As a travel advisor, I always recommend travel insurance to my clients. I don't push it though. Some travelers simply don't believe in it and choose to self-insure for any issues that might come up. Before I worked in travel, I used to think the same thing, that insurance was just an extra expense I simply didn't need. But I recently found out just how valuable travel insurance can be.
As some of you may know, I am the Virtuoso Host for the July 29, 2016 voyage on the Silver Spirit. This cruise was originally scheduled out of Istanbul, but with everything that's been going on there Silversea wisely decided to change the port of embarkation to Athens a few weeks ago. When I called the airline to change my flights, they were happy to do so for a change fee of $900. I promptly filed a claim with my insurer, and a few weeks later I had a check for $900 to reimburse me for this air penalty. Considering I paid a small premium of $250 for this policy, I feel like I got a good deal on this one.
There are two important reasons to buy travel insurance: 1) to cover cancellation penalties if you have to cancel your trip for a covered reason , and 2) to cover medical expenses and evacuation back to your home country in the event you are ill or in an accident while on vacations. Most polices also offer additional benefits for trip interruption and travel delays, and even lost baggage.
Cancellation penalties can be huge in luxury travel. I've seen luxury travelers lose $10,000-$20,000 in cruise cancellation penalties due to medical issues or a serious accident prior to the cruise date. The terms and conditions for most travel companies have strict cancellation penalties, and they don't make exceptions even if the saddest of cases. They won't let you apply your fare to future cruise, or let you change the names so friend of family member could go in your stead. The only way to protect yourself is by getting travel insurance.
Medical coverage abroad is the other main reason to get insurance. Some insurance companies will cover you while you are traveling, but you need to carefully check your terms and conditions to make sure you are protected. Most comprehensive travel insurance policies include some coverage for both medical expenses and transportation.
If you are frequent traveler, you may want to consider an annual medical evacuation policy like MedJet. I personally subscribe to their Horizon Plan, which includes all the air medical transport benefits of a Classic Medjet membership, plus medical, travel security and crisis response services. With the amount terrorism and civil unrest happening around the world, it provides some additional peace of mind while traveling.
Insurance is a tool for managing risk, and it is up to you to decide what types of risks you are comfortable with.
Topics: Travel Insurance