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How to avoid travel accidents

22 April 2016 By Alex Tan Leave a Comment

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Image via Flickr user Jens Schott Knudsen

Travellers might spend a lot on immunisations but the truth is that the biggest holiday health risks are not vaccine-preventable. The vast majority of fatalities are caused either by illnesses that would have killed anyway and trauma – accidents, falls, violence. Below is a list of travel’s most deadly, and how you can decrease the risk.

1. Roads

Road traffic accidents such as car collisions and vehicles hitting pedestrians and cyclists are the biggest cause of death of otherwise healthy travellers. The risk is especially high in resource-poor destinations where 90% of fatalities on the road happen in low- or middle-income countries. Vehicles in such places may not have seat belts, and lights and brakes may not work.

Get yourself familiarise with the traffic laws there and look out for vehicles before crossing the road. Always wear your safely belt if there is one. Avoid travelling at night when it is dark.

2. Pools

Most people will assume they need to be more cautious when wild swimming however it is known that pools are more dangerous as the drowning risk is more than 12 times higher in a swimming pool than in open water; children under seven are most vulnerable. Rules are strict in the UK but, even at popular overseas holiday destinations, there may not be lifeguards.

It is important to know your limits or get in the depth of your ability range, look out for warning signs. Stay sober, to prevent yourself getting plunge into the water and suffer hypothermia quicker.

3. Accommodation

There are a surprising number of injuries, and even deaths, connected with travellers’ accommodation. Hotels lacking smoke alarms or sprinkler systems, and poorly- vented heating devices emitting carbon monoxide are risks. Wild camping in remote spots can be dangerous if you don’t know the local terrain.

Always check for the fire escape route, and think about what kind of hotel you have choose. Keep a torch with you especially when you are in a destination where there are frequent power cut. And always remember, never smoke in bed. When it comes to camping, try not to light a stove in the entrance while you are inside.

4. Mountains

Mountains are dangerous places despite the changeable weather, thin air and sheer drops. Most people died from falling off cliff paths and one common cause of which is being pushed over by passing yaks, mules or even goats. Some even died from altitude sickness, something travellers climbing over 3,000m need to be very aware of.

It is crucial that trek-leaders be gently reminded to follow sensible safety precautions. Always check the weather there, and prepare all the equipment needed for safely precautions. Do not overlook this.

5. Diving

Scuba-diving has a reputation for being dangerous, but under proper conditions with safe equipment the risks may be low but higher at some destinations: medical examinations, or even ability to swim, are not always mandatory when hiring scuba equipment.

6. Extreme adventures

Rafting, bungee jumping, jetboating etc. The list of possible extreme sports you can try overseas is long and terrifying. Few travellers die but there are fatalities even in experienced ventures; it can be instructive to Google the possible injuries and likelihood of death before signing up. The list for bungee-jumping, for example, is especially impressive.

By Dr Jane Wilson Howarth

See full story on Wanderlust

Filed Under: Happenings Tagged With: Trave Insurance, travel accidents

Should you buy Travel Insurance?

21 April 2016 By Alex Tan Leave a Comment

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Image via Flickr user Heneghan

 

I have never bought travel insurance in my life because instinct has always told me that it’s a bad deal. I rarely pay for hotel rooms, tours or rental cars in advance. I don’t pack designer clothing in my checked luggage. I’m generally healthy, and I have medical insurance that covers me abroad.

But instinct is a poor way to make decisions about insurance. So with a three-week trip to Asia approaching, I finally decided to figure out whether I should be traveling with insurance, and, in general, when it is smart to have it and when is it unnecessary.

Travelers tend to buy insurance if they are more at risk or more likely than the average policyholder to make a claim. In economics that’s called “adverse selection” — but it’s adverse only for the insurance companies. For consumers, it’s just smart. Imagine two people looking at a $100 insurance policy for a two-week trip: one is a 65-year-old heading to India, where he plans to rent a scooter, eat street food and sleep in already-reserved five-star hotels every night. The other is a 30-year-old going to London, planning to crash at a friend’s apartment and buy discount theatre tickets every night. It’s pretty clear who should buy insurance.

Generally, travel insurance is sold in packages, combining various categories of coverage. Go through them all, determining what you need and what you don’t, either because you’re not at risk or you’re already covered. If a package doesn’t seem worth it, more customized policies offer certain options. But you may not end up saving that much.

Medical

If you have regular health insurance which doesn’t cover you while abroad, you need some when you travel. Medicare participants and citizens of countries covered by national health services generally fall into this category. Others should check on the specifics of their policies.

