Do You Really Need to Buy Travel Insurance or is it Just a Waste of Money?
Published by Sharekhan Education | August 21, 2020
Do You Really Need to Buy Travel Insurance or is it Just a Waste of Money?
Sameer had planned a dream vacation to Europe. He was going to visit 6 different countries in 15 days. He had booked his hotels and fight tickets, applied for visas and even packed in his bag. It never once occurred to him to opt for travel insurance rather he always considered it a waste of money. He thought what can go wrong; I have planned my trip so well. In fact he even ignored it when the option for travel insurance popped up while booking his flight ticket. As luck would have it, this turned out to be one of his most regrettable mistakes.
On the night he was due to travel, a raging thunderstorm hit the city and all flights for the night were cancelled. By morning the runways were flooded and the airport had to be shutdown. It would be days before everything could return to normal. Result – Sameer’s entire vacation plan went haywire. So now what happens to the money he spent on all his flight tickets and hotel bookings across all the countries and cities he was planning to travel to? He might get compensated for the cancelled flight by the airlines he was to travel with; but what about the remaining money spent on flights, hotel and other bookings. All gone down the drain, literally!
Had he paid that little extra and opted for travel insurance at the checkout page, he might not have lost all his money. Strange but true, many people still, are averse to taking travel insurance; they just don’t see the criticality of doing so.
About Travel Insurance:
Travel insurance is a crucial tool that can compensate you for the financial losses that may occur while traveling internationally or even within the country. It covers various risks associated with travel like:
- Loss or delay of baggage
- Flight cancellation or delays
- Medical Emergencies
- Loss of passport
- Trip cancellation
- Trip interruption
- Bankruptcy of travel company
- Emergency Medical Evacuation etc…
Think what would happen if you reached your destination but your checked in baggage was left behind or stolen. Worse, if you had a medical emergency in a foreign town? Many countries have thus made it mandatory for foreign tourists to have an overseas travel insurance policy in place before they embark on their journey. Depending on the type of traveler you are; frequent traveler or just a one trip tourist, you can opt for a multi trip package policy or a single trip policy to suit your travel needs.
And in case your trip gets extended no need to worry, your travel insurance can be extended too. If the extension is due to emergencies like civil unrest, flight cancellation, any weather disturbances etc. and your policy provides the benefit of emergency trip extension, then your insurance cover will get extended for the time period specified in your policy (typically 7 to 15 days) and that too generally without paying any extra premium. However if you are extending your travel plans voluntarily and need to extend your travel insurance you can do so but up to a maximum period of 180 days; that too by paying extra premium and at the discretion of the insurance company who may or may not approve it.
To summarize:
Travel insurance is thus an important tool and definitely not waste of money. It helps you cope financially, the unexpected challenges while travelling abroad. Unless you are willing to lose lakhs of rupees why not pay that little extra to secure your journey?
So the next time you plan your trips ensure you have travel insurance in place.
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