Got a big trip coming up? Chances are you are excitedly planning your itinerary around Canada or mapping out your European driving vacation, but don't forget about one very important thing: international travel medical insurance. Most overseas vacations are very successful and you do not need to make a claim, but if disaster strikes you want to make sure that you are covered.

It is a no brainer to take out the insurance, but you might find it confusing knowing which company to go with. In order to choose insurance that is right for you, you will need to do some research. There are some existing policies that you may have that include travel insurance and some credit card companies also have this service.

Some policies may offer you some insurance already on overseas trips, so it is worth looking into what you already have before looking into separate policies. When you have decided the level of cover that you need you can research the products available. Most policies base the premium on the length of the trip, or on a percent of the complete price of the vacation.

There are a few basic types of travel insurance that you can find: short term coverage for a single trip, open ended or longer term coverage and coverage for multiple trips. If you are planning to live overseas there are expat policies that can cover you indefinitely.

The complicated bit about choosing the right travel insurance for your Canadian vacation or other overseas journey is comparing what type of incidents are covered with the policy. There is a great degree of variability between what is covered with different policies as well as the amounts that you are covered for.

There may be some policies that charge more for some featured inclusions that are not relevant to you, so it may be possible to save money with a less comprehensive policy. Some of the elements that may be included in travel medical insurance are: emergency medical care, emergency dental care, medical removal from the country to the nearest appropriate facility, trip cancellation and delay, lost luggage that may pay out for lost items up to a set limit.

There are also some items that are not typically included in a travel insurance policy. It is common for pre existing conditions to be excluded. If you do have some condition that you need covered, you will have to find out whether the company will insure you. If they do, you may have to pay an extra fee. Extreme sports are not usually covered by insurance companies. Pregnancy, mental illness and self harm incidents are also unlikely to be covered.

Before you pick the international travel medical insurance that you are going to go with you should look carefully at all the options. Most vacations go smoothly and you do not need to make a claim. But, and this is a big but, if something does happen or you get sick overseas you want to have the support and backing of your travel insurance to give you peace of mind.

Dan Pucher Insurance is an independent Travel Health Insurance Broker offering personal and corporate solutions. When looking for Visitors to Canada Insurance and information on Canada Travel Insurance please give us a call.