When you travel, particularly to overseas countries, you are embarking on a journey for new experiences that you won’t find at home, but you are also taking a whole lot of new risks. What you may not consider is that all the insurance policies you wouldn’t go without at home – such as life insurance, health insurance and home and contents insurance – won’t necessarily cover you when you are travelling. When planning a trip you need to be aware of the potential risks that could occur when you’re away and make sure you insure yourself in case of the worst. This is not to discourage travelling, but to encourage travelling with all risks covered.
Every year thousands of people have to be assisted in foreign countries with hefty medical bills or evacuation costs that can mount up to the high thousands. Those who have had travel insurance have luckily escaped the financial burden placed upon themselves and their families of paying these bills. For obvious reasons, having a comprehensive insurance policy that covers unlimited medical, hospital and emergency costs is crucial. More seriously, if you accidentally die when you are overseas then your family back home will be burdened not only by grief but by the huge costs of repatriation and funeral expenses. Think about it: the cost of buying travel insurance is next to nothing in comparison.
It’s not just the medical side of things that can mount up. If you miss a connecting flight because of bad weather conditions, or if there is a strike or riot that prevents you from catching your flight, bus or train, then you will not only be up for the cost of alternative transport but the delay could mean that you miss your pre-booked tour, special event or accommodation. The cancellation costs or lost deposits on top of the extra money forked out to pay for alternative transport and accommodation will not be welcomed. Comprehensive travel insurance will cover these events beyond your control and make sure you get to where you’re supposed to be pretty much hassle-free.
There’s a stack of reasons why you should insure yourself when travelling. Misdirected, broken or stolen luggage is the last thing you want to deal with on your big trip. If you’re renting a car then rental vehicle excess is an important extra benefit. Cover for family emergencies will make sure that if something terrible happens to your loved ones back home you will get home with all costs covered. Think about it: you wouldn’t consider living without medical insurance at home, nor would you leave your home or car uninsured. These are things that in our society we simply would not go without, so why would you travel without the same cover?
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