Having a good insurance when you travel can help protect you in these scenarios, and more. Read our guide to learn how you can protect your vacation — and your hard-earned vacation dollars — with travel insurance.
Why You Need Travel Insurance for International Travel
For most of us, an international trip represents a significant purchase.
We always recommend that our clients purchase an insurance to cover their vacation because none of us can predict the future. If something comes up that means you’ll miss your trip, you’ll lose out on a lot of money if you don’t have insurance.
For example, let’s say you get sick right before you travel, an emergency happens, or you experience a death in the family. Sometimes, travelers assume that the travel suppliers they’ve booked with (like hotels, resorts, or airline carriers) will be understanding in these situations. They assume they’ll receive a refund or voucher for future travel.
Nine times out of ten this is NOT the case.
Travel suppliers state their cancellation policies up front. They also make it clear that travelers can purchase cancellation insurance at the time of booking for an additional fee. Therefore, they do NOT make exceptions to their cancellation rules.
Travel suppliers don’t want to get into the business of deeming one traveler’s emergency more important than another’s. So clearly stated cancellation policies apply to everyone.
The only way to protect your vacation is with travel insurance.
The only way to protect your vacation is with a good insurance that covers your travel needs. Click To Tweet
Travel Insurance Cost — and Why It’s Worth It
Your insurance cost will vary based on a number of factors, including:
- The price of your trip
- The length of your trip
- Your age
- Any pre-existing conditions, for medical travel insurance
No matter the cost, though, travel insurance is usually always worth it for your big vacations.
Here’s why: most insurance will cover a large portion (if not all) of your non-refundable travel deposits, if your reasons for cancelling are covered under their policy.
But that’s not all travel insurance covers.
Often, your insurance will also help you recoup costs if you have to cut your trip short and travel home in case of an emergency. For example, insurance may reimburse you for the cost of your flight home.
If a true emergency does come up when you’re traveling, the last thing you want to think about is, “can I afford to come home?” Travel insurance gives you the ultimate peace of mind — both leading up to your trip and while you’re traveling.
Why You Need Medical Travel Insurance
Protect yourself while traveling with medical travel insurance.
Another type of insurance is medical travel insurance. Typically, you can add this to your standard insurance package. All of the insurance we recommend to our clients includes medical travel insurance.
Some travelers think they don’t need medical travel insurance if they already have healthcare insurance in the U.S.
But look closely at your healthcare insurance policy.
Many U.S. healthcare insurance policies do NOT cover medical issues or emergencies that arise when you travel outside of the U.S.
If you accidentally trip and fall on those beautiful cobblestone alleys in Europe, you’ll be so relieved to know you have medical travel insurance that covers the cost of your hospital trip!
Travel Insurance Reviews and Ratings
There are many insurance companies out there. You can read a ton of reviews and ratings, and still come away confused about what you should purchase.
That’s why we recommend working with a travel advisor who can match you up with a trusted insurance company that meets your needs. For example, we primarily recommend two travel insurance companies to our clients — Allianz and Travel Guard. We’ve worked with these companies for years and trust that they’ll honor their policies and help our clients when they need it.
If you do read travel insurance reviews or look at travel insurance ratings, pay close attention to what the policies actually cover.
For example, many policies do not cover pre-existing conditions.
So, if you have to cancel a trip because your mother is ill — but she was ill at the time you booked your trip — most insurance won’t cover you. You would need to buy special insurance that allows you to cancel at any time, for any reason, and still recoup the majority of your travel costs.
Work With the Experts at Southern Travel Agency to Protect Your Vacation
No doubt about it, picking the right travel insurance can be tricky. That’s why we navigate the process on our clients’ behalf. If you want to work with travel experts to help you seamlessly plan your next vacation, including picking the right insurance, we’d love to help! Work with our online travel agency or our travel agency in Augusta, GA, to plan your next adventure.