This time of year brings a close to many of the summer activities, but in my world, it also brings the potential for storms that affect travel. We are now in well in to hurricane season with the highest potential yet to come. I always encourage everyone to get travel insurance because you just never know what is going to happen. This week there are 2 hurricanes headed for the Hawaiian Islands, these are just not things you can anticipate!
The whole purpose of travel insurance is the same as any other insurance you may purchase, to protect you from unforeseeable events. Unforeseeable events range from storms to medical emergencies. Without discussing specific travel insurance policies, let’s take a look at some of the events that may affect your travel plans.
Storms:
Once a storm is named you cannot purchase insurance that will cover problems with your trip due to the storm. I hate it when I hear stories of vacations ruined due to a storm and people were traveling without insurance. If you’re going on the vacation you’ve always dreamed of, why would you risk all of your hard earned money by traveling without insurance?
Medical Emergency prior to travel:
It’s not just your medical emergency to consider, it could be someone else’s in your immediate family. Do you have aging parents or grandparents? Do you have children? Do you have siblings? My own personal story is that my dad became very ill and 5 days before a 3 week trip we had scheduled to Europe. We were advised by physicians not to travel. Had we not had travel insurance, it would have been a forfeit of all of our funds. Just last week I had a client have to cancel due to a sudden unexpected death of a grandparent. I had a groom have to reschedule a honeymoon due to a motorcycle accident.
Health insurance may not go the distance:
The majority of health insurance (including Medicare), worker’s compensation insurance, third-party and personal liability policies don’t cover international travel. Many employer based policies only provide medical coverage internationally when traveling on business, not personal travel. If your insurance pays based on networks, there are very few international health care facilities that are considered “in network”. In fact, a closer look at the inside of your passport will reveal that the government recommends travel insurance when traveling outside the United States. (Check the “Important Information” page, #3)
Emergency medical evacuation may not be covered under traditional healthcare policies; if it is covered it may be at a very low limit. $10,000 may sound like a lot of coverage, but the average medical evacuation is well over $30,000.
Trip Delay or Interruption:
Flights get delayed, flights cancel and luggage gets lost. The airlines do not always provide compensation when you get stranded somewhere or if they “mishandle”. Travel Insurance can be a real saver when it comes to the extra expenses incurred. With proper documentation you can get reimbursed for hotel nights, meals, lost luggage, or even clothes to get you through until the luggage arrives. It often takes 5 days for luggage to get reunited with its owner, if you are only on a 5 or 7 day vacation, this can be problematic.
We all experience tough economic times.
The loss of a job or other income might mean a trip planned in advance may have to wait. Travel insurance can help ease this burden.
I could go on and on with reasons and sad stories, but I won’t. The bottom line is that life is unpredictable, things happen. Peace of mind is priceless. Please protect yourself and your vacation investment. Not only will it give you peace of mind, it will give me peace of mind as well. Trust me, you don’t want your travel concierge being cranky and worried about you!
Happy Travels!