Choosing the right travel insurance can make the difference between a wonderful experience and nightmarish one, especially when things do go wrong.
A brief holiday might give you back all the energies you lost during the last months of hard labor. A business trip may represent a unique opportunity to skyrocket your career or establish vital connections with new clients. A long journey with no specific destination can be a life-changing personal experience to see things from a different perspectives. Regardless of the circumstances, solid organization is always necessary to make the best out of the trip you just planned.
Whether it is long or short, a voyage towards the unknown (or maybe just towards the less-known) will provide you with the unique opportunity of experiencing foreign cultures, meeting new people and visiting amazing cities and countries. Enjoying this experience to the fullest is mostly up to you and how carefully you planned it in advance.
A good travel insurance is one of the things that can really make the difference during a safe trip, and is a great way to start your planning process. With that being said, what are the benefits of travel insurance?
1. Medical emergencies
Having to deal with a medical emergency when you’re far from home is a terrible experience on its own, but having to pay thousands of dollars (sometimes even tens of thousands) because you got injured in a country where healthcare treatment is not public is even worse, especially if you require a long hospitalization. In many places, medical bills can quickly mount up to unreasonable levels. A good travel insurance plan can cover all those expenses and save you from losing all your hard-earned savings because you sprained an ankle in the wrong country.
2. Protecting your belongings
When was the last time you traveled and didn’t bring your laptop, smartphone or camera with yourself? Losing it can be bad, both because of the monetary value of that item and because of the personal info stored within.
This scenario gets even worse when your belonging are lost by an airline company, and you end up being without your clothes for the whole trip. Travel insurance can cover you for all your stolen, damaged or lost belongings, allowing you to buy a replacement as soon as possible.
3. Unexpected family crisis
Bad things happen, often at the most inappropriate times, such as when we’re enjoying a holiday. What if a loved one got hurt back home while you were in Paris and you have to rush to your homeland ASAP? A travel insurance can provide you with the financial means to buy that expensive last-minute flight ticket. and even cover you if want to continue your journey later. It can also be used to cover your cancellation expenses whenever you need to cancel your trip because of an unforeseen event like a house flood or unexpected sickness.
4. Terrorist attacks
We live in a difficult world. A lot of people today just avoid traveling to the Middle-Eastern countries because they fear terrorist attacks. Other than being scared for your own life, you also risk losing everything if an attack occurs and all airports close to combat the emergency. Sure, you still need to stay home, but at least a travel insurance may cover this type of event and refund all your expenses.
5. Natural disasters
If an earthquake or hurricane damages your destination, you may end up having no hotel to stay in during your holiday. You cannot expect the hospitality structures to refund you either, because they just lost everything. An insurance policy may protect you from any weather damage and let you recover any pre-paid cost. Some of the largest insurance companies in the world will even help you arrange a vacation at a new location.
6. Your travel company goes bankrupt
You’ve just planned a fantastic one-week holiday through the Mediterranean just to find out that the travel agency just filed bankruptcy because of the Greek crisis. Not only is your cruise is canceled, but good luck getting a refund from a defaulted company. Who is going to pay you back for all the money you spent? Travel insurance will recoup all the expenses and even reschedule your cruise for a later time (hopefully with a more financially-stable agency as well).
Choosing the right travel insurance can make the difference between a wonderful experience and nightmarish one, especially when things do go wrong. It can provide you with all the flexibility you need to get out from any possible emergency situation, such as if your belongings get stolen or if you need to change your flight on the go. Take your time and carefully plan your trip, and don’t forget to get the best policy that can cover you in any situation.
Gary Wilkinson is a 27 year old entrepreneur from UK England whose worked with small and large business alike to secure loans.