Emergency Evacuation

This one is simple: without coverage, if I have to be medically evacuated home from a distant land, I’m out something like $30,000. So it comes down to how likely the scenario is. Headed to a particularly isolated region? Climbing mountains or fording rivers? Then having evacuation coverage as part of a package or separately is a good idea.

Travel Protection

This kind of insurance offers reimbursement (sometimes partial) for prepaid reservations if your trip is cancelled, interrupted or delayed. I rarely spend much on a trip before I leave beyond the plane ticket (always coach) and maybe the first night in a hotel (always cheap). But for others, with expensive seats and long prepaid reservations, it might make sense.

Also worth noting: some credit cards will provide similar coverage.

Baggage Protection

It’s worth it to determine the value of what’s inside your baggage and do the math.

Of course, whether you get reimbursed is partly up to you. A World Nomads customer service representative gave this example: if you leave your cell phone in your bathing suit and go into the water, it’s not covered.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment

I’ve never understood this one. If you need life insurance, wouldn’t you want it for the whole year, not just when you’re traveling? And if you lose a limb, will a few grand — what World Nomads offers — really help? (Note that life insurance companies will ask about your travel habits; so be sure you’re honest when you apply — and if you already have coverage, be sure it covers the countries you’re visiting.)

So Is It Worth It?

Though my initial instinct to avoid package insurance had been (coincidentally) right, the process was valuable anyway: I now know a lot more about my medical coverage and credit card perks. Everyone should make similar calculations.

By Seth Kugel

See full story on New York Times Blog

Filed Under: Happenings Tagged With: buying travel insurance, Trave Insurance

The Importance of Travel Insurance Abroad

20 April 2016 By Alex Tan Leave a Comment

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Image via Flickr user Astrid Westvang

Don’t Leave Home without It

Several years ago, I went to visit some friends in the U.S. in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. On arrival, I realized that I had forgotten to buy travel insurance. Feeling young, fit, and reckless, I decided that it would not matter as the trip was only to be two weeks long. What could possibly go wrong in such a short space of time? As if to tempt fate, I decided to join my friends snowboarding for a day. I was slightly more nervous given the knowledge that I had no insurance, but my friends persuaded me little could go wrong since I was a beginner and wouldn’t be moving fast enough to have an accident. Unfortunately, due to some bad amateur coaching, I ended up being taken off of the slopes on a stretcher and in a daze, with no memory of the day, date or year for that matter. When the safety workers were about to put a neck brace on me and take me to hospital, I admitted that I had no insurance and preferred it if they left me to get better by myself. I did, luckily. But I have never travelled without insurance since then.

Who Needs Travel Insurance?

Majority of world travellers tend to be quite young, and some are reckless. Youngers always have the idea that youth is on their side, and ignore that travel insurance are not needed. The idea of paying what seems like a large sum of money, and most often will never be use can seem to be ridiculous for a young traveller. However, accident or illness could happen and usually happen in a foreign country. Regardless of age, if you do not have any form of travel insurance, your life could be in danger and in terms of the financial damage on medical costs.

Your insurance policy should offer at least US$2,000,000 in medical expenses in case the very worst happens, preferably more if possible. It should also offer 24-hour emergency service and repatriation in case you need to be flown home.

How Much Insurance Should You Take Out?

Once you have decided to buy travel insurance, your next decision is whether to try and save money by not including your cash and belongings covered under the insurance plan. By deleting this coverage, it will bring down your premium slightly. However, if you have new camera equipment etc. you may pay the extra few dollars and have these things covered too.

On the other hand, don’t pay out too much for a premium if you aren’t going to make the most of it. Travel insurance for people doing winter sports often doubles because of the associated risks, so it makes a huge dent in your wallet. However, unless you plan to be on the slopes every single day of you trip, it’s worth considering other options. There is daily travel insurance, and some covers for single trip travel as well.

What Should The Insurance Plan Cover?

Some final factors to consider before buying travel insurance include checking to see that the policy covers you for what you will be doing. Aside from winter sports, there are other sports that require a higher premium.

And an important point for many will be whether you will be covered for manual labour. Many of us take part in various forms of manual labour when working or volunteering abroad and some companies don’t cover this. If you are in any doubt, contact the insurance company and ask them before you buy your policy. 

Don’t Forget to Read the SMALL PRINT!

Once you have bought your insurance, ALWAYS READ THE SMALL PRINT, no matter how tedious this job might be. If you know what to do in terms of your insurance company in case of an emergency, it could make a difference between making a valid claim or not. 

