Aside from not using a travel agent, there are bigger mistakes to be made when making travel plans. The biggest mistake in our eyes is not purchasing travel protection. Whether you’re spending $1,000 or $10,000, you deserve to protect that investment – and yourself!! Maybe you are one of the very, very few who could self-insure for whatever might happen on vacation. But if you’re a part of the real world, or like us, you definitely can’t. So why is it the biggest mistake to not buy travel protection?
You’re ignoring Murphy’s Law. You rupture your Achilles tendon three days before travel, so you can’t travel. Your kid gets violently sick on the way to the airport. Your father-in-law becomes ill enough that he is transferred to hospice care and given a short time left on this planet. Guess what? Those are all true. The Achilles tendon story? That was us, your dear travel agents here. Well, Butch to be exact. And it was before we ever bought travel insurance because we, too, thought we were smarter than Murphy’s Law. Losing money on those flights and car rental made us believers in travel insurance. Travel insurance helps handle the unexpected and help with a re-do.
You make it to vacation and, yes, all those details we all pined over and planned are perfectly executed. It’s amazing. You’re relaxing, drinking piña coladas by the pool, and high on life. But then your cruise ship hits unexpected high winds and weather and is not only missing ports, but is going to be late getting into its final port where you disembark. But you have flights home with a post-cruise hotel and a car service at your home airport that are all going to have hefty fees to change… now what? Travel insurance helps to juggle that mid-trip crisis and get you money back for the changes. (And you guessed it, that’s a true story as well. To the tune of $1296.32. All reimbursed by travel insurance.)
It’s also important to remember that smaller necessary pieces of a trip, such as baggage, could also be negatively impacted. Anyone ever have the airline damage your bag? Or maybe lose or damage something you packed? Anyone? Bueller? In all seriousness, this is another piece that many travelers forget when considering whether or not to purchase travel protection even for domestic trips. Baggage benefits within a travel insurance plan can help with the replacement of essentials if the bags are delayed, damaged, or even stolen.
Health insurance. You know we’re going there! Next time you call, ask about coverage if you are on a cruise ship or in a foreign country. You will likely be told that you have no coverage and any medical expenses will be out of pocket. Get sand ground into your eyes on a go-cart excursion and head to the medical office and you might be a few hundred bucks out the door (if you’re lucky and, yep, true story). Maybe your spouse dies unexpectedly while on your cruise and the remains need to be repatriated (very sad, but true story). Maybe your tuk tuk gets hit, overturns, and you are hospitalized until stable then air evacuated back to the United States (oh yes, very true story and VERY expensive – but they had travel protection that picked up where health insurance left off).
These are just a sample of why not purchasing travel protection for your trips is quite possibly the biggest mistake you are making when you buy travel. Here's another ten reasons why you need travel insurance for your next trip. You just never know what might happen. And as you can see, it’s not always dependent on just your actions. There are always outside factors at play that could impact you and the vacation that you paid for with your hard-earned money. Stop making this mistake and purchase travel protection on your next trip – we’ll breathe a sigh of relief and you will, too.
Do you have a travel insurance story to share? Tell us in the comments!