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Forbes
26-04-2025
- Forbes
Do You Need Travel Insurance For Your Summer Vacation?
If you need a medical evacuation this summer, you better hope you have travel insurance. Here's how to find a policy. With vacation season just around the corner, many travelers are asking themselves: Do I need travel insurance for my summer trip? Stefany Di Manno Ceccato already knows the answer. But she found out the hard way. A friend vacationing in Mexico smashed his head on a nightstand in his hotel, sustaining a serious injury. "He had to fly to California for medical treatment, which cost him $75,000," she says. Travel insurance could have covered all of his expenses. Ceccato says now she always buys travel insurance for herself. And, as a travel advisor, she also recommends it to her clients. But what does travel insurance cover for you this summer — and what doesn't it cover? What do you absolutely need to know about buying travel insurance? And how can you determine if you need it? 'If you're traveling more than 100 miles from home, you should consider purchasing a travel insurance plan," says Will Nihan, CEO of Travelex Insurance Services. You have more options this summer than ever, he notes. Travelex recently released a full suite of new travel protection plans, introducing new coverages, benefits, and upgrades that travelers and travel advisors have requested. The idea of fitting coverage around the traveler — instead of the other way around — is gaining traction in the travel insurance business. And just in time. "Think of all the things that can go wrong," says André Disselkamp, CEO of the German travel insurance website Insurancy. "Travel insurance can make all the difference between enjoying your trip and stressing over it." All of which brings us to the number one mistake summer travelers make: not buying travel insurance or relying on lesser coverage from your credit card. "That could lead to hefty losses should you encounter travel disruptions that prevent you from taking your summer trip, such as an illness, extreme weather, or delay of a travel carrier," warns Jenna Hummer, a spokeswoman for Squaremouth. Travel insurance generally covers trip cancellation, trip interruption, trip delay, and medical expenses. "While many other coverages are available, travelers typically want to protect their trip investment by covering medical costs if something happens," explains John Rose, chief risk and security officer at ALTOUR. A related — but often overlooked — type of coverage is emergency assistance, he says. For example, if you find yourself without necessary medication, you need someone who can help you replace it quickly. Or if your trip is interrupted and you need to reach your final destination, who will help you? Rose says a travel advisor can help, but travel insurance can fill the gaps. But travel insurance isn't a magic bullet if you're protecting your trip. "It doesn't cover interruptions like a hurricane that was already forecast to affect your destination," says Joe Cronin, CEO of International Citizens Insurance. You can get coverage for pre-existing conditions under certain circumstances, but if you try to get hurricane coverage when a storm already has your destination in its crosshairs, good luck with that. The closest thing to a magic bullet is a "cancel for any reason" policy, which is more expensive than a regular policy but will reimburse at least part of your prepaid, nonrefundable expenses, regardless of the reason for cancellation." Jason Block, chief executive officer of WorldVia Travel Group, a collection of travel companies in the United States, explains the process. Travel insurance can cover pre-existing medical conditions through what's called a pre-existing condition waiver if you meet specific requirements. Typically, you must purchase the insurance within 14 to 30 days of your initial trip deposit, you must insure 100 percent of your prepaid nonrefundable trip costs, and you must be medically able to travel at the point when you purchase the policy," he says. "It's crucial to understand your specific policy requirements." Trip insurance also can also include activity limitations, such as an exclusion for extreme sports. "It's awful to discover your illness or injury is not protected because you participated in a restricted activity," says Harding Bush, associate director of security operations for Global Rescue. One of the biggest problems with travel insurance is that people don't take the time to read the fine print and understand what is — and isn't — covered. Mitch Glass was traveling to Mexico with his pregnant wife when he discovered how his travel insurance defines "pre-existing" conditions. His wife fell ill on the second day of their trip and spent five nights in a hospital. "Turns out, she had hemorrhagic dengue, which is a potentially deadly infection that comes from mosquito bites," he says. "We had travel insurance coverage, but our claim was denied because dengue has an incubation period of 7 to 10 days before symptoms appear. So even though she felt perfectly fine when our coverage started, the insurance company said she must have been bitten by the mosquito before leaving home." Glass, a travel coach, says it's an absurd way to define pre-existing conditions. "When you buy travel insurance, you