Do You Really Need Travel Insurance?
One of the things that almost all travel agents try to sell you with your ticket is travel insurance, and that hasn’t changed now that many airline tickets are sold online. But do you really need travel insurance or is it just a scam to put more money in agents’ pockets.
Travel insurance is useful for active vacationers.
One of the reasons why travel agents often recommend travel insurance is because they earn a nice commission from every policy they sell, but does that mean that the whole idea is worthless? Not at all. As with most things, it’s about getting the right kind of cover at the right time. This is one time when it pays to read the fine print and see what is covered and what is not. And before you do that, there’s some other fine print you should read, on your household insurance policy.
Reading The Fine Print
Dig a bit deeper and you may find that some of the cover you need is already included in that policy. Many of your household items may be covered when they are not at home, so you don’t need additional cover for them when you are away. And if you have comprehensive health insurance that covers your medical needs when abroad, then getting a policy with medical cover might be redundant.
Those are two cases when you don’t need travel insurance, but what about when you do? For example, if you have bought a non-refundable ticket and your flight is delayed or canceled, completely disrupting your trip, that would usually mean money down the drain. But if you have a travel insurance policy with cancellation cover, you can rearrange your travel plans, knowing that you won’t lose too much money.
What’s Already Covered?
If your personal belongings are not covered on your household insurance policy, then you need cover in case they are lost or stolen. Holiday makers are usually more relaxed and less attentive, which is why items tend to go missing. Investing in a travel insurance policy could give you peace of mind.
This is even more important when it comes to your health. Medical cover can be even more expensive abroad than it is at home, so if you are going on an active vacation where accidents are common (such as snowboarding or skiing) then it makes sense to get travel insurance so you can get hospital care abroad or be flown home for treatment. You can even get policies which cover companion travel in case of illness and compensate you for lost or permanently damaged limbs.
Types Of Policies
These are good reasons to buy travel insurance, but what should you buy and where should you buy it? Most travel insurance policies are for either single trips or multiple trips. If you travel often, then a multi-trip policy might save you money. There are many insurance companies that sell stand alone policies not linked to any travel provider; these are often good value.
So, do you need travel insurance? To sum up, it depends on what’s already covered by your other insurance and how much you value your peace of mind. If you are planning a complex trip abroad, then you almost certainly do need it.
Tags: travel, travel insurance
October 29th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
The U.S. Department of State cautions against making the assumption that your existing health insurance will cover you when traveling internationally:”Many health insurance plans do not provide coverage overseas. Those that provide “customary and reasonable” hospital costs abroad may not pay for your medical evacuation back to the United States which can easily cost $10,000.00 and up depending on your location and medical condition.” So it’s probably worth checking with your insurance company.
December 7th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
As a travel agent of 27 years, I highly resent the implication that we are “scamming” the public to steamroll our clients into purchasing insurance. I weigh all the options and am able to advise clients as to whether they need it or not. In this era of H1N1, tour operator defaults, etc., I feel it is necessary most of the time to protect that trip of a lifetime. I myself just went on a trip to Spain and Portugal and I purchased insurance(and I did NOT get a discount) for myself for medical coverage and any delays. I did not have to use the insurance but I at least had the peace of mind. (out of 10 travel agents on this trip, 8 had purchased travel insurance)
You don’t hear horror stories from my clients because I take care of my clients!! And when you have a client that needs medical care in a foreign country, they will thank you on their return.
Thanks for allowing me to defend travel agents.
December 7th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Hi Brenda, as you’ll see, the conclusion of the post is that people should have travel insurance, but need to make sure that they get the right coverage for their needs. I myself purchase travel insurance for all my trips but I make sure that I get cover only for items that are not covered by other policies.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:17 am
[...] travel agent recently commented on an old post on whether we really need travel insurance. She said: I highly resent the implication that we are “scamming” the public to steamroll our [...]