WHY YOU NEED TO BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE

Definition of Insurance 

Are you like one in three Canadians who, according to an American Express study Markham, on Sept. 5, 2012/CNW/, say travel insurance is an unnecessary expense? Have you heard a lot of real-life travel horror stories but still think nothing like those will happen to you and does forego buying travel insurance?

In reality, anything can happen. If it happened to them, it can happen to you, too. Nothing beats being prepared for any unforeseen event during one of your trips.

Here are several reasons why you should purchase travel insurance prior to taking off on your next trip.

1. The budget flight that you have booked the previous year or several months back got cancelled.

2. Your aircraft was hijacked.

3. You need to cancel a family vacation due to a member of the family unexpectedly falling ill.

4. You suddenly experience severe stomach cramps while looking at a Picasso painting in the National Museum in London and you need an emergency appendectomy. A visit to a foreign hospital means medical bills.

5. You traveled alone and there is no one you know or no loved one to take care of you in the foreign hospital.

6. You receive news while abroad that a parent suffered a heart attack and who is in critical condition that you need to cut your vacation short. How do you cover the cost of the last minute plane ticket to get home? 

7. You're a single mom who treated your kids to a Disney cruise and you suddenly fell ill and needed to stay in the hospital for several days. No one is there to take care of your kids.

8. Your cruise line or tour operator declares bankruptcy.

9. You lost your luggage with your maintenance medicines inside. How do you replace your luggage and how do you get prescriptions for your medicines?

10. Your wallet and travel documents were stolen. You need emergency cash and replacement for your travel documents.

11. A hurricane or super typhoon damaged the resort hotel you're going to and you have to cancel. Can you afford to re-book your vacation?

12. You met an accident while touring The Great Wall in Beijing, China. Adequate medical attention is unavailable in the nearest hospital and you need to be airlifted by a helicopter.

13. Your flight was delayed.

Travel insurance is cheap compared to the risk of the additional costs you will incur when confronted with the unexpected.

Look for a travel policy that fits your budget and needs. Buy a policy that is independent from your tour operator because when your tour operator suddenly goes out of business, money maybe unavailable to cover your claim. Buy from a licensed company.

Also, take time to understand the nuance of the policy you're buying. Ask the necessary requirements to make a claim. Once, our flight was delayed for twelve hours, we were asked to submit our boarding passes and any receipt of a purchase from the place we stayed in while we waited for our flight to make a claim.

Be smart. Buy travel insurance. You are not only buying a policy. You are also buying PEACE OF MIND.

Have you had any experience when you regretted not buying travel insurance or do you have a story where you were glad you bought one? Share them with us in the comments.