 

Some of their policies cover medical emergencies, mortal remains evacuation, legal costs, bail costs, payment of emergency dental expenses, payment of medical expenses and so much more. 

There are more terms and conditions and more details and you can find that on their website.

• Allianz Insurance

Like Nem Insurance Plc, Allianz Insurance also covers the Schengen states, worldwide and also the Hajj & Umrah journey. The Hajj and Umrah journey covers trips to Saudi Arabia for Hajj & Umrah purposes only. 

The Schengen policy provides indemnity and covers trips to Schengen states like Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, 

All of this and so many other benefits from the company.

• Aiico Travel Insurance Plan

Aiico travel insurance only covers Schengen states and travel insurance is a mandatory requirement at all Schengen embassies. (list of Schengen states can be found above)

AIICO Travel Insurance Plan is said to be recognized and accepted at all Schengen and Non-Schengen embassies. 

• Leadway Assurance Travel Plan

Leadway assurance promises to cover your trip to places like Dubai, Hong Kong, China, the United States, and London. Their policies cover pieces of luggage getting lost in traffic, cancelled flights and sickness or accidents with medical emergencies in another country, loss or theft of your personal belongings, money and so much more. They also say one of their plans provides you with the legal services of a lawyer in another country, should you need one. Their plan also covers people who travel for personal and business purposes.

• AXA Mansard 

The travel insurance plan and policies for AXA Mansard promise that you can journey with peace of mind and no worries. Whether you are travelling for business or pleasure or for school, their plan provides indemnity against problems that might occur as you travel temporarily outside your country of residence, no matter where you are going. 

Their plans provide Student Protection, Pilgrimage Protection and General Protection for both business and tourism.

Other Nigerian companies that provide travel insurance are Custodian and allied insurance, cornerstone insurance plc, Anchor insurance, consolidated hallmark insurance, niger insurance plc and so many more.