Here are 10 ridiculous and outrageous travel insurance claims. What were they thinking?

1. There was one man who let his girlfriend drive his motorcycle. She, of course, wrecked it; however, told Progressive that he was driving. He tied to the back of the truck as a friend drove him around so he could look like he had been in an accident. However, he did not realize that his girlfriend had already informed the police that she caused the accident.

2. A girl who did not have insurance had an accident. She had a ruptured spleen, but still managed to call an insurance company to purchase cheap car insurance. Someone overheard the call and reported it to the insurance company. If she had received online cheap insurance quotes, she would have had affordable insurance.

3. One individual called the insurance company to request compensation for whiplash, headaches and a backache. However, the vehicle was parked and he was not even in it when the crash occurred.

4. In England, a gentleman parked his van and fell asleep on the beach. While he was sleeping, the tide rose and washed the truck out to sea. He called the insurance company and wanted compensation for the van.

5. One insurance company reported a claim that stated, “An invisible car came out of nowhere, hit my car and then disappeared.” Yeah right!

6. One driver claimed that, “a camel and an elephant were standing at the end of the road, which caused me to lose concentration and hit a billboard”

7. A man wanted the insurance to pay for damages when he put his hand through the car window. He says that, “I thought the window was down, but I discovered it was not when my hand went through it.”

8. One claim states, “I was on my way to the doctor for my butt when the joint gave way, which caused me to have an accident.”

9. One man stated in his claim, “I ran over a man. He admitted that he caused the accident because he had been run over before.”

10. One driver claimed he had an accident after a bee went up his pants leg, which caused him to hit the accelerator and rear end someone. The bee, however, never stung him.

Fortunately, most claims are legitimate and the driver receives compensation. Drivers should go online to receive online cheap insurance quotes to make sure they have a reputable company in which they can depend to provide excellent coverage.

Pack Less

Well, you have a lot more to handle besides your luggage! Your kids are your first priority to carry (incase of infants) so carry lesser or lighter bags. While you pack, stuff in only those things which you would really use on the trip. And pack your child’s stuff into another bag so that it gets easier to search things during an emergency. Your child’s luggage would certainly include many set of clothes, medication, food, toys, shoes and all his favourite things. You can’t afford to miss out on what your child needs, thus make a packing list before you fly.

Before you leave

Make sure you don’t leave any of your work pending. Pay off all your bills, consult the doctor about your children’s diet and medication, clear your doubts with your travel agency, register with an international calling company and last but not the least make time to say goodbye to your loved ones before you leave home.

Accommodation

Once you reach, it would be tough to find a hotel room if you haven’t done a prior book, especially if the place is a holiday spot. So plan your hotel well in advance with your travel agent. Check for it as per your budget and something in the heart of the city so that you can explore around easily. Remember to carry mosquito nets for baby beds as most hotels don’t provide you with the same.

Keep in touch

Once you have arrived with your kids, your family and friends would be concerned about you. Get in touch and give them an assurance that you are safe and so is your child. You should obviously have a international calling service that could help you to make free calls.

Activity list

Before you go, prepare a list of possible activities depending on the climate and length of time you have in the new place. Accordingly, take your kids to interesting places such as zoos, museums, entertainment zones etc. Don’t miss out the excitement and fun at amusement parks and gaming centers. Don’t bore them by shopping all day long or just sitting in your room. And yes, do carry their story books and board games to enjoy the same at night hours.

 Food and Water

 When eating in countries, always eat at busy places where the turnover of food will be fast. Else a healthy option could be, let your kids have packed food or take them to eat-outs which are immensely hygienic. Don’t take a chance when it comes to drinking water. Let your kids have bottled or boiled water only.

Stories of holding it in and the legendary length of hostel loo queues abound – not to mention cautionary tales of searching for the gents in the basements of Berlin nightclubs.

When you finally get to the ladies or gents, you might find yourself faced with something unfamiliar. While your bog-standard Western toilet is to be found across the world nowadays, there are still variations on the hole-in-the ground which are widespread across the water.

Before we take a look at the potty possibilities below, here’s a bit of advice that will always applies: make sure important documents and your travel money are secured somewhere, not just loose in your pocket. If those suckers fall into a foreign sewer, you’re not going to get them back – and better be privy to your travel insurance details…

Trough Toilets (Japan, China)

Sometimes no more than a gutter in the ground, sometimes with partitions for a semblance of privacy, this experience requires you to straddle the channel and go. Unless you get to the front, you’ll be party to other people’s effluence as it flows beneath you.

Squat Toilets (Asia, France, Turkey)

While they’re not common in the United Kingdom, this kind of commode will be familiar to Asians or mainland Europeans. Many people like them because they say it’s more hygienic than sitting on a loo seat; even if you’re sceptical about that, it will give your thighs a great workout.

