8 Reasons Travel Insurance Might be a Good Idea

I have a confession. I’ve had a long standing bias against buying various, “Protection Plans” when offered. They’re usually offered on electronics at the check out area of a big box. When the cashier offers it, all I hear is, “Do you want fries with that?”

My thinking runs that if I skip the $4.95 cost on everything I buy that plugs in, I’ll have more than enough money if something occasionally goes haywire or I mistakenly run over it in my driveway.

Travel insurance is a little different animal in my mind. I travel a bit for work and would never really consider it for an overnight to Baltimore, for instance. It can have some value though for a bigger ticket trip.

Some people have crazy flexibility in their job. If a situation crops up where their trip is delayed a few days or even a week? No worries, they’ll go when they go. On the other hand, you may work in a schedule-intensive field where you have to request time off at the beginning of the year and have very little flexibility to change things up.

A milestone trip for a honeymoon or other special occasion might represent a significant chunk of change for most folks. Losing a few hundred dollars is not ideal but also not catastrophic. Losing thousands might take a lot longer to recover from and that’s what tips things in favor of travel insurance for me for this type of travel.

Here are some reasons you might want to consider travel insurance:

1. Airlines are not always predictable. A mechanical issue or a weather delay could throw a wrench in your plans. An hour or two is usually not a big deal, but what if missed connections mean you get to your destination a day or two later? Travel plans can provide reimbursement for covered expenses in the event your travel is delayed, as long as it’s for a covered reason outlined in the policy.
2. Something unforeseen causes the trip to be cancelled. We covered delays above, but this can reimburse you up to the maximum of your insured trip cost for cancellation costs incurred due to an unforeseen event including illness and inclement weather. This is a little tricky in the current era of COVID-19. When it first arrived on the scene and disrupted travel, it was considered unforeseen. Now, if you book a trip, you’re pretty well aware of the impact it may have so it likely won’t trigger payment for delays or cancellations due to the virus (but the other features of a policy should stay intact).
3. The luggage was perfectly fine when you gave it to the airline and now it’s lost or mangled and your stuff isn’t available when you need it. This can help compensate you for that visit to the store to pick up things you’ll need for your trip.
4. Stuff happens. You want coverage for emergency medical expenses if you have an accident or some sort of illness occurs while traveling. None of us plan to get sick or hurt while traveling, this makes things a little better. Also likely plugs some gaps in your regular employer provided coverage if you’re traveling abroad. Don’t forget that in some countries it’s common to require advance payment for services before they treat you.
5. What do you do if it really hits the fan? Emergency evacuation coverage provides a way to pay for medically necessary evacuations and repatriation as directed by a physician to the nearest adequate medical facility or your home. To be sure, not likely, but also pretty catastrophic if you have to put something like this on your credit card.
6. Quick – how many car accidents happened in your home town today? You’re obviously a marvelous driver (that goes without saying), but imagine being in a foreign country, with different rules, streets and even a different steering wheel! Car collision damage provides coverage in case you are involved in a car accident while driving in a foreign country. It’s not as rare as you might imagine and this can help you avoid the expensive coverage at the rental counter.
7. We never know what can happen back home while we are on our adventure. Having a trip protection plan can provide reimbursement for your return flight home in the event of a covered incident that forces you to interrupt your trip.
8. 24-Hour Concierge Travel Line. This can be huge when there’s a long waits on hold with the airlines or others. These vary by company but there are usually a lot of value-added services loaded in as well – recommendations, discounts, etc. That will make your trip a little easier.

So there you have it. Scope out some options for travel insurance and add a little peace of mind to your planning.

As far as specific companies for coverage, we like AXA Travel Insurance. They offer travel insurance plans with broad benefits such as emergency medical coverage; baggage loss; trip cancellation and delay coverage; political and catastrophe evacuation.

AXA USA is one of the world’s leading providers of emergency response and everyday assistance. Over 50 years of experience combined with an international network of providers allow the organization to deliver innovative solutions and services in the US and around the world.

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