As a fellow traveler, the last thing I want is for surprises to interrupt your trip and forfeit your hard-earned money.
Having learned the hard way: travel insurance takes much of the risk out of trip planning and traveling.
#1 - Reimbursement for Cancelled Trips
Canceled trips are one of my biggest concerns – and for good reason. In many cases, you may not be able to recoup all of your initial investment if you have to cancel your travel plans. Under most circumstances, travel insurance will reimburse you for costs paid upfront that wouldn’t otherwise be refunded. Each insurance provider has a list of reasons that qualify for trip cancellation reimbursement, these typically include sickness, the death of a family member, jury duty, and changes in work schedule.
#2 - Lost or Delayed Luggage Replacement (Major Benefit When Traveling With Kids!)
Replacing your luggage can be a significant expense (even more so when you’re traveling with kids!). If your luggage is lost, stolen, or delayed, trip insurance can help you replace essential items so you can carry on with your travels.
Read: How to Deal with Delayed Luggage
How to Deal with Damaged Luggage
#3 - Financial Help with Medical Emergencies
If you’re traveling domestically, your health insurance covers medical emergencies. But this isn’t always the case when traveling abroad.
Travel insurance fills in the gaps left by your health insurance. This may include emergency dental care, other medical emergencies, and evacuation to your home country.
#4 - Medical Support in Remote Areas
Something as casual as a hike in the mountains can easily turn into a medical emergency, and finding good medical care in remote areas can be challenging. It can cost thousands of dollars to have you airlifted or transported to a medical facility. Even if your medical needs aren’t that extreme, just one incident could force you to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket. The best travel insurance practice is to opt for a plan that includes basic and worst-case-scenario coverage. This way, you have peace of mind in the event of an emergency.
#5 - Coverage for the Whole Family
When you’re traveling with others, your travel-related expenses are much greater than when you’re doing it solo. The more people you’re responsible for, the greater the cost of small interruptions like flight delays or illnesses. For example, if a child were to become too ill to fly, you’d have to alter flight arrangements for everyone in your group.
Travel insurance can cover everyone in your family or group. If an incident occurs, you won’t be stressed about paying for travel changes for every member of your party.
Final Thoughts
I’ll leave you with my last two cents: When you’re preparing for your next trip, make sure you include travel insurance in your plan. It’s something I never thought I’d use, but once I made my first purchase for it, I’ve used it ever since and have never regretted not making the investment to protect my life and belongings.
Travel insurance isn’t one-size-fits-all, so take time to explore the best travel insurance options to find a plan that fits your needs and budget.
Author’s Bio:
Bob Hornal is the founder and President of Best Quote Travel Insurance in Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada. With over 15 years of experience as a financial advisor, Bob has traveled to more than 30 incredible countries and has dealt with a multitude of difficult situations including flight delays, medical emergencies, and weather damage, making Bob an expert at traveling.
His dream is to inspire and inform those who wish to travel by including his personal experiences and professional knowledge in each piece he writes.
We doesn't travel often but I like the idea of travel insurance. I think we will benefit to Lost Luggage replacement. We are a family of 7 --- 5 kids, and most likely a lost luggage can happen 50% of the time if we travel together.
ReplyDeleteIt is not really easy if you have kids in tow. I only have one kid and as much as possible, we try to limit our luggage since we only have two hands.
DeleteI am considering to get one in our next travel. I saw that SM is offering this, nakalimutan ko lang magkano. Nakita ko sa Bills Payment area
ReplyDeleteI saw that travel insurance too (Pioneer) when I requested for PSA birth certificate and marriage certificate in SM last week. Mas mura nga yung rates nila ng konti sa dati ko binilhan but I'm not sure yet kung mabilis ba nila isend yung policy after magbayad.
DeleteI totally agree. You'll never know what's going to happen when you travel, so best be prepared for the ''just in cases.'' Will ask our FA re travel insurances.
ReplyDeleteTrue, before I don't buy travel insurance because it is an additional expense but few years ago, I already included it in our travel expenses.
DeleteYes, I think travel insurance is a must. Sana lang, they put it as mandatory or kahit basic man lang kasama na sa air fare. The problem is, you still have a choice not to get one and pag nagtitipid ka, the temptation lagi is nandun na magtipid.
ReplyDeleteFeeling ko kaya hindi mandatory so we have an option to look for affordable travel insurance. Nacompare ko din siya before kaya bumili ko sa iba at hindi nag-add ng travel insurance sa airlines. True, lagi tayo dun sa makakatipid pero we never know kung kelan natin magagamit.
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