It sounds like a good idea, but is it worth it and what are the real benefits of travel insurance? Here’s the complete run-down from the experts.
1 September 2010Most travelers spend a lot of time and effort planning the perfect vacations, but they often overlook the importance of getting a good travel insurance policy. Travelers are more vulnerable to illnesses and accidents when they are traveling in a strange land, and there is no sure way to prevent unfortunate incidents from taking place.
Although travel insurance cannot help people avoid misfortunes during their travels, it offers consolation in the form of monetary compensation, which can be very useful in certain situations. Travel insurance provides a wide range of benefits for travelers. Firstly, it offers financial recovery for medical expenses that are incurred because of accidents and illnesses. Medical treatment is very costly in some countries, and those who sustain serious injuries may have to pay medical bills that amount to tens of thousands of dollars. With travel medical insurance, travelers can get reimbursement for the total amount of money that they spend on medical treatment. Travel insurance also covers medical evacuation, which means that travelers do not have to pay medical emergency transportation expenses with their own money.
Another important benefit of travel insurance is that it provides protection against trip cancellation and interruption. When an emergency arises before or during a vacation, travelers may have to cancel or cut short their trips. Since they have already paid for their vacations, they will stand to lose a substantial amount of money. Travel insurance ensures that they will get compensation for losses that result from trip cancellation or interruption. Additionally, those who have a travel policy will get coverage for loss baggage or personal belongings.
Other types of coverage that are available to travel insurance buyers include travel delay, tour operator default, personal liability, accidental death, legal expenses, repatriation, emergency reunion, dental expenses, and others. A travel insurance policy does not only ensure that you will get coverage for unforeseen losses; it also allows you to avail of a number of services that can be invaluable during times of emergency. Most travel insurance companies offer travel assistance and 24-hour emergency services to help their customers deal with unfavorable situations during their vacations. If you meet with an accident or lose your travel documents, you can seek assistance from your insurance company. The company will offer the best advice or contact local emergency services to help you solve your problems in the shortest time possible. This kind of assistance is especially important if you are traveling to a country where the locals do not speak your language.
Damian Tysdal is the founder of CoverTrip, and is a licensed agent for travel insurance (MA 1883287). He believes travel insurance should be easier to understand, and started the first travel insurance blog in 2006.