Whether you travel once every couple of years, once a year, or every month, do you protect your vacation investment? What I mean is do you protect your investment or do you play it by ear and hope that nothing will go wrong. Now I’m not pushing travel insurance on you nor am I promoting any particular brand of travel insurance. However, if you save money up to take a vacation, why aren’t you protecting your investment?
Lots of people say that travel insurance is a scam. Why should they buy it when they aren’t going to use it? If we use that logic, then we shouldn’t buy auto or medical insurance either. Ideally, you won’t ever have to use it, but if you have to, it’s there to protect you and your investment.
There are many scenarios when travel insurance comes into play. Perhaps you missed your flight to the port city for your cruise. Of course, I won’t chastise you for taking a flight the same day as you really should have flown in the night before, but I digress. If the airline puts you on an alternate flight that has you arriving to the port after the ship sets sail, what will you do? It will be your own expense to arrange transportation to the first port of call. Travel insurance can assist with some of those expenses and take some of the stress off your shoulders.
What if you take your flight to the port city and somewhere along the way the airline loses your luggage? They’ll help you out some, but with travel insurance you’re usually covered for delayed or lost luggage. No one wants to travel without their belongings and this can be a lifesaver. I had that happen to me several years ago when I flew to Colombia. I flew to Colombia and somehow my bags took a scenic trip around the US. I was stuck without my bags for several days and that was horrific.
What if you go to take your flight and the flight is delayed, but the airline isn’t doing anything to assist like providing a hotel or meals? Travel insurance will help with delays and you usually have a number to call 24 hours a day to assist. Without travel insurance, you might end up sitting in an uncomfortable chair at the airport for several hours if not overnight. One time I was flying home and my flight was delayed, which caused me to miss my connection. No travel insurance and nothing to do except pay for a hotel room out of my pocket, I reluctantly did, but I didn’t travel without it after that.
Another scenario people don’t think about is if you become ill before your trip and can’t travel. Imagine if you’ve invested your vacation savings into a trip of a lifetime and you injure yourself or worse. The airlines and cruise lines won’t be able to help you and offer you a refund, this isn’t how it works. When you booked your trip, that space after final payment is no longer available and so it will be vacant if you don’t go. The cruise lines won’t refund you even if they feel bad for you. With travel insurance and of course, a legitimate medical reason backed up by your physician, you are covered.
What if you don’t want to have to explain why you’ve changed your mind? There are plans that offer “cancel for any reason” coverage. That means you don’t have to say why you’re canceling, but you can without any issues. The cost for this type of coverage may be a little higher, but if you think that there’s a chance that you’ll need to cancel, then why not keep your investment protected? Please note there’s a timeframe in which you need to purchase this type of insurance after you book your trip and then it is no longer available.
I’ve heard some people say that they don’t need travel insurance because if they can’t take their trip, they’ll call their credit card company and have them refund the monies. Perhaps you can do that, but who is really paying that expense back to you? Well, that would be the rest of us who are charged higher fees by the banks when we use our credit cards. In the end, I would much rather you invested a little on travel insurance and not force me to cover your missed vacation. I’m sure you’ll understand if I am not overly keen about pitching in for it.
In the end, it’s ultimately your decision whether or not to purchase travel insurance. You might be one of those people that likes to take chances and can’t be bothered with the added expense. I used to feel the same way until I realized the cost of having to pay out of pocket for those expenses I might incur cost way more than if I purchased travel insurance. If you view your vacation as an investment, then why not protect it?
I always forget about travel insurance but after my trip to Jordan, not again!
I feel the same way! Sometimes you have to experience it for yourself before you learn a lesson, but I wish people would listen and not have to do that. When you experience a medical situation like you did or have to cancel a trip, not having insurance can only add unneeded stress.