Travel insurance isn’t just about your health, it’s about your personal property as well. Here in the US, most of us are blessed with healthcare plans that cover us in the event of emergency and home owners or renter’s insurance plans that cover stolen property. However, in all likelihood, these plans aren’t sufficient overseas.
Traveling without travel insurance could lead to problems, headaches, and ultimately massive bills you’re not prepared to cover. At the end of the day, and as much of a cliche as this is: you’d always rather be safe than sorry.
In our experiences we have faced last minute flight cancellations, missed departures, travelers sickness, stolen bicycles, and a number of other events that are prime candidates for travel insurance.
There are loads of travel insurance companies that specialize in a number of areas (some more health focused while others are more technology product focused). Our favorite provider, however, is World Nomads.
World Nomads are the leader in travel insurance and offer coverage in over 150 countries. There are a number of reasons why we use them, and we would love to share with you exactly why that is the case. As partners of World Nomads and advocates of their products, we are very adamant about the fact that EVERY traveler should purchase travel insurance for EVERY trip, EVERY time…..and here are out top 10 reasons why:
(Please note that not all policies are the same and not all countries have the same coverage. Some basic plans may not cover all of the below.)
10 Reasons to Purchase Travel Insurance
- Stolen property – We had our brand new bikes stolen during a time when we actually were not covered by travel insurance, and rest assured we will not make that mistake again. We purchased really nice, brand new bikes, in Florence and ended up having them stolen about a week or 2 later. 300 Euro down the drain…
- Because you have a 1 in 3,748,067 chance of being bitten by a shark – This is an incredible story highlighting how World Nomads shined when a traveler was attacked by a shark. No, it probably won’t happen to you, but this guy probably didn’t think so either.
- Travelers sickness – Montezuma’s revenge, Bali belly, Delhi belly, or whatever you want to call it….traveler’s sickness places you at a severely elevated risk of dehydration. If you end up with a bad case of it, you’ll probably need to get to a hospital to receive an IV or other treatment which alone could be more costly than simply getting travel insurance.
- Lost baggage – Have you ever had an airline lose your luggage? Probably. This point is actually one of the most tangible points we have to make, because it likely has the highest percentage chance of actually happening. Be prepared to have your bag lost when you travel and pack clothes in your carry-on, but also be prepared so that you can be reimbursed for your bag and all of its contents.
- Damages to property or baggage – People who work at the airport are not careful with your bag. That’s all.
- Personal accident coverage – We are clumsy, so let’s face it, being insured against our own likely mistakes is a great idea. We trip when we walk, and often injure ourselves. We have been known to walk into walls, fall on hikes, and injure ourselves doing fairly remedial tasks. So we prefer to insure ourselves against ourselves. Not to mention, when we are skydiving, parasailing, or engaging in other outdoor adventures, risks are heightened.
- 24-hour emergency services – Being put on hold or told you have to call back at 08:00 isn’t an option in the event of an emergency. Don’t get put on hold…prepare yourself and make sure you have access to emergency services regardless of the time of day.
- Emergency evacuation – That hurricane or tsunami will probably never happen to you, but WHAT IF you were in Indonesia or Sumatra at the end of December 2004? The probability is incredibly low, but the cost of insuring yourself should you encounter a natural disaster is well worth it. We are talking upwards of a quarter or half a million dollars for some policies for emergency evacuation. Get covered.
- Delayed or cancelled trip – Whether it is a delayed or cancelled flight, or a hotel cancellation, be sure you don’t lose out on your whole travel investment. Travel insurance often provides coverage for overnight accommodation and food if your flight should be delayed or cancelled and will usually also covers the money lost to cancelled flights/accommodation.
- Car rental collision – Driving in a foreign country can not only be challenging, but also dangerous at times. Having additional coverage never hurts. Face it, it might not even be your fault…someone could easily hit you as well.
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World Nomads also align with us from a moral and ethical standpoint as they aim to give back to communities around the world. They raise 10s of thousands of dollars for various philanthropic projects around the globe. Check out their Footprints project and help someone beat a problem that we can’t even fathom being a reality (lack of clean water, malnutrition, etc.)
Do you have any stories where travel insurance helped save your trip?! We would love to hear below!