Because using them requires a yogic mastery of muscles: you must suspend yourself over a shallow ceramic dip by gripping two handles, leaning back and suspending yourself in a semi-crouch. While your limbs must be tensed to support your weight, you must be relaxed enough to actually go. It can be very tricky for a first-timer; so make sure everything’s tucked out of splash range before you start.

DIY Flushers (Thailand)

Similar in some respects to its sibling above, the Thai toilet (or ‘thailet’) lacks handles, instead giving you enough room to balance in a crouch directly above the ceramic dip. It’s also recognisable for the trough of water and bucket that’s always in its vicinity: this is the flush mechanism. In order to push your waste down the delicate Thai pipes, you must pour a bucket of water down after it (handy tip – if you have something that won’t shift in a regular toilet, this trick will also work).

Splashers (Asia, North Africa)

These look deceptively like Western toilets – but they conceal a surprising secret that’s either unpleasant or pleasant depending on your outlook (and position). Rather than having you go to the trouble of cleaning yourself off after finishing, these hi-tech thrones double as bidets and will squirt a jet of water over your nether-parts. Sometimes it’s quite high-pressure, so forewarned is forearmed.

Wherever you’re going, remember to celebrate a unique toilet experience when you find it! Immersing yourself in a new culture is a huge part of the fun of travel – whether it’s learning a few words in a strange language, getting caught up in a national festival or doing the deed like the locals do, nothing highlights the beautiful, life-affirming diversity of the planet than experiencing small but pungent nuances in universal habits.

If “Eat, pray, love” was placed in the burlesque Rome, “ Under the Tuscan Sun” brought in the Hollywood vision of romance the lovely perspective of living in the most picturesque part of Italy. A house in Tuscany or even better a house in Florence would change completely the perspective over life in general and life priorities in special.

Living in this picturesque scenery can change anybody’s life, not to mention that life looks a lot better and tastes a lot sweeter when you are in harmony with yourself.

But what can one do when living in Florence?

The native city of Michelangelo

If you are fond of arts you can pretty much feel at home in the amazing city where the Renaissance sculpture genius created his many masterpieces. Imagine inviting your friends to visit your house in Florence and taking them to see Michelangelo’s David.

Places to wine and dine

Florence is without a doubt the place to try the perkiest Italian cuisine. If Trattoria dei Quattro Leoni has a special Hollywood style touch, Riflessi is the note of elegance where you would like to take a very special person to dinner. If you are looking for a traditional Florentine dessert make sure you taste the tiramisu from Pangies Bistrot or simply go for a truly seductive ice cream II Gelato Vivoli can offer you.

The picturesque Florentine market

It is said that you never experienced a more burlesque market than the one of Florence. The amazing looking Mercato Centrale will offer you the possibility to bargain and buy the freshest fruit of the fertile Florentine land. It is a new experience every time you shop there and there is a very good chance that you will fall in love with this activity.

Nightlife and fun

You may ask yourself where can you have fun if you choose to live in Florence. The truth is that one would not expect a city so rich in history to be also rich in fun. The nightlife is pretty capable to accommodate the needs and preferences of everyone so make sure you check out Tenax or Andromeda clubs, or swing by Space Electronics for drinks and fun.

So …what do you think? Are you keen on living in Florence? Check out Florence apartments to rent to have and idea of places to rent in the city that will make your life not only better but closer to the idea the occidental mind has when considering good living.

Capturing the atmosphere, sights and lights as the day draws to a close is a challenge but armed with a tripod and cable release the photographer can create stunning night time photos of one of the greatest cities in the world and capture the mood of London nights.

The River Thames runs through the heart of the city and many of the most famous landmark buildings sit along its banks. By night vistas of city lights, bridges and the buildings reflected in the water give the river a character not seen by day. Photographers can set themselves up almost anywhere along the banks of the river and point their lens across the water and create a memorable shot, whether it is from the south bank looking over to The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben or swapping sides and looking over from Westminster to the London Eye. Of all the bridges across the Thames, Tower Bridge is the most instantly recognised.

Further downstream from the centre of the city the Thames Barrier is a wonderful spot at night, orange lights shining on the metallic surface of these strange looking structures, reflected in the water, with skyscrapers in the distance behind.

Many outstanding buildings are illuminated at night, St Pauls Cathedral sits beautifully close to the modern Millennium Bridge, old and new together, both iconic and both striking when lit up against the night sky.

London nights can be as busy as the days so even when the streets of the financial district are quieter office buildings are lit up with work still being done. No sight is more surprising or impressive here than 30 St Mary Axe, commonly referred to as the Gherkin, all metal and glass and cutting edge architecture, standing tall with light in every window.

