Insurance has always been something that most of us aren’t really sure about getting. Although life insurance sounds sensible, other types of insurance such as travel insurance may make us think twice. After all, going on a holiday trip or even a business trip can already cost us a lot in terms of fare, hotel stay, and food. Why should we spend more just to have insurance we might not even need?
Although the question above seems really plausible, we have to remember that insurance really works that way. We only wish we got it after the incident has occurred. So is getting travel insurance really worth it?
Advantages of Travel Insurance
There are several advantages that travel insurance has to offer you. It will ultimately depend on the coverage, but below are some of the common things that travel insurance can help you out with in case of emergencies.
Medical Treatment, Assistance and Repatriation – This is probably one of the most obvious things that your travel insurance can cover you. Should you fall sick during your trip, travel insurance can help pay your medical bills which may or may not include hospitalization. Be sure to check with your travel insurance provider to see the limit of just how much they are willing to reimburse you. Also, travel insurance can cover the expenses of sending you back to your country after you have received medical treatment.
Cancellation of Trips – If during your vacation or business trip an emergency at home arises, such as a death within the family or incidence of fire in your home, travel insurance can cover your emergency flight back home.
Missed Flights – If you missed your plane back home, travel insurance can cover the cost of getting a new plane ticket and even your extra night’s stay at the hotel. Given of course that the reason for missing the flight is valid.
Baggage Trouble – This is probably one of the most common “accidents” that can happen while travelling. Losing your baggage during a trip can be very frustrating, especially if the lost item cannot be recovered. Insurance will allow you to claim compensation for the lost item.
All these are the advantages of getting travel insurance. The only disadvantage would be the extra cost on your part. Although the cost can be well worth it should an accident happen, most of the time, accidents don’t really occur while you travel.
Types of Travel Insurance and Their Coverage
The basic types of Travel Insurance are the Vacation Plans (VP) and the Travel Medical Plans (TMP). The VP includes coverage for cancelled trips, interrupted trips, emergency evacuation, 24/7 Assistance, lost baggage and the like. This plan basically covers the most important coverage while travelling.
The TMP on the other hand focuses only on medical expenses and emergency evacuations. As limited as the coverage may be, emergency medical treatment when travelling can be unexpected and potentially expensive.
Cost of these plans can vary depending on the type of coverage you decide to have and other factors such as reimbursement limit. To give you an idea, a trip that would cost $3,250 have plans that cover trip cancellation, interruptions and delays with a policy cost of about $144 to $253. Paying this reasonable amount can insure you a coverage of the same amount as your trip cost, and even more depending on the situation.
Where To Get Travel Insurance
Travel Insurance can be bought from different insurance companies. Normally, one has to personally apply for the policy and pay the corresponding premiums. You can also request your travel agency to get insurance for you. However online insurance policies are now also available for purchase through secured credit card transactions with a twenty-four hour toll-free assistance.
Although getting insurance is like purchasing something you don’t really need at the moment, it can certainly be worth it should travel accidents or other incidents happen. With just a few hundred dollars in policy payments, you can put your mind at ease during your trip and you can also save thousands if any discrepancy during your vacation happens. Although accidents don’t happen often, trips are also most of the time not perfect, so it’s better to be ready with insurance than to regret having to pay twice the original cost of your vacation just because of some unfortunate mishap.
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4 Good Reasons To Buy Travel Insurance — 12 Comments
I haven’t ever paid for travel insurance either, but I suppose I might be more willing to if I were planning a trip that was a long ways off. Most of the time, I buy my vacation pieces a month or two prior to the trip, so I have a pretty good handle on what my life will be like. Obviously, that wouldn’t cover things like a death in the family, so I suppose I should re-evaluate my buying strategy.
When people are looking to travel on a tight budget travel insurance seems to be one of the things they don’t buy.
I don’t understand how people can travel with out it.
I’ve had relatives go from Canada to the US and end up in hospital with an emergency that ended up costing them 10 grand a day.
