It’s early summer, and many people go out for sightseeing while often overlooking travel safety issues. The boat collision accident that occurred on April 4 at Suzhou's West Hill scenic area serves as another reminder that it’s essential to plan ahead and arrange relevant accident insurance in advance.
Nowadays, to save time and effort, many people choose package tours when traveling, and they often leave the relevant insurance arrangements to their travel agencies, rarely paying attention to the specific insurance products and coverage. It’s worth noting that the insurance typically provided by travel agencies is very basic. What many agencies refer to as “insurance” usually means travel agency liability insurance, where the beneficiary is the agency itself, covering risks arising from the agency’s fault, not specifically purchased for travelers. In such cases, if a traveler suffers personal or property damage during the trip and the damage is due to the travel agency’s fault, compensation can be claimed. However, if the damage is not caused by the agency’s fault—such as injuries during free time activities or those resulting from force majeure—the traveler is not entitled to compensation, because the damage is not attributable to the agency’s error.
Travel accident insurance, on the other hand, is recommended to travelers by travel agencies, but agencies can only introduce it to tourists and cannot force them to purchase it. The policyholder and beneficiary of travel accident insurance are the travelers themselves, with the agency merely handling the insurance procedures on their behalf. In case of an accident, the traveler’s rights and interests will be protected.
Therefore, when traveling, especially on package tours, it’s necessary to purchase additional travel accident insurance so that you have protection in case of unexpected incidents.
Also, it’s important to note that when buying travel accident insurance, travelers should understand the scope of coverage and exclusions of the policy. For example, high-risk activities such as rock climbing, diving, and bungee jumping are generally not covered by regular accident insurance. If travelers really want to take part in these high-risk activities and also seek coverage, they need to purchase special insurance tailored for high-risk sports. In the event of an accident, the insurance company will provide compensation according to the liabilities specified in the policy.
So, we shouldn’t underestimate the importance of travel accident insurance. Once again, we remind everyone: don’t take travel accident insurance lightly.