There are certain pictures which live in people’s minds even without having visited London. Slow shutters speeds capturing the movement of traffic across Westminster Bridge, shafts of bright light streaking across the photo with the Houses of Parliament in the background will capture anyone’s attention. And whilst Piccadilly Circus may not be as impressive a neon display as Times Square, photographed on a rainy night with reflections in the puddles it is another view familiar to those who have never even visited the UK.

London nights are busy with people going home or going out, especially around dusk. Pictures of pedestrians racing in and out of underground stations capture the hurry and hustle of it all and with the familiar underground sign overhead anyone will instantly know where the photo was taken.

Photographing London nights is a long term project, there is just so much to photograph.

photo credit: Ruxor

Hong Kong is speedily becoming one of the most desirable tourist destinations with its high-fashion shops and growing business reputation, and it has some fantastic hotels to match.

City Base Apartments offer a luxurious stay in the heart of Hong Kong’s sights and attractions; but this is definitely a city which needs to be seen from above.

So with that in mind, take a look at The Garden View Hotel, which features floor-to-ceiling windows in every room offering panoramic city views, breath-taking by day and by night.

Visiting Chicago? Well consider The Trump International Hotel and Tower; the ultimate in hotel luxury. With 92 storeys of stainless steel and iridescent-tinted glass;this hotel is built around its spectacular views, and they certainly won’t disappoint.

Situated smack-bang in the middle of all the tourist action, the Trump Tower is just a stone’s throw away from the best this city has to offer, making for some incredible sights.

New York has so many sights and attractions that sometimes, you don’t have time to see them all. Well, if you booked into the Mandarin Oriental, you’d see them all in one night. You can choose a room based on what it’s overlooking, so you can take your pick between the Manhattan Skyline, Central Park, or the George Washington Bridge. For an incredible experience, book a room which overlooks the Hudson River, and watch the sun fall down all whilst relaxing in the comfort of your own luxurious space.

There are Mandarin Orientalhotels all over the world, and they offer a truly magical experience in their Tokyo build.Their hotel rooms are some of the largest in Japan, and these are made larger still by their surrounding glass windows. You’ll feel like you’re suspended in air as you indulge in all this hotel has to offer; including its Michelin star restaurant.

No one takes city views as seriously as the Pan Pacific Singapore Hotel. Sitting high above the Marina Bay, the Pan Pacific isn’t a stay for those afraid of heights. This hotel features a glass lift which looks out over the city as you ascend, and remote-controlled drapes in every bedroom so you can wake up to the stunning city views every morning.

Staying in a hotel with panoramic views like these will ensure you see a side of the city that will astonish you, and create memories which you’ll never forget.

Things like your age and health, for example, are those which you can’t really do a lot about, whereas factors such as where you choose to go on vacation and what kind of activities you’re going to be doing there are those that you do have some control over, and can therefore be changed if you want to limit your insurance costs.

Read on for the key factors that are likely to have an impact on your travel insurance premium:

1. Age

Quite simply, the older you are, the more likely it is that you’re going to be charged a higher premium. It does, however, pay to compare premiums and insurers to make sure you’re getting the best deal out there. Using something like the moneysupermarket.com worldwide travel insurance comparison tool should help you find the best of the bunch.

2. Health

If you suffer from any pre-existing medical conditions, it’s absolutely vital that you declare it when gathering your insurance quotes. Fail to do so, and you could find that if the worst happened and you fell ill on vacation, you could see your insurance cover completely voided and all lines of financial and medical help closed off. Cover for the medical condition can either be included or excluded in your cover, but either way, your insurer must know about it.

3. Destination

Most insurers divide the globe into four principal areas: your home country, USA, Europe and rest of the world or ‘ROW’, which, of course, becomes three areas if your home country is the US. These four areas are then each divided into subsectors thereafter. It’s always less expensive to travel within your home country, simply because you’re already entitled to medical treatment there.

Travelling further afield means that you won’t be entitled to healthcare in that foreign country, and seeing as though medical treatment can be extremely costly, this is where you would start seeing an increase in your insurance premium. Similarly, countries considered to be riskier than others will carry a higher premium because you’re more likely to be injured or even killed, and can be due to anything from political unrest to risk of natural disaster.

4. Length of vacation

Most insurers offer cover based on trip length, so you might find that reducing your vacation by a day or two might just help you fall back into a less expensive price bracket.

5. Annual multitrip insurance

For those of you who travel two or more times a year, purchasing an annual policy is often only a few dollars more than a policy for two weeks, so again, shop around to find a good annual multitrip deal.

6. Level of Cover

It’s always recommended that travellers take out the highest level of cover available to them – there’s no point in taking out insurance if it’s just going to be token cover – make sure you’re covered comprehensively for every eventuality, and that the level of medical cover is sufficient. That’s not to say, though, that you should over cover either.

