Ten Reasons You Should Buy Travel Insurance

I know, you are in perfect health, vibrant and active and eagar to go on vacation to a US consulate approved country; so why would you need to buy travel insurance?�¯�¿�½ For that matter if its just a little�¯�¿�½ jaunt across three states in a rental car why worry about trip insurance for such a short low risk adventure?�¯�¿�½

There are literally hundreds of things that can go wrong on your vacation or business trip. (Its not me that’s going to get the flu, twist my ankle or turn up the one way street that is going down âÂ?¦..its youâÂ?¦..so that is why I mentioned “you should buy travel insurance”) Every thing from lost luggage to serious illness can cost money you had planned to spend in other ways. I might add that the ways,you normally plan to spend your money are a lot more fun than paying for a whole new set of clothes when your luggage goes to Nigeria while you go to Norway .Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½

Nothing quite describes the mess you can find yourself in when some mishap leaves you far from home with no money.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Or messes up your travel plans with reservations already made and no refunds available.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ There are also “unthinkable events” that may happen so stop here for a moment and consider how your accidental death would affect your family’s finances.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Then before you head off for your vacation think about all the ways you will travel.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ You may be taking a train, a ferry, a bus or a taxi or some other means of public transport.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ If your ferry captain runs you into the dock as happened in New York in 2005, or if your taxi driver pulls in front of a semi the result could be devastating for your family finances…..not to mention their emotions.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Common carrier insurance coverage for accidental death could help heal the finances.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ (Sorry, it won’t help heal the broken hearts.)

Here are ten common mishaps where travel insurance can protect you against cancellation or interruption of your travel
itinerary while also providing medical coverage, lost or stolen property coverage, and travel delay coverage.�¯�¿�½

1.�¯�¿�½ Sickness or death of yourself, a family member, a travel buddy or the family member of a travel buddy.�¯�¿�½ The trip
investment can be reimbursed by a good Trip Cancellation Policy.�¯�¿�½

2.�¯�¿�½ If your tour operator or the cruise line or airline goes on strike or goes broke you will be unable to get a refund on money already prepaid and will need to cancel other parts of the trip as well, often with no chance to get your money back.�¯�¿�½ Your Trip Cancellation Policy or a Trip Delay Policy should reimburse
you for funds that would other wise be unrecoverable.

3.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Most HMO’s or PPO plans do not cover out of country medical expenses.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ If you or a family member is injured
during your ski trip to or gets the flu in it could be very expensive to find medical help.�¯�¿�½ A Medical/Health Policy will pay for medical and dental issues.�¯�¿�½ Generally these plans pay you back after you pay locally for the medical services usually about 10 days after the claim is made.�¯�¿�½ Just to let you in on the best reasons for seniors to obtain travel insurance for Medical and Healthâ�¦..your Medi-care policy does not pay for out of country expenses, and if you are like many seniors I know you would rather spend your money on the adventure not on the treatment for a case of intestinal distress otherwise known as the runs.

4.�¯�¿�½ If you need to be evacuated due to injury or illness the expenses can be totally astronomical.�¯�¿�½ Imagine your trip of
a lifetime and in the middle of the pony races you double up with pain from acute appendicitis. The Medical Evacuation Plan can provide transportation costs to a local hospital or to a hospital closer to home.�¯�¿�½ If you purchase a policy that covers the whole family it will provide transportation home for them also.�¯�¿�½

5.�¯�¿�½ Severe weather may delay you at an airport or on the road long enough to mess up the connections and reservations that follow.�¯�¿�½ It is generally too late to get any money returned when a trip is delayed or interrupted especially when the delay or interruption happens in the middle of the trip.�¯�¿�½ Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, or Travel Delay policies, can reimburse you for hotel and food expenses and lost reservation fees.�¯�¿�½

6.�¯�¿�½ Airline strikes, jury duty, unemployment or bankruptcy are covered by a good Trip Cancellation Policy.

7.�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½Terror events or home disasters such as fire or flood are also reasons that a Trip Cancellation Policy will
reimburse you for travel related prepaid reservations, tickets and fees.

8.�¯�¿�½ Accidental death is the reason most travels consider travel insurance.�¯�¿�½ There are three parts to accidental death coverage.�¯�¿�½ Air Flight Accident which covers you just during the air part of your trip; Common Carrier which covers you on any public transportation such as the famous double decker buses in London or the high speed train
in Japan as well as plane, train, bus, ferry or taxi. Then the non-specific Accidental Death Policy
which covers you any time or place on the trip. The higher the risk the lower amount the policy will pay; air travel is very low risk and will pay the most, common carrier is higher risk and will pay less, but a generalized accidental death is very high risk because it covers you while you are tracking Yeti in the Himalaya’s as well as while you are kicked back in the hotel in Paris so it will pay the least if you are accidentally dispatched by some circumstance beyond your control.

9.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Lost, stolen, or damaged luggage is a common and expensive travel problem that is covered by Baggage Loss Policies.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½There are two types of limits, total loss and ‘per item’ lost, so be sure you read carefully as you are
choosing your policy.�¯�¿�½ Many of these policies also limit the amount of value that can be claimed for jewelry,
laptops or personal sports gear.�¯�¿�½ So leave your diamonds at home and carry on what you can so you can take
personal responsibility for it.�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½ Unless you are a professional, sporting gear such as skis, bikes, scuba gear or other expensive equipment can generally be rented at your destination and may be cheaper than loosing your own gear.�¯�¿�½ Just be sure to check your loss policy carefully to see that it will fully cover what ever you take.

10.�¯�¿�½ Rental car insurance is inexpensive and highly desirable.�¯�¿�½ Car accidents can be astronomically expensive so if you are going to be renting a car, be sure you purchase the rental coverage, both the collision damage and the liability
coverage.�¯�¿�½ Last week on a busy and dangerous stretch of the Banfield freeway in Portland, Oregon I saw a driver reading a magazine while zooming along at freeway speed in bumper to bumper trafficâ�¦â�¦your travel insurance is not just for your mistakesâ�¦.its for the other persons mistakes as well.�¯�¿�½ People�¯�¿�½ talk on the cell phone, write notes, read, listen to the radio, and focus on billboards or bumper stickers.�¯�¿�½ The transportation accident most likely to happen is in an automobile so be sure you opt for the full coverage when renting.

You can get travel insurance online, over the telephone or in the mail.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ It’s just a matter of comparing the policies and choosing what is right for you and your specific circumstances. There are many places online where you can compare the policies from different companies so you can choose what you like in the comfort of your own home or you can look over policies at airports if you are flying.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ I personally think preparing ahead of time is the best idea.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ That way you can check
out several offerings and compare them.�¯�¿�½ If you are going to the trip cancellation or trip delay coverage it is important to get it at the time you make your first payment on your trip package.�¯�¿�½ Preexisting medical conditions can be covered under some circumstances so plan ahead and compare coverage, ask questions and get the insurance in the time line required, typically 10 to 20 days ahead of the trip departure date.�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½

Coverage costs are calculated on total trip cost so you will need to know what all your tickets, reservation fees, hotels and tours will cost before you can buy the insurance.�¯�¿�½