Is Travel Insurance a Good Idea?

Travel insurance is one of those add on costs when you are booking that exciting well deserved vacation (holiday).  To many it seems like it is just wasted money because nothing ever goes wrong or if it does they roll with the punches and take it in stride.  Others swear by it because they know the costs associated with things going wrong.  Also, they understand that when things go wrong it is not always someone else’s responsibility to cover their additional costs, which can mount rapidly depending on circumstances.

There are so many reasons in favor of having travel insurance and so few legitimate reasons not to have it. For most folks a vacation represents one of the most major purchases for a specific year.  When folks buy a new car or new house they definitely insure it.  Thus when sinking a few thousand dollars, which in many cases are non-refundable, into a vacation is a huge investment. If for some reason the trip had to be cancelled most people would want their money back or at least most of it back. Also, if they have problems along the way to or from the trip again they want help with the extra expenses.

In a worst case scenario on a foreign trip if you or a family member traveling with you were to become ill or injured you want help picking care and ensuring it is paid for. If you need medical evacuation you want to have that paid for as well. This is one of the key features many people cite as their key reason for adding coverage.

With travel increasing in cost and vacations growing as an expense for most, the invested dollars are becoming more important to most families.  Thus a missed vacation and lost dollars are also more important to families. The extra costs associated with things going wrong can easily kill the budget for their trip. A medical evacuation not paid by any insurance could easily put most families in serious financial trouble when often they cost $15,000 or more depending on when, where, and how far they have to fly. 

Travel insurance covers so many different situations that may come up that causes problems for your trip. It typically covers things such as cancellation of trip for medical reasons of travelers and their immediate family members. Death of family of the travelers also tends to be a covered situation. In some policies work related cancellations are possible, but you have to really watch the exclusions there as business owners typically can’t cancel for business reasons. You can buy a rider on some policies that allow cancellation for any reason.

Once the trip starts you usually have coverage for many things that come up such as missed connections and other delays. This helps you catch up with your ship, pay for a hotel room and extra meals on the trip due to issues that come up. (You do have to check exclusions to know when coverage will not occur.) Should your luggage not arrive with you on the flight, most travel insurance providers will keep watch on the location process and ensure the bags get to you timely. They will also offer different levels of coverage for replacement items and in the event the bag never found and returned they will pay you for the lost goods, at least up to the limits of the policy.

Should you have to break away from the trip in the middle of vacation there are typically trip interruption provisions that will help cover the cost of returning home early if that should be necessary.  Thus, if you get sick and need to go home for care not requiring a specific medical evacuation this is where that can come into play.  If a family member dies or becomes seriously injured or ill the trip interruption provision may come into play.

Another feature of the travel insurance is that they have folks well versed in helping arrange alternative travel when things go wrong. Thus, if your flight gets cancelled you can call them and they will work out new travel plans for you keeping in mind various aspects of the trip important to you. If you are on the way to a ship and need to be at the port by a specific time that can be the guideline in getting the trip reworked.  They can also go and find a hotel when the airport is backing up with tons of stranded travelers. These specific items really can make a big difference when you are already under the stress of missing part of your vacation.

Before the trip you can get concierge services from the insurance company. For instance on a recent trip I had them find me internet café’s near to each of the ports of call we stopped at so I would have a list before I even arrived at the ports. The can arrange special meals for you and even help get limited show tickets. They are there to help you make the trip an even better experience for your travels.

Those who say that travel insurance is an expense not worth it to them, offer up that they never have a need for any of the covered things and will suffer the loss of the non-refundable trip fees. This may work for some, but unless you live near the port and can dive there or to the resort you plan to use, you may well find that air travel offers many troubles at unexpected times. If you are on Medicare and travel out of the country you have NO medical coverage so assuming that just because you are healthy and nothing has ever happened is not a good idea. Some can afford to self insure but very few are in that club. 

Airlines and cruises are not required to cover costs associated with missing flights or ships and in many cases every issue that comes up falls into a category where the expense is yours to cover. Thus, things you may expect other vendors to cover for you, really are not going to be covered so the idea that the airline or cruise line will take care of me is outdated and one you should not fall back on.  Thus, there is more reason again that getting coverage is important.  This is even more true when traveling internationally where if you have health insurance other than Medicare you may have emergency coverage but almost never have medical evacuation coverage.

We work with several travel insurance carriers. For help picking the right travel insurance plan give us a call. For an immediate quote check out these policies and rates.