Important Things to Remember That Could Make All the Difference

Now, you have your insurance policy that covers you for everything that you need, and you have arrived at your destination. As much as you should have fun on your trip, don’t assume that just because you do have travel insurance, it makes you invulnerable or able to take excessive risks.

Any accidents caused by alcohol or drug abuse, no matter how small, will completely invalidate your claim so BE VERY CAREFUL. Alcohol and drug abuse in an unknown country is usually a very bad idea anyway as you are less aware of local risks, more vulnerable to attack, and penalties can be much higher than at home. 

One final thing to remember is that once you have stepped onto that flight your chances of buying travel insurance for that particular trip are greatly diminished. Most insurers will only cover you if you buy the insurance before you leave. Some will provide insurance once you have already left but these are quite difficult to find. 

And finally, don’t forget to take your insurance details with you wherever you go, otherwise they are useless! And where possible, make photocopies and leave them with a friend or family back home in case your gets stolen. 

By Caroline Nye

See full story on Transitionsaboard

Filed Under: Happenings Tagged With: things to know about buying insurance, Trave Insurance, travel and insurance

Benefits of travel insurance

18 April 2016 By Alex Tan Leave a Comment

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Image via Flickr user Moyan Brenn

While many travellers spend a lot of time and effort in planning the perfect vacations, they tend to neglect the importance of getting a good travel insurance policy. Especially for travellers visiting certain places for their first time, they are more prone to fall ill and get into accidents despite the climate change in unfamiliarised places.

There will always be unfortunate incidents that might happen during their travels, anything could happen. Although travel insurance cannot help people from avoiding these misfortunes, it does offer support and comfort in terms of monetary compensation, which will be useful in certain situations like medical bills or trip cancellation.

For travel insurance policy, it offers financial recovery for medical expenses that are incurred because of accidents and illnesses. These medical treatment can be very costly in some countries especially for those who get involved in serious injuries. With travel medical insurance, travellers can be assured to get reimbursement for the total amount of money that they spend on medical treatment.

Besides this, they also covers medical evacuation, which travellers do not have to pay medical emergency transportation expenses with their own money.

By having a travel insurance, it provides protection against trip cancellation and interruption. When an emergency arises before or during a vacation, travellers may have to cancel or cut short their trips. Since they have already paid everything for their vacations, they will definitely have to lose certain amount of money if there is any last minutes changes. With this, travel insurance ensures that they will get compensation for their losses from trip cancellation or interruption.

In addition, those who have a travel policy will get coverage for any loss baggage or personal belongings. Other types of coverage include travel delay, tour operator default, personal liability, accidental death, legal expense etc.

Travel insurance policy does not only ensure that you will get coverage for unforeseen losses, it also provide you travel assistance and 24 hour emergency services to help their customers deal with tough situations during their vacation.

Your insurance company will offer you the best advice to solve your problems in the shortest time possible, which this kind of assistance is especially important when you are travelling to a country where locals do not speak your language.

By Damian Tysdal

See full story on USTIA

Filed Under: Happenings Tagged With: things to know about buying insurance, travel and insurance, travel insurance

Introducing Liberty Insurance

24 March 2016 By Alex Tan Leave a Comment

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We would like to take this opportunity to announce that we have partnered Liberty Insurance Singapore as our third general insurer. It has been a while since we contemplated having a third insurer. However, in order to provide more competitive options for our clients, we have selected Liberty Insurance as our final partner.

Liberty Insurance Pte Ltd is a licensed general insurer regulated by MAS and a member of the General Insurance Association of Singapore. They are a 100% owned strategic business unit of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group. Headquartered in Boston, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group is a diversified global insurer and the 3rd largest property and casualty insurer in U.S. based on 2013 direct premiums

Liberty Insurance wrote a gross written premium of S$159 million in Year 2014 (based on Singapore Insurance Fund) and is ranked 7th largest insurer in the general insurance industry. With a strong insurer as our partner, we are confident of providing more insurance coverage that suits your needs and risk exposure.

Liberty Insurance offers a wide range of personal and commercial insurance products including liability, motor, travel, home, personal accident, medical, property, work injury compensation, bonds, employee benefits and marine cargo.

We look forward to better serving you with your insurance needs. For any insurance enquiries, do contact us at [email protected] or call our office at 68978226.

See more details at Liberty Insurance Singapore

Filed Under: Happenings Tagged With: General Insurance, Liberty Insurance, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group

China Taiping Motor Insurance Changes

6 January 2016 By Alex Tan Leave a Comment

CNTP-Logo-D2

Dear valued customer,

With effect from 4th January 2016, China Taiping Insurance will have some changes to their Motor Insurance Policy for both Private Car and Commercial Vehicle.

