Forgetting Something? How Travel Insurance Can Lessen Your Stress

Traveling can be stressful. Besides packing and putting together itineraries, you have to worry about getting from place to place in an unfamiliar setting. Worse yet, unforeseen circumstances—illness, injury, death in the family, or another unplanned event—can happen at any time while you’re gone, forcing you to cut your getaway short.  Rather than accept the risk and hope for the best, you may want to purchase travel insurance while you’re away.

There are different levels of coverage available depending on where you’re going, how long you will be gone, and whether you have any preexisting medical conditions.  Travel insurance offers two main benefits:

Trip cancellation or interruption expenses.

You’re packed and ready to go, and:

A.      Right before you’re supposed to leave, you or someone you’re traveling with breaks a bone and can barely get out of bed.

B.      A family member you’re not traveling with gets ill or injured and you decide to cancel your trip and take care of them.

C.      A relative passes away while you’re gone and you must fly home early to attend the funeral. 

Any of these scenarios can happen to anyone, and if you have a travel policy, it will help you with any costs related to cancelled reservations, many of which are often nonrefundable and can come with steep penalties.   

Medical treatment coverage.

If you’re traveling internationally, your health insurance policy may not be applicable (review it thoroughly before you leave). If you’re traveling domestically, a travel policy can serve as secondary coverage if you already have health insurance. If you or someone you’re traveling with gets seriously ill and needs to be returned home (called “repatriation”) by specialized transport, your policy can help with those costs, as well.

Other benefits of travel policies include reimbursement costs for travel delays, lost or damaged luggage or other personal property.  The policy can include you and those you’re traveling with, so everyone in your party will have the same levels of coverage.

Traveling is supposed to be a fun, eye-opening experience for making lasting memories with your loved ones. Don’t let an emergency cut that experience short.

Do you purchase travel insurance? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!