What Is Travel Insurance (Plus 3 Reasons Why You Need It)?
A 2019 study by The Travel Association reported that 38% of British holidaymakers could be putting themselves at risk by not taking out travel insurance.
Travel insurance protects you from substantial medical or repatriation costs.
At Maximum Adventure, we recommend you insure your travels (although this is not obligatory), and in this article, we give you four reasons why.
- What is travel insurance?
- What are the different types of travel insurance?
- Do you need travel insurance?
What is travel insurance?
Travel insurance is a plan purchased to compensate individuals from certain financial risks and losses that can occur while traveling. These losses can be minor, such as a delayed flight, or then can be more serious like a medical emergency.
All in all, travelling without cover could leave you massively out of pocket if the unthinkable happens. This is especially important today with the COVID-19 pandemic still disrupting and limiting international travel plans. Insurance offers vital protection if you’re planning a trip abroad.
What are the different types of travel insurance?
The type of cover you’ll need to buy depends on three things:
- How many trips you’re making within the next 12 months.
- Where you’re going.
- Who you’re traveling with.
Single trip vs annual trip cover
You can take out insurance for a single trip, or use annual insurance that will cover you for an entire year.
Annual cover is usually the cheapest option if you’re making more than two trips in the next 12 months, while the single-trip cover can usually be more cost-effective if you’re taking one or two holidays.
European, worldwide and USA cover
The distinction between European and worldwide cover might seem simple, yet insurers have different ways of classifying your journey.
For instance, European travel insurance might cover selected countries that lie outside the continent. Meanwhile, some insurers have two types of worldwide cover, some that cover the USA and others that exclude it.
Check your policy carefully before you buy to ensure your chosen destination is included.
Individual, couple or family cover
If you’re travelling with your partner or family, you have the option of covering everyone under the same policy.
In certain circumstances, this will work out cheaper. Yet, if someone in your party needs specialist cover due to their age or medical conditions, it may increase the cost of the policy.
Do you need travel insurance?
In short, yes and no. No, because no one’s forcing you to take out travel insurance – you can travel without it. Yes, because it’s a really good idea.
Let’s face it though, travelling is already expensive enough before you add on the cost of taking out insurance as well. But without insurance, your holiday could quickly become an expensive nightmare.
Below we’ve highlighted four key reasons why you need travel insurance.
Reason #1: Medical problems
Here’s one that can sting.
Medical insurance is especially important if you’re going on a high-risk adventure trip.
Illness or injury in another country would mean you’re liable for your medical expenses. It’s not something we’d anticipate, but on the off-chance that it happens, you don’t want to pay huge amounts to receive medical attention.
Reason #2: Theft
Theft is another travel risk that can hit your wallet. It’s a danger that’s present whether you’re in another country or not.
This could be the theft of your valued electronics, holiday shopping, or wallet. Whatever the theft might be, you’ll want to keep yourself covered or you might lose out.
Similarly, travel insurance can help protect against the loss of documents such as passports, which can be devastating when you’re low on money in a foreign country.
Reason #3: Cancellation and curtailment
Cancellations are sadly a common problem. If you’re flying, all manner of storms in your take-off or landing locations can be the cause of cancellation.
Even if you’re travelling for some other reason, unexpected events can have knock-on effects. Sometimes it’s even your problems that lead to a travel cancellation, but whatever the reason, you don’t want to lose out on all the costs of travel if you’re not going to end up travelling.
Reason #4: Legal Expenses
Whether you’re being blamed for something or you need to press a claim against someone else, travelling can put you in situations where legal advice or representation is a necessity. And this doesn’t come cheaply.
Travel insurance can help you out with this. Insurance gives you peace of mind that you won’t be left to fend for yourself should something untoward happen.
A lot of these occurrences can happen even if you don’t plan on leaving the UK. Don’t think it’s just foreign travel that makes insurance worth your while. Of course, we don’t want to make travelling sound like a dangerous proposition fraught with peril, but it always pays to be safe, whatever you plan on doing.
Travel insurance isn’t necessary but it’s a good idea
You have no obligation to take out travel insurance, but at Maximum Adventure we recommend you do.
Especially when booking your next adventure with us. We’re dedicated to planning and providing quality trips for our clients to give you the experience of your lifetime. To fulfil this mission, we want to protect your safety, which is why we recommend you take out travel insurance for your upcoming trips with us.
So, is travel insurance really necessary? No, but it’s certainly not a bad idea.
What travel insurance do you use? Have you had any instances that could have been resolved with insurance? We’d love to hear from you, please comment below.