PRIVATE CAR

COMMERCIAL VEHICLE

1. Loss of use benefit: You can choose to take up this optional benefit with additional premium of $50+gst ($50 per day is claimable, up to maximum of five days when repair exceeds 3 days and more. Up to $250 per policy period.

1. Removal of Foreign Worker Excess: No more flat excess of $3000 for any authorized driver who is holding a foreign driving licence or holding a Work Permit/Special Pass issued by Ministry of Manpower.

2. Parallel Import (PI) vehicle: Any workshop plan is now available. If customer opts for Autosafe plan, all PI vehicles must be sent to our PI authorized workshops for any Own damage/windscreen repairs and all accident reporting.

2. Additional Excess of $3,000 for Young and Inexperienced Authorized Driver: Implementation of additional excess $3,000, on top of the Excess Applicable (as stated on quotation slip), for any authorized driver(s) who is below the age of 22 or possess a full driving licence for less than one year.

3. Waiver of Elderly Excess: No more Flat Excess of $2,000 for unnamed driver(s) who is 66 years old & above.

3. Option to increase Third-Party Property Damage (TPPD): Allow to increase coverage to $1million with an additional premium of $300+gst

4. Autosafe Discount for BMW 5-series and 7-series: Higher Autosafe discount given.

4. Option to buy NCD Protector: Allow to buy NCD protector with additional premium of $80+gst for
commercial vehicle, with maximum NCD of 20% only.

5. Insured age 29-30 years old: Rate reduction for insured within this age group

 

6. Waxier on claim loading: No loading for one claim which is $10,000 and below, within the past 12 months (For new customer only.)

 

You may wish to email to [email protected] for more details. Alternatively, you can also call us at 68978226.

Filed Under: Products Tagged With: China Taiping, China Taiping Motor Insurance, Commerical car insurance, motor insurance, Private car insurance

Travel Insurance Promotion

29 October 2015 By Alex Tan Leave a Comment

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The year-end school holidays are just around the corner, I believe many of you would have already made some plans for holidays with your loved ones.

With that, I am glad to highlight that Tokio Marine Insurance is now having a travel insurance promotion which will offer travellers with utmost benefit and a peace of mind.

Right now, there is a 20% discount for Single trip travel and 15% discount for Annual plan travel insurance policy. This promotion will start from 1st Nov 2015 to 31st Jan 2016.

While travelling during the school holiday season can be costly, don’t let it hinder you from being insured against travel risks.

You may wish to email to [email protected] for more details. Alternatively, you can also call us at 68978226.

Filed Under: Products Tagged With: Travel, travel insurance, Travel Insurance Promotion

In Singapore, rental of private cars through a car rental company is illegal

28 October 2015 By Alex Tan Leave a Comment

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Image via Flickr user Robert Scott

According to Land Transport Authority (LTA), “private car owners are not allowed to rent out their cars through rental companies as it is illegal for both the car owner and the company to allow a private car to be used without proper insurance coverage”.

However, non-car owners may choose to hire a private vehicle if they want to through the Private Car Rental Scheme. It is a scheme that allows non-car owners to have access to private transport during public holidays and weekends. For weekends, it will be from Friday 7pm to the following Monday, 7am. As for public holidays, it will be from 7pm on the eve of the public holiday to 7am on the first working day following the public holiday.

Under the Private Car Rental Scheme, the car owners are responsible for providing adequate insurance coverage for the period of the rental. Which means that additional insurance for car rental must be purchase during this period. Besides that, the car must be registered under the name of a private individual. Company cars are not allowed. In addition, the hirer must also meet the age and experience criteria specified in the insurance policy.

As for the penalties of driving or renting out an illegal rental car, there will be a maximum penalty fine of $1,000. Imprisonment of not more than three months. Risk of a driving ban up to 12 months. Unlimited liability claims as you are not covered by any insurance.

How to identify legal rental cars in Singapore?

A road tax disc printed “PASSENGER (PRIVATE)” is only meant for private use only.

A road tax disc printed “MOTORCAR” is a legal rental car registered with LTA.

You can easily identify the difference between legal and illegal rental vehicles by just looking at the road tax disc. A legal rental vehicle will bear a print “MOTORCAR”, where as a private passenger car will show “PASSENGER (PRIVATE)”. Please beware of illegal rental vehicles to avoid any unwanted risks, fines and claims.

