Why Purchase Travel Insurance?

"Life is just what happens to you, while you're busy making other plans"
John Lennon


COVID 19, hurricanes, fires, floods, wars, accidents, canceled flights and lost luggage continue to remind us that the best organized travel plans can be disrupted within in a moment.  

​ If you are like me, you work hard to save for your much anticipated vacations and cannot afford to lose this money or travel opportunity.  

For these reasons, along with 24/7 travel assistance/support provided, we always include the cost of travel insurance in our trip budget for our personal international trips. 

Purchasing travel insurance is not mandatory to travel.  Overall, about 85% of our international and cruise travelers purchase travel insurance since the high trip value and cancellation penalties can be severe.  Unfortunately, for those that were not covered and encountered issues affecting their trips, they had to pay out of pocket for extra costs and lost some and sometimes all of their travel investments. 

For travelers that purchased travel insurance and did have to file a claim for covered reasons, we have not seen any long delays in receiving compensation from insurance companies we work with as long as the claims were adequately documented.  

Travel Insurance protects yourself, your family, your personal belongings, and your travel investment in the case of unforeseen circumstances and provides options to limit your out-of-pocket costs.

Besides peace of mind, consider purchasing travel insurance whenever you can’t afford to lose your travel investment and especially when traveling internationally when your current health insurance policy or Medicare may not be applicable. 
 
Read More for;
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- Top 3 Reasons to Purchase Travel Insurance
- Top 6 Travel Protection Myths 
- Understanding Travel Insurance Costs and Coverage Amounts
- Insider Tips for purchasing Travel Insurance

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Protect your Family, Belongings and Travel Investment

Top 3 Reasons to purchase Travel Protection
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1)     Cancellation – If you have to cancel your trip for a covered reason you can be reimbursed for pre-paid non-refundable costs.

2)      Medical Coverage – It is not uncommon for travelers to get sick when traveling internationally.   Travel insurance can provide coverage and save your out-of-pocket costs for medical expenses that your current health insurance or medica policies may not cover.  Travel insurance can also help pay for costs if you have to be medically evacuated as purchasing last minute commercial or private transportation can be very expensive.  

3)     Personal Belongings – Travel insurance offers coverage for theft or lost luggage, personal belongings and passports.  

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  Top 6 Travel Protection Myths;
 
1)     Credit Card Myth – If you have a credit card, you don’t need travel protection            Fact – Credit cards may not offer the amount and type of coverage that travel         protection plans offer
 
Travel protection though credit card companies may only cover certain travel incident and may only cover cost that have been paid for with that card.  A travel protection plan can provide you with more coverage and options.  

2)      Airline Myth – Airlines always cover costs due to canceled flights
         Fact – Airlines may not be able to help travelers who are forced to cancel
 
If a flight gets canceled or delayed, the passenger may bear the costs of hotel accommodations, food, or re-booking.  Trip Cancellation and Travel Delay coverage can help with the airline cannot.  

3)   Short Trip Myth –  You don’t need travel protection for short trips
       Fact – An incident can occur, no matter how long the trip is
 
An accident or medical emergency can occur whether you are away for a few days or a few weeks.  If something were to happen, a traveler may have to stay in a hospital in a foreign country or arrange last minute and expensive transportation home on their own.  Travel protection plans can help you with this. 

4)   Automatic refund Myth – If you cancel your trip, you will be refunded without the help of travel insurance  
        Fact – Travel protection plans are more affordable than you may think 
 
Some people may feel that travel protection is an extra expense that they do want to pay for in addition to the costs of their trip.  Protecting your trip can be a small price to pay for the amount of coverage you receive not to mention the peace of mind. 

5)     Expensive Myth – The costs add too much of an extra expense to the trip
         Fact - Travel protection plans are more affordable than you may think 

​Some people may feel that travel protection is an extra expense that they simply do not want to pay for in addition to the costs for their trip. Protecting your trip can be a small price to pay for the amount of coverage you receive.   There are no do overs for a bad vacation. 

.6.      Coverages Myth – Coverage only covers actual travel costs
     Fact – Travel insurance can cover all applicable non-refundable costs associated with your trip such as air, hotel, ground transportation, conference or convention registration, tours, show and attraction tickets 

Make sure to add these additional travel related costs into your total trip costs when getting an insurance quote.  

Travel Insurance provides "Peace of Mind"

Understanding Travel Insurance Costs and coverage amounts 

Travel Insurance Basics: When planning your trips, it's crucial to consider travel insurance as part of your budgeting. It ensures peace of mind and protection against unforeseen circumstances. Here's a simplified guide:

1. General Pricing: Travel insurance costs generally range from 7-11% of your total non-refundable trip expenses. Factors influencing the cost include the traveler's age and desired coverage amount.

2. Complimentary Coverage: Many travel insurance providers offer complimentary coverage for children aged 17 and under when traveling with their legal guardians, making it cost-effective for family trips.

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How to calculate trip costs

How to Calculate Your Travel Insurance Coverage Amounts:

Step-by-Step Calculation:

1) Add Initial Expenses: Begin by summing up all pre-paid non-refundable costs like airfare, cruises, accommodations, tours, event registration, meal packages, etc. Remember, if any service like airfare provides a credit in case of a cancellation but charges a cancellation or change fee, only include those specific fees.

2) Divide Costs: If prices are uniform across all travelers in your party, simply divide the total by the number of travelers. For different pricing (e.g., cruises or senior and youth discounts), adjust accordingly per traveler.
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Travel Insurance Insider Tips:

1) Go Refundable: Where possible, choose fully refundable travel options and use credit cards offering travel insurance perks for added security.

2) One Policy, Complete Coverage: You don’t need separate policies for flights, activities, show tickets or accommodations. Also, check with your existing car insurance provider for rental car coverage options or can add this option into your travel insurance policy as this is usually less than paying for auto rental insurance separately at the rental car counter.


3)  Book your travel and insurance through a reputable travel advisor:  They can provide trusted travel insurance company quotes, help with trip costs, coverage, pricing and advise/support you if need to make a claim.   
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Protect your family, belongings and travel investment

Thank you to Travel Insured International for providing some of this information. 

​Please note:
“Travel Insurance coverage only applies during the covered trip. You may have coverage for other sources that provides you with similar benefits but may be subject to different restrictions depending upon your other coverages. You may wish to compare the terms of your travel insurance policy with your existing life, health, home, and automobile insurance policies. If you have any questions about your coverage, call your insurer or insurance agent or broker. The Travel Retailer offering this insurance may not be individually licensed and are not qualified to answer technical questions about the benefits, exclusions, and conditions of the travel insurance plan. They cannot evaluate the adequacy of the prospective insured’s existing insurance coverage.”

 Purchasing travel insurance is not required in order to purchase any other product or service offered by the travel retailer.

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