Travel Insurance - Is it Really Necessary

This may come as a surprise... but there are still far too many people setting out on their vacations without adequate travel insurance.

The usual story is that you start making your travel plans and may have a limited budget to work with. Once you take into account the cost of flights, hotels, tours and other expenses you try to cut corners to reduce the overall cost of your vacation.

While keeping costs to a minimum is a good idea it is important not to go overboard and scrimp on things that are a necessity such as travel insurance.

Does this mean that you should pay for an expensive travel insurance package just because your travel agent wants a big commission? Absolutely not. But you do need to purchase enough insurance cover so that you're not stuck in a foreign hospital facing enormous expenses because you wanted to save an extra few dollars on your vacation.

Some sensible tips to help decide on the level of travel insurance you require are:

Check the details of any existing insurance you may have

Sometimes you will find that your existing health and/or life insurance policies do cover a certain amount of coverage while you are traveling. Go over the details carefully and take note of what coverage you have and don't have so you can purchase a small travel insurance package to fill the gaps in your existing coverage.

Check any travel insurance you may have connected to your credit cards

These days there are a number of credit card companies that offer free travel insurance as a bonus to card holders. It is important however to check the amount of coverage associated with these offers to ensure that it provides you with adequate coverage for your entire vacation.

Check any previous travel insurance policies you may have purchased

If you have traveled within the previous year then check any travel insurance policies you may have taken out for your previous vacation. Sometimes you will find that your old policy is still valid if it was a one year policy.

Ensure that you are covered for unexpected expenses

Most travel insurance policies cover medical emergencies but you should always check that the level of coverage is adequate for the type of travel and your destination. Also, while you don't want to think about an extreme situation or tragedy during your vacation it is important to ensure that you are completely covered for any situation that may eventuate. This means getting insurance coverage for things such as accidental death and any associated emergency evacuation.

Unforeseen events or losses

Also make sure you are covered for events such as lost or delayed baggage, theft of personal belongings, and flight cancellations or delays. All these events can be expensive should you need to purchase extra clothes if your baggage is lost or you need emergency accommodation when a flight is delayed.

By now you should realize the importance of having adequate travel insurance and what types of cover to get when planning your next vacation. There have been numerous horror stories where travelers have become ill or had accidents while on vacation and been left with expenses in the tens of thousands of dollars so don't let this happen to you.

While travel insurance may be an added expense to your vacation it is a wise investment and will save you money should an unforeseen event occur while you're traveling.

Normally with a little research you can find discounts in other areas of your travel to cover the entire cost of your travel insurance and still leave a little extra money in your pocket. So what are you waiting for? Get planning that vacation.

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(c) Copyright 2006 by Colin L Wolfenden. Reprint rights available ONLY when published complete with Copyright details, Author resource box and ACTIVE URL link

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