According to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, after 9/11, about 30 percent of Americans purchase travel insurance, compared with 10 percent before 9/11. The top three reasons are: peace of mind, protection against the unexpected and concern over losing the financial investment in a trip. And more reasons are listed as follows:
1.Your flight has been cancelled.
2.Your bags are lost and your medication is in it. You need to have an emergency prescription filled.
3.Your passport and wallet are stolen, and you need emergency cash and a replacement passport.
4.You're involved in an accident and adequate medical treatment is not available. You need medical evacuation.
5.You need to cancel your trip due to illness.
6.Your cruise line, airline or tour operator goes bankrupt. You need your non-refundable expenses covered and to get to your destination.
7.You have a medical emergency in a foreign country.
8.A terrorist incident occurs in the city where you’re planning to visit and you want to cancel your trip.
9.A hurricane forces you to evacuate your resort, hotel or cruise.
Here’s a list of some of the most common risks that are covered by travel insurance:
• Cancellations and/or curtailments;
• Delayed departures for flights, and other modes of travel;
• Loss, theft or damage to personal belonging and money including travel documents;
• Delay or loss of baggage;
• Medical expenses/sickness
• Emergency evacuation/repatriation
• Overseas funeral expenses
• Accidental death, injury or disability benefit
• Legal assistance for travel related needs
• Personal liability
Compared with the two lists, you can find that most risks that you may encounter during your trips are covered by the various travel insurance policies.
What’s more, some insurance companies have travel polices providing extra coverage for additional price. Here is a list of the extra insurance coverage that can be purchased for an additional fee:
• High risk sports, such as bungee jumping, scuba diving, sky diving;
• Travel to countries with high risk due to civil wars or natural disasters;
• Travel with pre-existing medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart conditions
All in all, although travel insurance can cover almost all the risks in the travel, you must take care of yourself. After all, no news is good news.