If you’ve got a level of cover with insurance to partake in extreme sports activities and have no intention of doing so whatsoever, then obviously you’ve overspent.

7. Excess

This is another simple rule – the higher the deductible amount you agree to pay in case of loss, damage or injury, the lower your insurance premium will be.
All in all, there’s not too much you can do to reduce your cover if you’ve already bought your plane tickets.

However, if you don’t know where you’re going yet and want to bring down the cost of a potential holiday, then your travel insurance insurance could be a good thing to look into and save yourself some spending money.

Image Credit: Alamosbasement

There are about 40 hotels in and around the resort – all the brands we are accounted to….such as Westin and Fairmount and Marriott.  There is a great number for summer and winter activities to keep everyone entertained.

Mont Tremblant resort is perfect for skiers, snowboarders, family, friends, corporate outings and couples with its cozy village, outdoor fire pits areas, music festivals as well as large number of boutiques, cafes  and restaurants at the mountain base.

Snow-shoeing, dog team rides, x-country skiing, horseback rides, ice climbing, snowmobiling and skating are amongst the many winter activities!

During other periods, Mont Tremblant has so much to do: lakes (with various water sports such as water skiing, wind surfing, sailing ++), beaches and pools in summer, 5 amazing golf courses for 3 seasons, mini-putt golf, outdoor tennis, canoeing/kayaking trekking, rock and ice climbing, acrobranche/zip lines, wall climbing and  downhill luge.  Tremblant resort has pretty much everything you dream of.

If you looking for an alternative to 5 start Hotels, try a luxury ski-in/out condo or waterfront chalet.

Tremblant Living is one company that provides exclusive luxury chalets featuring local resort staff to ensure you’re well cared for during your stay.

You don’t have to sit down with someone else and plan out a trip where you’re constantly having to compromise on every decision. There’s always something that gets left out of the mix.

It’s a very ambitious task because every detail and plan is totally up to you. You might want to think about keeping a planner or notebook to keep track of all of your flight info, destinations, names of hotels, and reservations. You have the added risk of forgetting something and slipping up but traveling isn’t about sitting at home. It’s about getting some much needed adventure and change from the hum-drum routine.

It doesn’t matter where you’re going. There’s always something to do. If you’re traveling to a city, go to its website and see what the place has to offer. The Web is the best tool for traveling because it can get you up to speed on all the exciting destinations and the coolest nightspots.

If you’re going on a cruise, then make sure you’re taking all inclusive holidays. Read the fine print because there are often many hidden fees with cruises like meals, entertainment, and tipping.

There are negatives to traveling alone. You’re more of a target or mark. No one else is there watching your back but don’t let it stop you. Just make sure you’re being careful and remember that if you’re ever in a situation where you don’t feel right about something, then don’t do it. Trust your instincts.

Traveling alone can almost be a religious experience. You’re given total freedom of the experience and you’re more likely to do things you wouldn’t normally do. Solo travelers are more adventurous because they’re not tempered by what the other person wants or doesn’t want. Don’t look at traveling solo as a negative. Consider it a freeing experience where you can taste life like you never have before.

Common options that might appeal to different people include pools and spas, exercise rooms, whether or not WiFi is available, and if there’s a casino on the premises.

Entertainment is always in the forefront of most travelers’ minds, and there’s no better example of hotels catering to that than Las Vegas. Combining a hotel with shopping, restaurants, casinos, convention rooms, and lavish shows and concerts all under one roof provide the ultimate in convenient entertainment, as guests don’t even have to step outside to enjoy themselves.

Throw in pools, spas, and exercise facilities and luxurious guest rooms and you have the perfect recipe for a care-free getaway, with a little something to appeal to each and every traveler.

If the hustle and bustle of the casino floor is too intimidating (or if you’ve never played casino games and don’t know the rules) connecting to the hotel’s WiFi network and logging onto an online casino might just be the ticket. You won’t get free comp drinks like you might if you play in the hotel casino when playing online but it does have other advantages.

It’s a great way to learn the rules to various casino games and lets you play at your own pace, without having to wager more than you’re comfortable with to meet the minimum table wager. You can also try out a wide range of games in just a matter of minutes, hopping from game to game to see which you enjoy best.

Another advantage if you play online craps as opposed to rolling the real dice at the craps table is that new players are also eligible for cash bonuses when they first sign up at online casinos. In many cases you can double (or more) your initial deposit with a bonus, as typical ones offer a 100% up to $100 or 200% up to $200 matching bonus when you make your fist deposit.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that some conditions may apply, so be sure to check the terms when you claim a bonus with an online casino, as most require you to wager a certain amount of money before you can withdraw the bonus.