The Top 5 Reasons to get Travel Insurance
A lot of people weigh the additional expense and ask, “Is travel insurance worth it?” holiday insurance
Most of the time, the answer is an all-caps – YES. This is why:
#1 Most of us can’t afford to lose our vacation investment holiday insurance
Consider spending $7,000 on a once-in-a-lifetime, lavish trip across the Mediterranean to celebrate your 25th wedding anniversary. Your mother had a major fall the day before the sailing and winded up in the hospital. The cruise line is compassionate when you phone and explain what happened, but you won’t get your money back. There are no refunds if you cancel within 14 days of departure, according to company policy.
Situations like these are why travel insurance is a must. When you have travel insurance with trip cancellation benefits, you can get reimbursement for prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs when you must cancel for a covered reason. Covered reasons can include situations like the covered serious illness or injury of the insured person, a travel companion, or a family member; the death of the insured traveler, traveling companion, or a family member; a natural disaster or another event that renders your destination uninhabitable; etc.
#2 Medical emergencies overseas can be really expensive holiday insurance
Suppose the following: You suffer a fractured leg and other severe injuries when a truck crashes into your rented car while on a driving tour of Argentina or Emirates or Greece. You muster up your strength when you go to the hospital to take out your insurance card. The employees simply shake their heads. Your medical expenses will quickly reach tens of thousands of dollars and require upfront payment for treatment. Depending on the country you’re in and the distance to the nearest hospital, the cost of a medical evacuation may reach $200,000 or even more.
As the U.S. State Department notes, “many foreign medical facilities and providers require cash payment up front and do not accept U.S. insurance plans. Medicare does not provide coverage outside of the United States.”
When you have travel insurance with emergency medical benefits, it can pay for losses due to covered medical and dental emergencies that occur during your trip. Emergency medical transportation benefits can pay for medically necessary transportation to the nearest appropriate medical facility, as well as the cost of getting you home following a covered injury or illness. The Allianz Global Assistance hotline staff may even be able to arrange payment in advance for covered emergency medical care. The upshot: When you’re wondering “is travel insurance worth it?”, weigh the small cost of buying insurance against the massive costs of a medical emergency overseas.
#3 You don’t want minor mishaps to ruin your trip
Actually, taking a vacation is an investment in your pleasure. And when that trip is marred by a flight cancellation, a missed connection, lost luggage, or another travel mishap, the positive travel vibes start to dissipate.
Travel insurance can help make these situations better. Travel delay benefits can reimburse you for additional accommodation/travel expenses and lost prepaid expenses due to a covered departure delay of six or more hours. Baggage delay benefits can reimburse you for the reasonable additional purchase of essential items during your trip if your baggage is delayed or misdirected by a common carrier for 24 hours or more. Several more benefits address other common travel mishaps, so check your plan to see what’s included.
#4 It’s easy to find affordable travel insurance
The most common excuse for not purchasing travel insurance is probably cost. We are aware of! It can be challenging to spend even a little bit more on insurance when you’ve already paid hundreds of dollars for a long-awaited cruise or resort holiday.
The cost of insurance is something that many individuals are unaware of. To help you choose the coverage option that’s appropriate for your trip and your budget, we’ll give you a range of coverage alternatives when you get a travel insurance quotation. The best affordable travel insurance choice for you may be an AllTrips plan, which covers all of your travel over the course of a year if you know you’ll be taking more than two trips this year.
The best way to find a low-cost travel insurance plan is to get a quote for your next trip and then compare plans. Remember: If you’re not completely satisfied, you have 10 days (or more, depending on your state of residence) to request a refund, provided you haven’t started your trip or initiated a claim. Premiums are non-refundable after this period.
And this one is for US citizens only:
#5 The U.S. Department of State says so! holiday insurance
What should you do initially in case of an emergency while traveling abroad? The majority of American tourists who need assistance call the local American embassy, although they are frequently disappointed to learn that the staff’s authority is constrained. In addition to connecting you with other resources, they may aid you in replacing a stolen passport, getting in touch with relatives or friends back home, locating medical or legal support, and interacting with the local police. However, an embassy is unable to cover your travel-related expenses, including any medical bills, lost wages, and emergency transportation (unless in the case of significant disasters).
That’s why the State Department advises American travelers to carry travel insurance — specifically, travel insurance that includes emergency medical benefits, emergency medical transportation benefits, and coverage for other unexpected expenses, like trip cancellation and lost or stolen luggage.
