Travel Tips: Why You Need Travel Insurance

Luxor Temple Egypt, ecoxplorer.com — ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter in Luxor, Egypt. Photo by Robert Holmes.

Coronavirus, political turmoil, blizzards and snowstorms that shut down airports in winter, hurricanes that shut down airports in summer and fall, computer outages that ground flights, or an injury or family emergency that prevents you from taking the trip you paid for.

These are just some of the reasons to have travel insurance. There are many more.

Travel insurance protects you

Travel insurance protects you against losses from missed connections, missing baggage, cancelled tours, cancelled flights, even losing your passport and emergency medical evacuation.

It even will allow you to cancel travel arrangements “for any reason”, such as the fear of Coronavirus.

Airlines and other travel-related businesses have been allowing passengers and guests to change plans without penalty, but that may not last forever.

What kind of travel insurance you should have, and how much it will cost, depends on how much protection is built in to your homeowner’s policy or your credit card agreement, and the length and cost of your trip.

You can buy policies that cover a particular trip.

Others — like the one I have myself — will cover you for a year at a time, just as your homeowner’s or auto insurance does.

An overlooked benefit of travel insurance

Travel insurance gives you one central place to contact online or on the phone to help you, including re-imbursement.

Having one central contact is a lot less stressful than dealing separately with your airline, rental car company, cruise line or multiple hotels in multiple cities.

The largest and best travel insurance companies have toll-free help centers that operate 24/7, including toll-free international calls.

Travel agents and tour operators often require you get insurance for a trip that includes airfare and a cruise, or another complicated itinerary. That protects both sides – the agent or operator and the traveler.

You may already be covered

Be sure to check your homeowner’s policy, even your auto insurance policy for hidden gems of coverage.

Be sure to check the fine print on your credit card, which also often provides some basic coverage.

What type of travel insurance to get

Even the most basic travel insurance policy covers the most important three travel problems — baggage, flights and medical.

Then, you can add value or clauses to cover specific concerns, such as cancellation for any reason, including political unrest, or medical treatment at the hospital of your choice, even if that requires helicopter evacuation.

Basic policies cover delayed baggage, so you can buy yourself a toothbrush and a clean t-shirt and be re-imbursed.

But that’s not enough for complicated itineraries like cruises or tours involving internal flights, especially to isolated destinations.

What to look for in a travel insurance policy

Trip interruption

Without this, you are at the mercy of airlines, which can charge as much as ten times the price of your original, discounted, advance-purchase ticket for a replacement.

And your hotel probably will charge you a ‘no-show’ fee that’s as much as the full cost of the room, even if they rent it to somebody else.

Trip interruption coverage is a basic part of travel insurance.

Trip cancellation

This is different from trip interruption coverage, and usually is included in more expensive policies.

Or, buy it as an add-on to your basic travel insurance coverage.

Cancellation insurance “for any reason” covers you if you decide not to take the trip at all – because you lost your job, an illness in the family, your dog sitter quit, or because you heard there would be political demonstrations near your hotel.

Medical coverage

Many travel insurance policies cover medical care away from home that is not covered by your regular health insurance policy.

Medicare does not cover medical care outside the United States, so it is especially important for U. S. travelers over 65 to have a medical component to their travel insurance.

Generally, travel insurance policies have a medical cap at $5,000 or $10,000, and usually cover everybody traveling together on a family trip. But read the fine print to be sure.

For a once-in-a-lifetime ‘bucket list’ trip – to see the penguins in Patagonia, hike the rugged trails of Bhutan, or ski the Alps – consider a travel insurance policy that includes helicopter evacuation from even the most remote area.

MedJet Assist will even fly you home in a special med-evac aircraft. Expensive? If you had to pay for it out-of-pocket, it could cost $15,000, or more. But your entire family is covered for $350 a year.

Other travel insurance companies I recommend include —