The Itinerary

Buying Travel Insurance for School Trips

Posted Apr 15, 2018 12:02:00 AM in Travel Insurance 101, Travel Insurance Tips by Madelyn Allard

Student trips are a great privilege.  The mix of travel and education can enrich lives and create lasting memories. Although most memories are good, sometimes incidents happen that can halt a trip and leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth.

One way to protect your students is to talk to your travel agent about group travel insurance. Unlike the every man for himself approach individual travel insurance policies take, group travel insurance keeps everyone on the same policy with the same level of protection.

For a more in depth look on the benefits of student group travel insurance, check out these 5 reasons.

1. PREMIUM PAYMENTS

The way group travel insurance payments is modeled is a lot like how you'd pay for your group's hotel. You find the plan you want, get everyone that's included on the list, and then you pay. We recommend paying for your insurance 3 weeks to 15 days before your departure.

Note: it's very important that you have all your group members verified before paying for your TravelSafe policy. You cannot change who is or isn't on the policy after you've paid!

2. PRIMARY MEDICAL

If one of your students needs to see a doctor while abroad, you're going to want to make sure they are covered before the trip. Otherwise, their parents may be stuck footing the bill as most health insurance plans do not cover insureds while abroad.

Most of our group policies offer primary medical coverage. This means that a medical claim can be filed directly with us even if the student has other medical insurance. This also means your students have medical coverage for emergencies, and the plan won't need to tap into their health insurance at home. It won't affect coverage limits of their health insurance plan or require a deductible.

When considering a group travel insurance policy, make sure to ask your travel agent whether their medical coverage is primary or secondary. That little bit of extra research will help consolidate your claims process if need be.

3. CHAPERONE PRICES

Not only do student group policies cover students up to 25, there are also advantages for chaperones over 25. If a student group purchases student travel insurance, then chaperones pay the student premium. It is a benefit that helps keep prices reasonable.

There is one caveat – the student price goes to one chaperone per five students. So if, for example, there were 15 students, then 3 chaperones would get the student pricing.

4. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE

Travel insurance protects travelers from the unpredictable, which makes it an important piece to any trip. Unpredictable moments can really throw a wrench into any trip. When one person experiences a mishap, the entire group doesn't need to suffer. Travel insurance with emergency assistance can keep the group on track. 

On Call International is TravelSafe's emergency assistance provider. They're there to step in and take care of business so group travelers can stay on schedule. Plus, they also offer 24-hour concierge service.

One agent told us about how he didn't have to stay bedside in Ireland for a client, as On Call was on the ball. The tour he had set up was able to continue, while one of the travelers was being treated. Talk about a happy ending for everyone!

5. EASES LIABILITY

A trip cancellation can incur quite a few penalties. Purchases such as flight, hotel, and even some tours are non refundable, meaning you just flushed a ton of money away. This can lead to a lot of angry and disappointed parents looking to the school for answers.

That's where travel insurance comes in, not only to protect the school from liability issues, but also as part of your emergency and disaster preparedness planning. It's overall less of a hassle for you, and there if things go south.

So, when working with your travel agent on the best student group travel insurance plans, keep these 5 things in mind. If you're smart about coverage now, you'll be thankful if anything happens later.



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