trust you'll be covered if you get sick abroad. But with this line of reasoning, you could hypothetically go on a week-long trip and never be covered for these types of diseases that have incubation periods," he says. While travel insurance can cover many things — and also doesn't cover many others — there's one main reason to get it this summer: if you're traveling internationally and you need medical coverage. "Most domestic health insurance does not cover you overseas, and universal health care is not intended for travelers," explains Jeremy Murchland, president of Seven Corners Travel Insurance. "So you need travel insurance to pay for treatment if you get sick or hurt or need an emergency medical evacuation." Murchland says anything can happen when you travel this summer. It could be as mundane as the flu or as life-threatening as a car accident. Medical systems in other countries usually require you to pay for treatment up front or before they discharge you. "You don't want to find yourself in a medical emergency, unable to get necessary care or return home because you can't afford it," he says. Every trip is different. For example, a weekend visit to see relatives this summer might not be something you should insure. But a safari in Tanzania, definitely. "You need to assess your trip's complexity, cost, and potential risks before deciding on coverage," advises Raymond Yorke, a spokesman for Redpoint Travel Protection. Go through all the types of coverage: Ask yourself: What kind of coverage do I need? And what are the exclusions? "To determine if travel insurance is necessary, consider factors such as international destinations, expensive prepaid activities, or potential risks like extreme weather or illness," adds Yorke. Common mistakes include overlooking policy exclusions, underestimating coverage needs, or purchasing insurance too late in the booking process. One more thing. If you're thinking of getting insurance, timing is important. "From analyzing thousands of customer decisions, I've noticed summer travelers often make the mistake of waiting until the last minute to purchase insurance," says Eamonn Turley, CEO of Multi Quote Time, a UK-based travel insurance site. "Buying early, ideally when booking your trip, ensures you're covered for pre-trip cancellations so that you get the most value from your policy." In other words, this is the ideal time to think about travel insurance — before you book your trip. Run through all the scenarios and consider the best coverage for your summer trip. You'll be glad you did.
Euronews
19-03-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Barclays Europe CEO on what Trump's tariffs could do to the EU economy
'There is a foundation to believe in the attractiveness of Europe, especially on a relative basis,' Francesco Ceccato, Barclays Europe CEO, told Euronews' Business Editor, Angela Barnes, in an exclusive interview. 'What we've seen in the year-to-date period is clearly a compression in the US stock market, for example, and an increase in the indices that I look at for the European stock market.' According to a recent report from Morgan Stanley, European equities have this year outperformed US stocks by the widest margin since 2000. The MSCI Europe Index has risen over 9% since January, beating the S&P's slide of 4.5%. To turn to the latest Fund Manager Survey from Bank of America, released this Tuesday, the data also showed the most significant rotation from US to European equities since records began in 1999. A net 39% of fund managers now hold an overweight position in European equities, the highest level since mid-2021. On the other hand, 23% of investors report being underweight US stocks. Despite the recent rally, researchers from Goldman Sachs have predicted that the uptick isn't fleeting. Last week, they suggested that European equities would rise as much as 6% in the next 12 months. 'There is clearly a lot of concern amongst the investors…around what some of the trade disruption might do to the economy,' Ceccato said, referring to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. The White House noted on Tuesday that new reciprocal tariff rates would take effect on 2 April, despite suggestions that they could be delayed. While the US is looking to mirror some trade barriers established by other nations, it has also imposed another raft of levies. Trump has - for instance - introduced a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports. That's as well as placing a 20% tariff on incoming Chinese goods and threatening a 200% levy on EU alcohol imports. Trade policies are likely to have 'significant' impacts on the US, said Ceccato, harming growth and pushing up inflation. Ceccato added that Europe is also set to suffer from a tariff war, although economies could see a boost from extra defence spending. "The euro area has roughly €480 billion of goods exports to the US. Now, at the moment, the latest models that our research team have looked at are relatively mild in terms of the tariff assumption that's being made. But were there to be a 25% tariff on all of those goods, that could actually tip the eurozone into recession,' he said. Meanwhile, Germany's parliament has just this week approved a reform of its debt brake proposed by chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz, which allows for more fiscal flexibility. Defence spending of more than 1% of GDP will be exempted from the strict debt limit and state governments will be allowed to run annual deficits of up to 0.35% of GDP. The bill will also establish a €500 billion fund to invest in the country's ageing infrastructure. On the prospect of greater military spending, Europe's defence companies are cashing in. Rheinmetall shares are up around 124.8% in the year to date, Thales stock has jumped 79.2%, while shares in Leonardo have risen 82.9%. Discussing how Europe can further improve its competitiveness, Ceccato noted that the EU still needs to work on developing deeper pools of capital. 