Even the best planned vacations can be interrupted by technical problems and emergencies. You lose your luggage. You slip or catch an insect and need medical treatment. Not only do these disrupt your itinerary, but they can also cost you a lot of money.
That’s where travel insurance (also called trip protection) comes in. Specially designed to deal with the situations and risks involved in travel, it provides coverage from the moment you leave until the moment you return home.
For example, travel insurance can reimburse you for any luggage or items you might lose during your trip. This is particularly important if you plan to buy something of high value, such as local antiques, or if you are carrying very expensive jewelry or electronic equipment.
Your standard health insurance also tends to be limited to one area of the network, so without travel insurance, you’ll have to pay for any hospitalization or medical treatment you receive while abroad. This can be very expensive, not to mention stressful – imagine being sick and broke in an unfamiliar country! If you’re visiting a place where medical bills and other emergency procedures are expensive, or where there are very real health risks, travel insurance is absolutely crucial.
Travel insurance is also very important if you plan to take a driving vacation. Many auto policies will not extend coverage outside of the country in which you live. The last thing you need to worry about is how to pay for a rental vehicle that was hit by another driver, or take care of repair costs for a car you may have hit (a risk anyone takes when traveling unfamiliar roads with driving). unknown). rules).
Travel insurance can also provide protection against emergencies that are so specific to traveling abroad that they may not be covered by your standard insurance policy. This includes trip interruption. Any fees or initial payments you have made that would have otherwise been lost if you had suddenly canceled your trip will be returned to you.
Travel protection plans may also provide assistance services such as an emergency hotline and medical transportation services. This is invaluable when a crisis occurs in a foreign country, where you may not speak the language or know the city well enough to locate the nearest emergency center. When you’re distressed or distressed, or when time is of the essence and you need to get help right away, travel protection plans can be your safety net. You may be a stranger in a strange land, but you are not alone.
You may be asking yourself, “Why should I get travel insurance when I have really good regular insurance?” Many people are under the impression that their car, home credit card, and medical policies are so “extensive” that they would automatically provide protection anywhere in the world. That is not necessarily true. You have to read the fine print. If you don’t, and don’t take the additional coverage provided by travel protection, then you may find out the limitation of your insurance policies the hard way: when you find yourself in an emergency and spend a large amount of money (in addition to the deductibles and copays) with the hope of a very distant compensation. Travel protection is a sure guarantee of safety. Now you can take your vacation with complete peace of mind, and isn’t that what vacations are all about?