Travel insurance is the best tool because all of us know that traveling is expensive and unpredictable.
Most people spend the entire year waiting for the holidays.
Many dreams are at this moment and often when it arrives, many things happen that can not only delay or make it difficult, but also make all plans and dreams unfeasible.
October 7, 2023 was one of these cases, when Hamas attacked Israel.
There were many people traveling in the region and many others with plans to travel there.
I myself had been to Egypt and Jordan just a few weeks before.
See my trip through Egypt and Jordan.
Another major unforeseen factor is health and/or accidents.
Hospital and clinic costs can be very expensive and unpredictable.
In my travels to more than 50 countries I have witnessed many situations that insurance can help resolve or at least minimize the “damage”
On my trip around the world, I met a girl in Hanoi who had a motorcycle accident and broke her leg. He had to stay in Hanoi for 6 weeks to recover.
My friend on a trip to India got an infection that spent 15 days in the hospital and had to be removed in a semi-ICU to the United States.
On my trip to Everest Base Camp, I witnessed a helicopter rescue of a Japanese man who had cerebral edema.
I’ve had my bags lost a few times, many flights have been delayed, and I’ve had to wait two days due to bad weather.
So is it worth having travel insurance or not?
The answer will depend on whether your trip is reimbursable, where you are going, and whether you will have health coverage at your destination.
And also when are you willing to take risks?
Here are some important topics you should understand when deciding whether travel insurance is right for you.
Travel insurance makes sense if you want to protect the money you have set aside for your vacation.
You also want to have a good and peaceful trip, however, illnesses and accidents can occur.
Furthermore, small events can ruin your trip, such as lost luggage, flight delay, etc.
But we always think why add more costs to the already huge cost of the trip?
The one always comes along that nothing will happen to me.
Here are some questions to ask to decide whether taking out travel insurance is generally worth it if:
Are the non-refundable travel costs much more than you can afford to lose?
Are you traveling internationally?
You are traveling to a remote area with limited healthcare facilities.
Are you traveling to an area prone to hurricanes, flooding, severe weather?
Does your trip involve connecting flights or multiple destinations?
Do you want to be partially refunded if you decide to cancel your trip or return home early for any reason?
Want to have peace of mind if something happens, are you covered?
Does your health plan cover international travel?
One of the worst situations for a traveler is being in a foreign country, sick and without the resources to pay medical costs.
Many foreign medical providers require payment in advance or proof of payment status before intervention.
When you have travel insurance with emergency medical and dental benefits, it can pay for losses due to covered medical and dental emergencies that occur during your trip.
Medical evacuations can be very expensive.
If you become seriously ill or seriously injured while traveling abroad and need to be airlifted to the nearest high-quality hospital, the cost can be enormous.
Travel insurance with emergency medical transportation benefits may pay to transport you to the nearest appropriate location.
You can also pay for specialist transport to take you home once your condition is stable.
This happened to my friend on the trip to India, he got an infection and spent 15 days in the hospital and was removed in a semi-ICU to the United States, the insurance covered all the expenses.
Accidents can and do happen during travel.
When we are healthy, we always think that we don’t need an emergency doctor. In reality, no one is immune to illness and injury.
Having any medical condition is much more common than we think.
In these years of traveling I have seen a lot, from a simple fever and headache to death on the mountain.
On this expedition to Peru, more than half of the team had problems with food poisoning.
When you have travel insurance, you can contact 24-hour assistance for help in case of an emergency.
Delays and cancellations on trips are inevitable.
On average, 18% of flights annually experience some type of delay.
With travel insurance with delay benefits, it can reimburse you for additional accommodations, meals or travel expenses, and prepaid expenses lost due to a delayed departure and/or missed connecting flight.
A lost suitcase can ruin your trip.
Several surveys show that more than half of travelers said that an airline had lost their luggage in the past.
Only 34% of them recovered their lost bags and 72% said they lost at least one irreplaceable item.
Baggage loss/damage benefits can reimburse you for the actual price, actual cash value, repair or replacement of your lost/damaged items
Tip: The best place to store irreplaceable items is in your carry-on luggage.
Don't lose all your money if you have to cancel your trip.
Even before you can finish packing your luggage, an unforeseen situation could force your trip to be canceled.
Your tour operator closed its doors, we had the recent case of 123milhas.
Many tour operators, cruise lines and airlines offer no or minimum refunds. If this happens, could you lose all the money you spent on the trip?
Travel insurance that includes trip cancellation travel insurance will reimburse the prepaid, non-refundable costs of your trip in this type of situation.
Once you get your money back, you can book your vacation for another better day.
As we cannot predict what will happen on our next trip or even if it will happen.
Cheaper is not necessarily better
When choosing, usually the cheapest one may not meet your needs.
What’s the point of having insurance that doesn’t cover what happened to you?
In general, it is best to know your needs and choose insurance that covers these events.
If you want to make an adventure sports vacation, for example, there are many policies out there that don’t cover this activity.
So it’s better to buy a more expensive one, but one that has this coverage.
Even seasoned travelers need a helping hand occasionally.
For me, the main reason for insurance is the peace of mind of knowing that if something happens I will have help.
When you face a crisis like a medical emergency, a lost passport, etc.
You can always contact 24-hour assistance.
Atenção: As opiniões, revisões, análises e recomendações de viagens e produtos são baseadas nas minhas experiências e pesquisas pessoais, sem vínculo a nenhuma dessas entidades.
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