5 Reasons To Re-Think Your Reluctance To Purchase Travel Insurance.
No one really wants to purchase travel insurance. Most people feel their money is wasted because nothing ever happens to them. Thank your lucky stars if you have never had to use your policy. Unfortunately, I have had clients that had to use their policy. These clients were relieved that I nudged them to purchase a policy.
1). Natural Causes – A hurricane may or may not be covered should it occur within a certain time of purchasing your trip. If a hurricane has been named before you purchased your policy there is almost a 100% chance you will not get reimbursed.
2). Not all preexisting is equal – Did you know travel insurance companies have different rules on when you are eligible for a pre-existing waiver? Generally, a pre-existing waiver is determined by how far the purchase date of the policy is from the deposit date. In some cases even when there is a waiver for pre-existing the insurance company may be able to deny benefits.
3). Long periods of Travel– If you are taking a trip over a long period of time make sure the policy you purchased will cover you for that period. A good example of this is taking a world cruise. You may be gone for several months and some travel companies will have a limit on how long they will cover you.
4). Supplier Insurance – Don’t get sucked into lower pricing. Remember the saying “You get what you pay for” You are usually always better off using 3rd party insurance. Yes, it may cost more but so worth it if you need to use it. Not every supplier has a poor policy but most will be less comprehensive than a 3rd party policy. This could mean the policy may fall short. It may result in you spending thousands of dollars because you tried to save a few hundred. You will also be restricted to what you want to add to the policy. What if your Travel Advisor is combining different elements from different suppliers? It will be hard to use a supplier to cover all of this. The supplier’s goal is to protect you when using their product.
5). Drinking too much alcohol could have your claim denied if the incident is a result of having more alcohol than the insurance company deems acceptable. Imagine you are having the time of your life on an extraordinary journey and maybe having more drinks usual. It’s your vacation, right? However, on the way back to your cabin you slip and fall on the staircase. You break your ankle and are escorted off to the nearest hospital. Your travel insurance company decides you had more than the legal amount of alcohol that is acceptable to them and refuse to reimburse you. Insurance companies are skeptical about any activity that they feel you know puts you in harm’s way.
Incidents are possible when we travel. There are many people who are adverse to purchasing a policy because in most cases when we travel nothing out of the ordinary happens. Unfortunately, in the unlikely chance that something does happen and you did not purchase a policy, you could be out of a lot more than the money you spent on the cost of the trip. At the end of the day, it really boils down to can you afford the risk, because none of us have a crystal ball? Insurance buys us peace of mind and it should be part of the cost when planning travel just like car insurance or house insurance.
Whatever policy you decide to purchase always check with your travel insurance company about what is covered. Travel Advisors can give you an overview but knowing the nitty-gritty of the policy is something only an insurance person can advise. Most people do not pay attention to these policies even when they purchase them. Please read them and if you are still not sure of what is covered call the insurance company. There is nothing like peace of mind.