Tourism is a growing industry worldwide. So are undesirable things like terrorism, flight crashes, accidents, wars, disease, natural calamities etc. Any experienced traveler can tell you that travel is full of uncertainties. But it is not possible to sit at home afraid of calamities. Holiday travel insurance is one way of mitigating the financial risk of such unforeseen events or calamities.

There are a variety of holiday travel insurance policies available today on the internet or the market. It is easy to get confused with so many offers. However most holiday travel insurance policies have certain basic benefits which are common. Holiday travel insurance policies usually provide coverage for:

Trip cancellation/interruptions. Trip cancellation/interruptions due to a variety of reasons like death of an immediate family member, weather, sudden illness, bankruptcy of airliner, jury duty, terrorist activities etc.

Medical costs. Costs incurred for doctor visits, medicines, treatment, surgery etc and some policies even provide coverage for costs of medical evacuation to nearest medical facility.

Accidents. Accidents or calamities like earthquakes, tsunami, storms etc and the related costs. Some policies also provide vehicle accident costs. These are especially useful when going for a driving holiday to a foreign country. Most of your regular policies for auto insurance only provide insurance within the United States and do not provide for accidents out of the US.

Baggage Loss. Costs incurred for loss of baggage and valuable is also covered by most travel insurance policies. These are especially useful when going out for a shopping holiday for antiques, valuables, jewelry or electronics.

All the above-mentioned costs are borne by the travel insurance company depending upon the travel insurance policy. Before purchasing the policy read the fine print carefully, especially the parts covering, deductibles, co-insurance, specific limits, exclusions, hotline numbers and emergency services. Purchasing a policy for a family works out cheaper. Purchasing a policy online also works out cheaper as you do not have to pay for the insurance agent.