I love to travel and often wonder if travel insurance is worth the cost. Many times I decide to purchase it depending on where I am headed and the cost of the ticket. If I can afford a travel change fee or cancellation fee, then I forgo it.
However, there are many benefits for taking the plunge. I think that travel insurance is a good idea, regardless of where you are going. Yes, it’s an extra cost that you will be tempted to pass over. Especially when you are on a limited budget, paying for travel insurance can seem like an unnecessary expense. However, travel insurance can literally save the day should something go wrong on your vacation.
Think about the following possibilities:
- You have to cancel your travel plans unexpectedly.
- A natural disaster damages your destination.
- Your luggage is lost.
- You get sick or injured on your trip.
- You lose your passport.
If any of these events happen, travel insurance can save you a lot of grief. Check out these benefits.
Top Benefits for Buying Travel Insurance
Trip Cancellation
Travel insurance generally covers many aspects of your trip, but there are also things that it won’t cover. One of the important benefits you should look for is trip cancellation availability – cancellation for any reason.
** Once you pay for travel insurance, the last thing the company wants to do is actually pay a claim to you. Be sure that you understand what is covered and what isn’t if you need to cancel.
Before you purchase, ask questions and don’t purchase if the company seems to be giving you the run around.
Medical Benefit
The medical insurance that’s included in travel insurance policies is generally considered to be secondary. In other words, you need to have primary medical insurance before the medical benefit of your travel insurance kicks in.
Be sure to check your primary health insurance coverage before you leave home so that you know what would be covered in the event that you end up needing medical services.
If you end up in a hospital in a foreign country, you might be asked to pay immediately for medical services you receive, even emergency services, simply because you are an international tourist. You would then submit the expenses to your primary medical insurance company.
Once your primary medical insurance has reimbursed you, the medical benefit of your travel insurance will kick in for the costs that your primary insurance didn’t cover. Once again, be sure to ask plenty of questions before you purchase travel insurance so that you understand what medical expenses might not be covered and how the process works.
There are many places online to get travel insurance. Wherever you pick, make sure that you read the fine print and ask plenty of questions. You need to know exactly to expect if you actually need to use the insurance.
Miscellaneous Benefits
Some trip insurance companies will cover the expense of replacing a lost bag, and others will help you replace your passport and wallet should they go missing, including replacing travelers checks and lost cash. Others won’t offer these services to you.
Do your research, and select your travel insurance carefully to avoid regrets should something happen on your vacation.
Hi! I’m Chris! Just a Midlife Wife sharing about life’s journey; screaming and kicking through it while supposedly aging gracefully…
Focusing on healthy living, low carb & keto, things I am loving right now, and life in general.