People often ignore the relevance of travel insurance because why would you include additional costs to your already expensive travel budget? However, it’s an important part of planning a trip, especially in certain circumstances. You may ask, “Why do I need travel insurance?”. The reality is that life happens.
Whether you’re embarking on a honeymoon with your spouse or a vacation with your buddies, unexpected events can happen anytime, from lost luggage to the cost of medical care if you become ill or have an accident. In this blog, I’ll reveal reasons why you need travel insurance and some circumstances where you may not have to get one.
Now, let’s get into the top four reasons you may need travel insurance before embarking on that trip.
Why do I Need Travel Insurance?
Your Health Insurance May Not be Valid Abroad
You may feel that you don’t need travel insurance because you have active health insurance however, this may not be the case. Lots of domestic health insurance plans are limited to your home country. For instance, medicare in the US. don’t provide health insurance coverage outside the United States. Additionally, private health insurance policies may limit the coverage of some companies outside the country which will be indicated in the terms and conditions. Travel insurance makes up for this by providing financial protection against unexpected emergencies and medical expenses to offering coverage for medical evacuation and even death. To be on the safe side, you can always verify if your health insurance covers medical care outside the country and get travel insurance if it doesn’t.
You may need to Cancel your Trip
Your trip may need to be canceled for several reasons including a sudden illness, the death of a family member, a hurricane at your destination, a job loss, or a plethora of other reasons. The sad part is that if travel insurance does not cover you, there are lots of non-refundable trip expenses paid to tour operators and airlines that you’ll lose. On the flip side, if you cancel an expensive nonrefundable vacation for an approved reason, trip cancelation insurance – which usually comes in the travel insurance package – can provide reimbursement for the non-refundable fees you may have paid. Ensure you go through the terms and conditions of the travel insurance policy to know the trip cancelation reasons covered by your insurance. Some insurance companies like Allianz have a “cancel anytime” plan where you can cancel your trip for almost any reason however, do your due diligence by going through the policies so you’re aware of your limits.
Lost or Delayed Luggage
If you travel a lot and you haven’t experienced lost or delayed luggage, then consider yourself very lucky because this happens a lot. Imagine arriving at your destination and then you’re told that the airline misplaced your luggage. This leaves you in a state of dilemma as you won’t have access to your essentials like clothes and toiletries. It’s even worse if you’re on a tight schedule and you need to catch up with an event. In these situations, travel insurance saves the day. In many cases, there is a waiting period – which varies depending on the insurance provider – before you can claim coverage for missing luggage. Nonetheless, your travel insurance will cover the cost of replacing these items which allows you to continue your trip without any issues. From lost luggage to the cost of medical care if you become ill or have an accident, travel insurance provides coverage for unforeseen events.
Coverage from Personal Liability
Personal liability coverage can give you extra protection if your holiday doesn’t go as planned, particularly in situations where you accidentally hit someone or damage a property while traveling. For instance, imagine you were driving a car you rented during your travel and accidentally hit someone’s dog resulting in it breaking a leg or worse case, dying. Personal liability coverage will cover any legal fees in case the dog owner decides to file a suit. This is very unlikely but there’s still a chance of it happening and it’s better safe than sorry in such situations.
There you have it. My top four reasons why you may need travel insurance are based on my two years of travel experience. There are, however, certain situations where you may not need travel insurance which leads me to some popular questions I get about travel insurance and I’ll answer them below.
Do I need travel insurance if I have health insurance?
You may not necessarily require travel insurance if you have health insurance with International coverage. On the flip side, domestic healthcare plans are usually not accepted outside the U.S. or any other country. In some countries, local law may require you to have medical insurance. Check in with your health insurance to know if they cover you when you travel outside the country and if they don’t, you should get travel insurance. Check here to get more information on what travel insurance coverage does.
What does Travel Insurance not Cover?
Travel insurance does not cover injury, illness, inconvenience, or loss you may experience on your trip due to pre-existing medical conditions. Also, some travel insurance doesn’t cover high-risk adventure sports like rafting, mountaineering, skiing, bungee jumping, or scuba diving. You must review your insurance policy terms and conditions to understand the specifics of what your travel insurance covers and what it doesn’t.
In conclusion, travel insurance protects you from several unforeseen events that may happen. While we don’t hope for tragedy to occur, it does happen and you need to be prepared for that so you can enjoy your travel and also have peace of mind. While it’s a small amount of addition to your travel budget, consider it an investment and never underestimate its value.
