Travel Insurance - Scam or Savior?

In this day and age insurance is a very commonplace household expense. I mean you have insurance on your home, your car, and your family and in some cases even your pets. Why not have insurance on your trips?

For many years, I fell into the category that many other travelers currently fall into, “I don’t need travel insurance, I’m healthy nothing will happen to me. I am going no matter what.” Or more times than not, we fall into the “Travel Insurance is just a rip off, it’s just another way to make money.”

But think about this. Current world events could cause many travel related challenges or disruptions. Severe weather, supplier defaults, airport delays that cause you to miss your flights, medical issues or even terrorism threats are some of the “unknowns” that could impact your vacation plans.

Per a recent survey done by Allianze Global Assistance USA, travel insurance is on the minds of more and more vacationers. This is due to the rise of uncontrollable events that delay flights and potentially cause missed connections or cancelations, causing you to either miss the departure of a cruise, loose a reserved room at a resort, or at the very least shorten your vacation. Without travel insurance the cost of these issues would fall on you, the customer.

Then there are the unforeseen health issues or accidents that could happen while traveling. Did you know that in the event of a medical emergency without travel insurance you could be responsible for any medical expenses that you would incur? Some US based health insurance companies do not provide coverage for you if you are not in the US. In the event that your condition was serious enough and you were to need to be medevac’d to a hospital, without travel insurance you could be left with a bill that could potentially reach hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even if your situation does not require emergency medical evacauation, a twisted ankle, deydration or an allergic reaction can be cause enough for a trip to the doc.

Now, I’m not saying that anything will happen to you on your vacation. But wouldn’t it be nice to know that in the event that something did happen that you and your family were protected? We don't leave the house planning on getting in an accident, but we don't drive our cars without insurance either. When you look at the overall investment required to plan a vacation, doesn't it make sense to protect that investment and yourself?