Travel season is upon us. The kids' school year is coming to a close for 2018; which means the opportunity for travel is just around the corner.
The question to ask when traveling with your loved ones or alone is when does buying travel insurance make the most sense? There are plenty of situations in which buying travel insurance is not necessary. You don't want to buy just to buy as you will undoubtedly be over-insured yourself and no one likes to waste their hard earn dollars.
Below are 3 examples of when you should forgo buying Travel Insurance:
1. Taking a last-minute domestic trip.
Chances are this is a spur of the moment adventure and have not pre-paid any non-refundable trip costs. Your also not likely to be immediately concerned with any trip cancellation or interruptions. Traveling in the United States, your qualified health coverage will travel with. At least to the point of coverage in an emergency medical situation.
2. Your credit card offers it as a standard benefit.
Call your credit card company and find out what additional perks are included. Some credit card companies include travel insurance or at least offer it at a competitive price. Keep in mind that not all travel insurance is created equally and you will want to make sure if they only cover lost luggage. Those traveling with carry-on bags may find the additional coverage and cost not worth it.
3. Money is of no concern to you.
Not everyone is in this boat, but for those of you that are and you can afford to pay for un-covered medical expenses not insured through your primary health care coverage, skipping the travel insurance could lead to one less thing you need to do before you set off on your destination.
So when does buying travel insurance make sense?
If you are traveling abroad, outside of you home country it's a good idea to make sure you have evacuation and emergency medical coverage. When you travel outside of the United States, your health insurance may or may not travel with you. Some carriers have World Wide coverage included in Group Medical plans sponsored by your employer, but if you are individually insured through the Marketplace or direct with a carrier these once included coverage may no longer be available under your current policy.
Buying travel insurance reduces the risk of putting upfront dollars out in the hopes that your Home Country medical carrier will pay or reimburse you for those expenses. Take emergency evacuation for example. Without coverage that cost adds up to the tune of roughly $30,000. Doing any high-risk activities such as mountain climbing, white water rafting, hand gliding, parasailing or whipping through the trees on a zip line? Give careful consideration that you have coverage in the event things don't go the way they should.
I was skeptical at first when the idea of travel insurance was brought up to me years ago. Why would I need that. I mean how likely is a scenario as such going to happen.
It took a trip to Jamaica to change that perception quickly when I bare witness to a mishap from an excursion to Rick's Cafe in Negril. Heart-throbbing 35-foot cliff jumping and to much liquid courage lead to an emergency swimmer retrieval put into the back of a mini van and raced to the nearest hospital.
Since then I make sure me and my family have the right coverage for each trip.
Buying travel insurance isn't difficult and isn't expensive. GEO Blue provides competitive quotes right on the spot online and has several options from Single Travel and Multi-Travel Destinations.
Learn more about insuring your trip for peace of mind!