Really Nice Vacations

Before I start, let me just clarify that I’m a business executive in a non-insurance field. What I’m sharing here is based on my own experiences, and you absolutely must speak to a qualified travel insurance adviser before you travel even though you read from lots of avid travelers. Always consults the professionals when it comes to investment and insurance.

I regretted not buying travel insurance when I was stranded in Perth for one night in 1996 due to a freak ground accident. Until now, I could not comprehend how a small catering truck could hit a big plane causing it such damage that it could fly only on the following day. I was somewhat appeased when the airline housed me in a 5-star hotel with breakfast voucher thrown in, but that’s all I got. I didn’t get any compensation from the insurance company because I was too stingy to pay for travel insurance. I didn’t take account 2 things then - I didn’t realized that I can be a part of such unforeseen circumstances and I didn’t realize that there were cheap travel insurance around. I learned my lesson and it served me well because I took advantage of my travel insurance twice. There was another flight delay in 2000 and one of my luggage was lost in 2004.

Here are another 3 good reasons why I bought travel insurance, and you should too.

Personal Accident and Cancellation Cover

Usually, travel policies have basic “personal accident” cover, paying a set amount in the event of loss of sight, limbs or injury resulting in permanent disability or death. If you must terminate your traveling plan due to sickness, injury, illness or a family-related disaster , your travel policy will kick in to pay for any expense you cannot recover. Just do the due diligence and read the fine reads on what’s covered and what’s not.

Medical Cover

Make sure your policy is comprehensively covered for medical and repatriation for the entire journey. Remembered when SARS hit China and Hong Kong in 2003 and the world had no idea what’s happening then? Many travelers brought home the killer disease and SARS infected many countries. You would want to protect yourself for such “unlikely” event. Don’t take the chance. You might want to take a photocopy of your policy, along any 24-hour emergency numbers.

Save on Travel Policy

If you are in travelng as a family, it make sense to take up a family insurance. FYI, some policies include the insurance of under-18s for free! If you are constantly on the move, a single trip insurance will not offer the best priced option, so go shop around and see if it’s worth considering multi-trips or annual travel insurance.

Before you buy your travel insurance, look around and make comparison.

I can understand price is a concern but cheap isn’t and shouldn’t be the only criteria. There are many legitimate companies offering cheap travel insurance. Nothing wrong with that, just that you have to comb through the policy to ensure you are not missing out on key coverage such as cancellation, theft, illness and injury. You can click on this site which I often used to compare the best travel insurance quotes. Serious, it only took a few minutes to have salient information at my finger tips. Cheap and good is possible if you do some home work.

Like all insurance policies, there are restrictions on travel insurance. Limits to the amounts that will be paid under different parts of the cover usually apply and you might not be covered for hazardous activities. For example, if you are going to Australia for it’s famous bungee jump or white water rafting, make sure your policy covers these activities.

Your claim could be rejected if you were careless with your belongings. For example, if you left your valuables on the beach unattended while you were frolicking in the sea, the insurance company might decide that you did not take “reasonable care” and therefore reject your claim.

If you claim for anything that has been stolen, they will want to have evidence that you actually owned the item in the first place. Make sure you have some sort of proof.

Borrowing the famous line from Amex, don’t leave home without travel insurance.

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