How Travel Insurance Can Save Your Vacation

Not every vacation goes as planned. Most people can recover easily from sunburn or a missed connection flight, but what happens when something major goes wrong. What if your flight is cancelled and you have to spend thousands of additional dollars to fly home the next day instead? What if you break your leg while skiing? What if your luggage, including your passport, is stolen?

When something significant goes wrong when on vacation, you may find yourself suddenly in thousands of dollars of debt or relying on the kindness of strangers to help you. Both cases can be bad news. You can protect yourself, though, if you purchase travel insurance before you leave.

Travel insurance policies give you a way to protect yourself medically and financially when traveling so that you can have peace of mind while on vacation. The more relaxed you are, the more you will enjoy your vacation. This type of insurance is good whether you are traveling domestically or internationally, and it can be purchased through the travel agency you used to book your trip, from the cruise line or tour operating company if you have one, or from a third-party company that sells all kinds of insurance.

What does travel insurance cover? The type of policy you purchase determines what your insurance policy covers. Sometimes, the policies offered by travel agents are actually not very inclusive, giving you just a little bit of coverage in case the trip is canceled. However, if you go with a third-party policy, you might find that quite a few problems can be solved by your policy. Some of the things covered include the following:

¨ Emergency medical expenses

¨ Accidental death or injury

¨ Funeral expenses while overseas

¨ Delayed luggage item replacement

¨ Lost, damaged, or stolen possessions

¨ Legal costs

¨ Personal liability damages

¨ Trip cancellation

¨ Flight delay

¨ Curtailment

¨ Emergency evacuation

¨ Rental car damages

Keep in mind, though, that travel insurance policies do not automatically cover the things listed above. In fact, basic policies rarely cover anything more than emergency medical expenses, luggage problems, and trip cancellation. Even those things may not be covered under all circumstances. Things that are commonly excluded from even the most thorough policies include the following:

¨ Pregnancy-related medical care

¨ Terrorism

¨ Injuries due to high-risk sports

¨ War-related injuries

¨ Medical expenses relating to alcohol or drugs

¨ Pre-existing medical conditions

Some of the above-mentioned situations can be added to your policy, but this is not always the case. Ask really specific questions to find out exactly how you are covered with your policy.

While travel insurance is offered to most people, you may not be able to get a policy if you are traveling to a high-risk area of the world. For example, if you are on a missionary or relief trip to a country in the middle of a war, most insurance companies will not cover you. You may also be unable to get travel insurance if you are traveling to a country where a natural disaster is likely during that time of year. Sometimes, if you are visiting a high-risk country, you can get very basic coverage that at least allows you to make sure that you are covered in the event of an accident or lost luggage.

The best part about travel insurance, though, is that you can find a company with concierge services and emergency travel assistance. In other words, they do not just make you collect receipts and foot the bill when you get home. If you are sick and in a country where few doctors speak your language, the travel insurance company can arrange for someone from the embassy in that country to help you get the care you need. They usually have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week assistance so that you never have to worry about being alone and in a panic because something has gone wrong. Make sure that you take your policy documentation with you when you travel so that you can call your insurance company with your policy number if something goes wrong.

Travel insurance can be a bit pricey though, costing 5% to 7% of your total vacation cost or more. However, when you think about the expenses you could incur without the insurance, the choice is simple; travel insurance is extremely valuable. That way, if something bad happens, you can take care of the problem as quickly and easily as possible and enjoy the rest of your time away from home. As with any kind of insurance, if you shop around, you can usually find a good deal, and the policy will ensure that one setback does not have to ruin an entire trip for you and your fellow travelers.