It is very important to travel with travel insurance as you cannot afford to lose your bags without compensation, or land up with a serious medical ailment and foot the hospital bills! So it is important to be well-prepared for an eventuality. It is always recommended to have an adequate financial support in case something untoward happens in the course of your travel. In such a case, travel insurance is a definite value for money.

Medical emergencies and evacuation

The cost of hospitalization in the United States can come up to $10,000 on a daily basis while medical evacuation can cost more than $100,000. While you are traveling, it may not be easy for you to spare such amounts of money from your pocket, considering you have already spent on your travel. However, remember to read what areas are covered in case of emergency medical evacuation and also understand what health issues are covered and what their limits are.

Reimbursement in case of cancellation of trip

In case something unfortunate happens and you are unable to travel due to the death of a near and dear one, an accident or an illness, then you can claim travel insurance for the same. Hence, remember to purchase it at the time you book your tickets and not days before you are due to leave. Also, not all travel insurances cover cancellation of the trip, so do read the policy carefully to avoid any misunderstanding.

Claim for baggage and belongings

A major reason why most people opt for travel insurance is for loss of baggage. If you are carrying valuable goods with you on your travel, then your insurance will have certain higher value products covered. Again, for this, you need to read your policy and coverage carefully to understand which valuables are covered and which are not.  

No Accountability

Often people buy travel insurance to avoid any kind of liability. For instance, if you are involved in a situation where you are held liable for it, then your insurance will help you cover your legal costs and liability. However, again, not all insurances offer this cover; so do take time to read the fine print.

Using travel insurance for another trip

Usually, every insurance has a deadline and it ends when you have arrived back at your destination. Hence, if you have purchased a one-year policy, but have returned after four months, you cannot claim a refund for the 6 months’ policy you haven’t availed.  However, for some travel insurance policies, you can utilize the remaining time if you are making another trip. Again, there can be some catches here, so do read the fine print to understand what all you are covered for in cases of trip ‘interruption/curtailment’.

No doubt, travel insurance is good to have when you are planning a travel. However, it has a legal bearing as it is a contract that is formulated by lawyers. So as mentioned earlier, do spend some time to understand what is written in fine print and what the policy entails. Do not hesitate to ask questions in case you are not able to understand what the policy covers.