Do you absolutely<\/em> need travel insurance? Probably not. But should<\/em> you have travel insurance? We\u2019d say yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Travel insurance is one of those things that most people think they don\u2019t need or assume they\u2019re already covered\u2026 but that\u2019s not usually the case. For example, a lot of people assume their credit card or normal health insurance provides sufficient coverage \u2014 but that\u2019s actually very rare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just think about it\u2026 travel is expensive<\/strong>. You\u2019ve bought plane tickets, train tickets, accommodation, tours, travel gear, electronics, smartphones, laptops, and a bunch more. Travel insurance will help cover all those non-refundable things (plane tickets, train tickets, rental cars, tours, hotels, etc.). Insurance will offer compensation if your bags get lost or stolen. It can help if someone steals your expensive electronics. It will help if your flights get canceled or you can\u2019t go on your trip for some reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And what if you have a medical emergency<\/strong>? Even something as simple as a visit to the hospital for dehydration can hundreds of dollars. But things like broken bones, ambulance rides, hospital stays, or medical evacuations can easily cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luckily, travel insurance is usually reasonably priced and the piece of mind is worth the extra $100-$300 for travel insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Each travel insurance plan will be different but most cover a few common things \u2014 medical emergencies, emergency evacuation, trip cancellation\/interruption, lost luggage, and property theft\/damage. The amount of compensation for each area will differ so we suggest reading the fine details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your normal health insurance probably won\u2019t cover you if you\u2019re overseas \u2014 and if it does, it is still going to cost you a fortune if you get injured because you\u2019ll be out of network. Travel insurance helps fill in this \u201cemergency\u201d gap in coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You never know what could happen when you\u2019re abroad. In South Africa I saw a car run a red light and hit an American girl who was crossing the crosswalk \u2014 the driver sped away but luckily she was relatively uninjured. I saw someone break their leg after a scooter hit them in Rome. I\u2019ve seen people need to get treated at a hospital for dehydration because of food poisoning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes you get injured far away from a hospital or you need to be moved to a different hospital for specialized treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other times your condition might require that you be flown back to your home country for treatment via a medical jet (which can cost over $50,000!). Emergency evacuation will cover those expensive costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of people don\u2019t realize how much of their trip is non-refundable. Airline and train tickets are often non-refundable. Tours are sometimes non-refundable. Accommodation is often non-refundable. The list goes on\u2026 so what happens if you have to cancel your trip? That\u2019s right, you\u2019re stuck paying for a trip you can\u2019t go on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Travel insurance will often cover those non-refundable<\/strong> things if you get sick before you leave, have a death in the family, natural disaster, or terrorist attack interfere with your travels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trip interruption insurance<\/strong> is similar as it covers you if you need to end your trip early for many of the same reasons listed above. For example, if you get injured halfway through, the insurance will cover the rest of your trip, and pay for your last-minute plane ticket back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of insurance plans will cover the cost of a missed flight<\/strong> if your previous flight was delayed. This is helpful because many budget airlines won\u2019t compensate for this. However, many plans have a clause stating that the delay must be 3+ hours long (so it\u2019s no good if your layover was originally under 3 hours).<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few things you\u2019ll want to think about before buying travel insurance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Travel insurance comes in all shapes and sizes \u2014 which is one reason why finding the right policy can be confusing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re doing a mega trip around Europe, then it makes the most sense to buy a plan that has strong trip cancellation\/interruption coverage, lost luggage, and medical emergency coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, remember that trip cancellation\/interruption coverage only covers things that have been prepaid. Therefore, if you\u2019re \u201cwinging it\u201d and buying everything as you go, it might not make sense to pay extra for a plan that has a lot of cancellation\/interruption coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, if you\u2019ve repurchased all your flights, train tickets, accommodation, etc. then trip cancellation\/interruption is very important because many of these things are non-refundable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are you going to be doing dangerous things like extreme sports or skiing<\/strong>? Make sure your policy covers that (many basic plans don\u2019t) \u2014 you can often buy extra coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you plan on driving a car?<\/strong> Look for a policy that covers that. Some credit cards will cover your auto insurance but not always. Be sure to look into that as you don\u2019t want a nasty surprise that you\u2019re not covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some cheaper plans don\u2019t offer a lot of protection. We\u2019ve seen some that only offer $10-$50K in medical coverage \u2014 something like a broken bone and an ambulance ride could easily cost more than that amount of coverage. Personally, I\u2019d stick with $100,000+ worth of coverage but you can easily find plans that offer much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most insurance policies require you to purchase your insurance before or near the time you made your first payment toward your trip (which is usually your flight or tour payment). If you wait too long then the insurance company may not cover you (World Nomads<\/a> lets you buy while on the road). <\/p>\n\n\n\n As a rule, we recommend buying as soon as you have your travel dates set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the most annoying part of buying travel insurance but it\u2019s important to know what you\u2019re buying and how you\u2019re covered. Spend 15 minutes and read through all that annoying stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\nWHAT DOES TRAVEL INSURANCE COVER?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
MEDICAL EMERGENCIES<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
EMERGENCY EVACUATION<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
TRIP CANCELATION, INTERRUPTION, AND FLIGHT DELAYS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN BUYING TRAVEL INSURANCE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
THINK ABOUT WHAT COVERAGE IS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR TRIP <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
KNOW HOW MUCH COVERAGE YOU\u2019RE GETTING<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
DON\u2019T WAIT TOO LONG TO BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
READ THE FINE PRINT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n