Vacations often come with unexpected surprises, and the added expense of an accident can be an unwanted burden. You may want to consider purchasing travel insurance if you have had an incident on vacation in the past, experience medical problems, or your job has an unpredictable workload. Spend less time on vacation reducing stress and more time enjoying once-in-a-lifetime experiences with loved ones. Here are seven reasons why purchasing travel insurance might be a good idea for you.
1. TRIP CANCELLATION
To secure the best deals on vacations, users are often prompted to prepay for some or all aspects of the trip–including rooms, rental cars, and airfare–in order to get the discount. This prepaid discount is shown to users in the form of a non-refundable price. There may also be a refundable price nearby that, while is typically more expensive, allows shoppers to cancel their reservations without penalties.
Sometimes, promises have to be broken when an external circumstance like illness prompts a person to cancel their reservations, hence the need for trip cancellation insurance. This coverage type works by allowing a person to be reimbursed for non-refundable trip costs that were paid at the time of booking. Without trip cancellation insurance, those expenses would otherwise be forfeited in the event of a cancellation, thereby inconveniencing the user.
Often times, trip cancellation insurance is actually cheaper than the difference between a refundable fare and a non-refundable fare. In other words, you would still save money purchasing trip insurance with a non-refundable fare than you would purchasing the refundable fare by itself. But travel insurance provides a variety of other benefits alongside the ability to make changes, even if a trip departs as scheduled.
2. EMERGENCY EVACUATION
There may be an issue during your vacation that requires an emergency evacuation. If you are evacuated during your trip to an unexpected location, for instance, you may be seriously inconvenienced for the remainder of your trip. This could be particularly problematic and expensive in a different country if you’re not familiar with local culture.
Travel insurance allows you to minimize this risk and protects against an emergency evacuation by allowing you to recover the costs of things like unused tickets, room nights, and attendance at events. The logistics of an emergency situation make it difficult to plan and make adjustments on short notice, which is why it’s good to know you’ll be covered before it occurs.
3. MEDICAL EMERGENCY
Traveling in and of itself can be a stressful experience, and medical problems only complicate things further. Fortunately, travel insurance takes all of these concerns into consideration by protecting against unexpected medical expenses. You may be eligible for reimbursement for a medical emergency experienced on vacation.
Although unexpected issues can come up at any time, a vacation is a particularly inconvenient time to experience a medical emergency. Most people are not as familiar with the areas they travel in as they are their home locations, and that includes access to hospitals and doctors’ offices. Not only that, but paying for treatment out of pocket can be more expensive in unknown locations.
4. WEATHER
No vacation goes one hundred percent as planned, and weather is a perfect example of this. No matter how much you try to anticipate things ahead of time, it’s impossible to predict all of the details.
Natural phenomena is responsible for the vast majority of travel problems. Travelers visiting locations prone to natural disasters should consider purchasing travel insurance to guard against travel delays and other inconveniences. Some types of natural disasters strike without warning, including earthquakes and flash floods.
Don’t let your travel plans be dampened by wild weather. Purchase trip insurance to make sure you’re covered in the event of a weather-related trip change.
5. FLEXIBILITY
One of the largest benefits of travel insurance is flexibility. Things happen in life, and sometimes it’s necessary to rearrange elements in order to meet more pressing needs. Purchasing travel insurance allows you to prioritize your immediate needs and postpone your trip if you need the money for another situation like an unexpected car repair, for example.
Not only that, but travel insurance allows you to secure the best possible deal knowing you’re covered if you resume shopping at a later time. This added flexibility allows you the latitude to make changes to your itinerary without fear of consequences. Found a better deal at the last minute? You’re good to go.
6. PROTECTING YOUR INVESTMENT
The Internet has changed the way people plan for and purchase trips. Intense competition by way of comparison shopping has allowed users to take advantage of deep discounts by booking directly on websites, thereby reducing both the need for a third party to make the selections and, ultimately, the cost of the trip.
It might be a good idea to purchase travel insurance if you anticipate the possibility of having to cancel or postpone your vacation. Most vacations can easily top several thousands of dollars, which is a costly investment for a once-a-year trip. Protecting your investment should be priority number one.
7. OTHER UNEXPECTED CIRCUMSTANCES
Planning for everything that can possibly happen on vacation is a tall order. That’s why travel insurance has you covered in the event of unexpected circumstances. Perhaps you’d like to leave your trip later than expected. Or arrive earlier than expected. Either way, changes to reservations can be costly.
The majority of people consider travel insurance only after experiencing a costly cancellation; however, it’s a good idea to purchase coverage before an issue occurs. Trip insurance is one of those things where, if you need it, you wished you’d had it ahead of time because it’s better to have protection and not need it than to need protection and not have it, like car insurance and home insurance.