'We also need to think creatively about how we can use…the firepower that we have in some of our European institutions to pair up with private capital, that is, institutional capital that can be brought to bear to tackle some of these Herculean challenges,' he said. Ceccato explained that if Europe wants to effectively support its industries, it cannot solely rely on retail investments made by members of the public. Compared to EU firms, companies in the US still find it easier to access capital due to the scale of the market and flexible funding options. A more risk-averse sentiment in the EU, as well as a more fragmented financial market across diverse member states, can hamper innovation. "This is still all about capital, capital, capital," said Ceccato. Price pressures across the eurozone were revised lower in February, reinforcing expectations that inflation is steadily returning towards the European Central Bank's 2% target. Headline inflation rose by 2.3% year-over-year last month, down from 2.5% in January and below the previous estimate of 2.4%, according to Eurostat data released on Wednesday. Core inflation, which excludes energy and food, eased to 2.6% from 2.7% in January, marking its lowest level since January 2022. Among EU members, France recorded the lowest annual inflation rate at 0.9%, followed by Ireland (1.4%) and Finland (1.5%). Hungary (5.7%), Romania (5.2%), and Estonia (5.1%) registered the highest rates. On a monthly basis, Belgium saw the steepest inflation increase, rising 2.4%, followed by the Netherlands (1.4%) and Estonia (1.3%). Portugal was the only country to experience a price decline (-0.1%), while consumer prices remained stable in Greece and Croatia. In February 2025, services contributed the most to euro area inflation (+1.66 percentage points), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (+0.52 pp), non-energy industrial goods (+0.14 pp), and energy (+0.01 pp). Despite the easing inflation figures, investor expectations on future price trends remain subdued. The latest Bank of America Fund Manager Survey indicated that only a net 7% of European investors expect lower inflation in the eurozone over the next year, the weakest sentiment since April 2022. Meanwhile, 53% of surveyed European investors believe the new Trump administration will have a negative impact on global growth but a positive effect on inflation. European markets are also reacting to Germany's recently announced fiscal stimulus and expanded European defence spending, both of which are seen as potential growth catalysts. A significant 70% of investors polled view German fiscal stimulus as the most likely driver of stronger European economic expansion. The euro fell 0.4% on Wednesday, dipping below the 1.09 level against the dollar ahead of a closely watched Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting later in the day. The US Federal Reserve is expected to maintain its benchmark interest rate in the 4.25%-4.5% range, with Chair Jerome Powell likely to reiterate a cautious approach to rate cuts. The central bank will also unveil updated economic projections, including its inflation outlook and interest rate forecast—widely known as the "dot plot". In December, the Fed had already revised its inflation projections upward while reducing the number of expected rate cuts for 2025 from four to two. There is broad speculation that policymakers may further adjust inflation forecasts to account for potential tariff-related price pressures under the Trump administration. Yields on European sovereign bonds edged lower, with German Bund yields declining three basis points to 2.78%. Equities in Europe traded higher, with the Euro STOXX 50 rising 0.3%, mirroring the gains of Germany's DAX. Investors reacted positively to progress on a potential ceasefire in Ukraine. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly agreed to a 30-day pause in attacks on energy and infrastructure sites in Ukraine and Russia. Trump also suggested that discussions on a complete ceasefire were under way. Oil prices retreated on Tuesday, with Brent crude remaining steady at $70 per barrel this morning. Italy's FTSE Mib and France's CAC 40 outperformed, gaining 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively, largely driven by bank stock gains. Shares of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena – the world's oldest bank – surged more than 3% to €7.87, reaching their highest level since August 2022, after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock from 'Hold' to 'Buy'. Analysts at Deutsche Bank suggested that investors were overlooking opportunities in the bank's bid for Mediobanca, whose shares also rose 1.9%.