By Joanne

See Full Story at ACE Drive

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Car Rental

6 WAYS TO LOWER YOUR CAR INSURANCE

27 October 2015 By Alex Tan Leave a Comment

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Image via Flickr user Online Banking

1. List an older or female driver

Insurers may have a mind-set that older drivers have more experience and will drive safer when driving on the road. It is better to list your wife or an older family member as the main driver. There is no guarantee but in general, if the main driver is 40-50 years old it is believed that the premium will be lower. Besides this, the premium will also be slightly lower for female drivers as these people are believed to be safer drivers on road.

2. Compare and contrast

While different insurance company have their own quotations of premiums for car insurance, it is also known that in general, the premiums depend on your age, claims history, model of vehicle etc. Thus, it is important to do a comparison and get the best premium for your car.

For example, say you’re 30 years old, and you wrapped a Honda around a lamp post 10 years ago.

Company X might decide that older is wiser, and what happened 10 years ago is trivial. They’ll raise your premiums for the accident, but not by much. But company Y might decide “Once a speed freak, always a speed freak”, and file your premiums under the Beyond Insane price band.

On top of that, insurers have sales quotas. Premiums go down when they’re trying to recruit more customers, so those are the best times to buy.

3. Be choosy about the coverage

It is important to be choosy when getting the right coverage for your car. There will be extras that your insurers may ask if you are interested in taking and these extras are windscreen damage, damage arising from riot or strike and floor or windstorm etc.

You will have to pay for these extra coverage every month. However, your windscreen will only crack once like after 5 years or more of driving. And the replacement cost compared to the extra you pay every month, is it worth it? Thus, please remember the premium costs over a few years might greatly exceed one-off repair cost.

4. Always check with your insurer before modifying your car

Always remember to consult your insurer before modifying your car. It is unpredictable when it comes to driving and met an accident on the road. Because if you ever get into an accident, and they found out about it, they will have the rights to scratch off your policy immediately. And all that money you spent on premiums will all be gone in vain.

As known, Insurers in Singapore are always strict: Even minor cosmetic tweaks, like switching to sports rims or using a body kit, might count as “modification”. Most insurers insist anything outside a manufacturer’s “defined specifications” is a mod. Note that the LTA (Land Transport Authority) tolerates changes that’s within manufacturer recommendations, not just “defined specifications”. As such, changes to your car can be LTA compliant, but still result in policy termination.

5. Decline preferred workshop options

All insurers have a list of authorized and agent workshops. When you want to make a claim, these are the only ones you can go to. If you want other options, you need the insurer to include preferred workshops. That’ll let you use a workshop “off the list”, and still get your claim. But this option means higher premiums, and higher excess (the amount you’re liable to pay in an accident).

If you insist on a particular workshop, ask the mechanics for the insurers they work with. Pick the lowest premiums amongst that list of insurers. It’s usually cheaper than paying for preferred workshop options.

6. Bargain the excess

The excess is the amount you’re liable to pay in an accident. Depending on your driving record, it’s open to negotiation. Most insurers will lower your premiums if you accept higher excess. In other words, you’ll pay less per month, but more during an accident. Overall, this favours the motorist: Most people pay much more for premiums (every month) than for accident repairs (once every few years). Most insurance agents will don’t raise the option, so ask for it. Assuming you’re a decent driver, this could save you big sums in the long run.

By Ryan Ong

See Full Story at MoneySmart

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: car insurance

Types of Car Insurance in Singapore

22 October 2015 By Alex Tan Leave a Comment

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Image via Flickr user Cecilia Frankland

1. Third Party Only

In an accident, Third Party Only (TPO) insurance covers the other guy. In other words, the insurance will only cover your legal liability coverage for any third party injury or property damage. If you have TPO insurance, it’s only paid out once they prove it’s your fault. TPO is also the cheapest type of insurance plan.

2. Third Party, Fire, and Theft

This insurance plan works both ways. It doesn’t just cover the third party, it also covers your own damages or loss to your vehicle caused directly by fire or theft including your legal liability for any third party’s injury or property damage.

3. Comprehensive Coverage

Comprehensive coverage has the widest coverage. This insurance plan is the most common one in Singapore, not least because many car loans require it. This plan covers you for death or injury to other parties, damage to other parties’ property, fire, theft, accidents, and medical costs arising from the accident. This also means that it will cover your loss or damage to your vehicle and your legal liability to third party’s injury and property damage.

The three kinds of coverage also come with extras, which will add up to your premiums but with even more coverage for your insurance.

Below are the extras that you could add to your coverage:

· Windscreen damage

· Damage arising from riot, strike, or civil commotion

· Damage from flood or windstorm

· Liability of passengers for acts of negligence

· Personal accident benefits for passengers

By Shubhreet Kaur

See Full Story at MoneySmart

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: car insurance, Types of Car Insurance

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