I also had a friend that often referred to himself as cheap. He desperately wanted to go on a cruise with his wife and he bought the tickets but ignored all the insurance coverage.
Unfortunately he was diagnosed with cancer a week before the trip and couldn’t go. They lost a good chunk of money that they could have gotten back if he had just bought the insurance coverage.
We are in Canada so we use Ingle International. Most insurance companies will not provide medical travel coverage for pre-existing conditions, but Ingle especially covers people with Diabetes, which is extremely beneficial. My husband is diabetic so traveling without health insurance and cancellation insurance would be a huge mistake for us.
We’re very lucky to be covered through our benefits at work. Our credit card also offers some minimal protections so you may want to look into what you may have through your cc prior to purchasing other insurance.
Buying for overseas travel is a good idea. I think there are 2 “Rule of Thumb” situations where you should always buy some type of insurance. 1) If you are spending more money than you are willing to lose, buy a Vacation Plan, 2) If you are leaving your home country you should have emergency medical and evacuation coverage, so get a Vacation Plan or at a minimum a Travel Medical Plan.
Travel insurance is one of those things that people tend to not know much about, it’s easiest to go with the first option and I’ve done that before but after a nightmare on holiday a few years ago I’m much more careful about checking t’s and c’s!
Insurance has always been something that most of us aren’t really sure about getting. Although life insurance sounds sensible, other types of insurance such as travel insurance may make us think twice. After all, going on a holiday trip or even a business trip can already cost us a lot in terms of fare, hotel stay, and food. Why should we spend more just to have insurance we might not even need?
I haven’t ever paid for travel insurance either, but I suppose I might be more willing to if I were planning a trip that was a long ways off. Most of the time, I buy my vacation pieces a month or two prior to the trip, so I have a pretty good handle on what my life will be like. Obviously, that wouldn’t cover things like a death in the family, so I suppose I should re-evaluate my buying strategy.
I say look into it the next time you plan a trip. Doing a cost analysis never hurt.
When people are looking to travel on a tight budget travel insurance seems to be one of the things they don’t buy.
I don’t understand how people can travel with out it.
I’ve had relatives go from Canada to the US and end up in hospital with an emergency that ended up costing them 10 grand a day.
I also had a friend that often referred to himself as cheap. He desperately wanted to go on a cruise with his wife and he bought the tickets but ignored all the insurance coverage.
Unfortunately he was diagnosed with cancer a week before the trip and couldn’t go. They lost a good chunk of money that they could have gotten back if he had just bought the insurance coverage.
Woah 10k a day! That’s insane. Do you mind sharing where you buy your travel insurance from?
We are in Canada so we use Ingle International. Most insurance companies will not provide medical travel coverage for pre-existing conditions, but Ingle especially covers people with Diabetes, which is extremely beneficial. My husband is diabetic so traveling without health insurance and cancellation insurance would be a huge mistake for us.
We’re very lucky to be covered through our benefits at work. Our credit card also offers some minimal protections so you may want to look into what you may have through your cc prior to purchasing other insurance.
Great suggestions! I have to look into what my credit card offers before going on my next trip
agree with Marianne above. Credit cards are great resource for travel insurance. But definitely it doesn’t replace the actual insurance.
I typically buy travel insurance for trips overseas. You just never know what might happen
Buying for overseas travel is a good idea. I think there are 2 “Rule of Thumb” situations where you should always buy some type of insurance. 1) If you are spending more money than you are willing to lose, buy a Vacation Plan, 2) If you are leaving your home country you should have emergency medical and evacuation coverage, so get a Vacation Plan or at a minimum a Travel Medical Plan.
I agree, need to make sure you’re not under insured
Travel insurance is one of those things that people tend to not know much about, it’s easiest to go with the first option and I’ve done that before but after a nightmare on holiday a few years ago I’m much more careful about checking t’s and c’s!