When planning a vacation, the question of whether travel insurance is worth it or not always comes up. Many times, we take the risk of traveling abroad sans insurance, but since the pandemic, having travel insurance is absolutely necessary.
Sherry Sutton, Vice President of Marketing for Travel Insured International tells Forbes, “Travel protection is more important than ever but the important thing to remember is not every event is covered.”
According to experts, you should insure your travels if you paid over $5,000 for your trip, paid with a credit card that doesn’t cover your vacation and if you’re traveling internationally.
So what kind of travel insurance do you need for your trip abroad?
Michael Sheridan, a tourism and hospitality management professor at Temple University tells Forbes, “People buy travel insurance for covering lost luggage, medical needs or extended delays causing missed connections.”
When shopping for travel insurance, you should find plans that have medical, pandemic, pre-existing medical conditions and “cancel for any reason” coverage.
According to travel advisor Joshua Greenberg, “You want a plan with both trip cancellation and trip interruption that includes items such as trip delay, bag loss and delay.”
How do you know which plan to choose?
PK Rao, president of travel insurance provider INF Visitor Care says, “Basic coverage is typically designed as a fixed benefit or limited program — one that pays a predetermined dollar amount for any covered expense. These plans are much less expensive but will leave you exposed to higher costs later on.”
Rao recommends choosing a plan that pays a percentage of the trip’s loss.
“Although some carriers will cover COVID-19, complications resulting from pre-existing conditions may not be covered,” says Rao. In this case, it’s important to have communication with the company’s customer service assistance team.
Chris Nielson, chief legal officer for AirHelp, a company helping travelers get compensated for travel issues shares, “For travelers planning to fly internationally in the near future, purchasing travel insurance will be the new normal.”
He goes on to say, “Our collective awareness fo the risks and consequences of this pandemic has changed travel behavior on all levels.”
Reading the fine print of travel insurance policies is also very important when going on an international trip.
Policies may vary, but one thing is for sure, having travel insurance for your next international trip is more important than ever before.