Are you planning on traveling and wondering do you need travel insurance? While not every trip you take will require travel insurance, it is wise to consider coverage. Insurance can give you extra protection should something unfortunate and unforeseen happen.
What is Travel Insurance?
Travel Insurance is a policy you purchase that protects you from financial risks and losses that can happen when you are traveling. These losses can be things such as a delayed suitcase or a canceled vacation or even a medical emergency.
Travel insurance provides coverage for you as you travel for work or vacation. There can be many options including trip cancellation and interruption, medical, evacuation, baggage, and flight insurance. Basically, there are generally two kinds of trip insurance:
- Basic trip cancellation protection (Covers lost baggage, missed connections, and trip cancelations due to injury or illness.)
- Comprehensive travel insurance (Includes all types of coverage as well as medical emergency related coverage, coverage if your trip is delayed, if you miss your flight or other itinerary changes).
Benefits of Travel Insurance
Travel insurance has many options and many benefits. It can give you the ability to accommodate and make changes during your travels. Travel insurance allows you to reschedule vacations as needed and provide services during travel to make things easier. Ultimately, insurance will help avoid losing money and put your mind at ease.
Do You Need Travel Insurance?
#1 You Need to Cancel Your Trip
The ability to cancel your trip is a top reason where travel insurance will protect you. If you or someone you are traveling with gets sick or cannot travel for whatever reason, you are covered. Consider that unforeseen things do happen. While you don’t want to cancel your trip, sometimes you have no other choice. What if a work emergency comes up or there is a death in the family? There are many covered reasons that a travel insurance policy has that will allow you to recover the costs of a canceled trip.
#2 Canceled or Delayed Flights
While traveling by plane, you do run the risk of canceled or delayed flights. Did you know that almost 2% of flights are canceled and 20% of flights are delayed? If you opt for travel insurance, specifically trip interruption coverage, you’ll be refunded money to cover a new ticket or for hotel expenses. Additional benefits could be meal or travel expenses.
#3 You Miss Your Connection
Often times your travel itinerary is complex where you might be flying different places, meeting up with groups or even boarding a cruise ship. These details make it more likely that if something goes wrong, such as missing your connecting flight, additional parts of your trips are negatively impacted. Consider a missed connection coverage in your travel insurance policy. This way you can opt to take another flight to catch you up to where you want to be without additional costs.
#4 You Get Sick or Injured
You can plan and plan but if you end up getting ill or hurt while on vacation, it is devastating. You might not know that your health insurance may not completely cover your out-of-pocket expenses. If you need emergency medical care while traveling, consider travel medical coverage. This way, you will have some assistance in getting medical care and you won’t be caught off guard with a huge medical expense.
#5 Natural Disasters
Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes all can wreak havoc on your vacation plans. With travel insurance protection for weather damage, you won’t lose all the things you’ve paid for and you can reschedule your vacation or change destinations.
#6 Terrorist Event
We live in a time where you need to consider this. With terrorism coverage, you can cancel your vacation without penalty.
#7 Your Passport is Lost
Traveling out of the country? With coverage for lost passports, you’ll have assistance in replacing and paying for a new passport as quickly as possible. Passports can be stolen in an attempt to steal your identity and can wreak havoc on your trip and more. Travel insurance can help including coverage for missed or delayed flights as a result of not having your passport.
#8 Delayed or Lost Baggage
Your personal belongings and baggage are important when traveling. But what if your things are delayed or even worse, lost? Consider coverage for delayed, lost, stolen, or damaged bagsto help you recover your belongings. Especially consider this if you are traveling with something expensive, such as sports equipment, a camera, or a musical instrument. You might really appreciate being able to replace clothes and toiletries and more if something happens.
#9 Your Travel Company Goes Under
If you’ve planned your trip by way of a travel agency, what if they suddenly go backrupt? Or the cruise you’ve booked goes under? How do you protect yourself? With trip insurance that covers financial default, you’ll be able to recover your expenses and make plans to reschedule.
#10 You Need Emergency Medical Attention
This is one is rare but should you find yourself in a medical emergency, it would be a relief to have coverage for ER services or even a medical evacuation. Then you could arrange medical transportation without the catastrophic price.
#11 To Avoid Change Fees
Changing your flight costs money. If you have opted for travel insurance, you can reduce or avoid change fees. It will provide you more freedom in making choices during travel.
#12 Round the Clock Assistance
Most travel insurance policies offer 24-hour customer service assistance to help you during your travels. This is invaluable in an emergency and an extremely helpful resource.
Remember, anything can happen in your travels. When planning your next trip, consider travel insurance to give you peace of mind. There are many options but shop around and consider our reasons when purchasing travel insurance.
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