Is Travel Insurance Worth It? A Guide For Smart Travellers

The importance of travel insurance for domestic or overseas travel should never be underestimated. Many weigh up this additional cost and ask themselves; “Is travel insurance worth it?”

Even the best planned trips can be impacted by the unexpected. Unfortunately, both Jonas and I (retired nomads) know first-hand the importance of travel insurance as we have both had injuries that have required medical treatment.

Jonas was hit by a motorbike while taking photos in Hoi An, Vietnam and required hospitalisation for a shoulder surgery, as well as treatment for broken ribs, cuts and abrasions. In Medellin, Colombia, Peta badly sprained her ankle while crossing the road at a busy intersection. While hospitilisation wasn’t necessary, various X-rays and scans, as well as specialist treatment was required over the course of many months.

We like SafetyWing as their travel insurance policies offer a broad range of plans for short and longer term travel for all types of travellers. They have great coverage, competitive rates, great customer service, and your policy can easily be extended as many times as you’d like. Our favourite feature of SafetyWing is the ability to renew our policy when we are overseas.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PRICES ON TRAVEL INSURANCE THROUGH SAFETYWING

For us, travel insurance gives us peace of mind knowing we are covered no matter what unforeseeable events are thrown at us.

If you are still wondering about the importance of travel insurance, the following post will help you make up your mind and answer this question.

Is It Necessary To Have Travel Insurance?

Travel insurance is a very important consideration for all types of travellers i.e. families going on a summer holiday, business people on work trips, backpackers on a gap year, newlyweds celebrating marriage, or retirees on their dream vacation.

There are many different types of travel insurance options out there, and it is imperative you take the time to understand their features to ensure you buy the one that best suits your needs. Some factors to consider are:

• What kind of trip are you taking?
• Are you travelling as a single, with a partner, with your family, or with a group?
• Are you travelling for pleasure, business, to study or volunteer?
• How old are you?
• Do you have any pre-existing medical conditions?
• How many days / weeks / months are you planning on travelling for?
• What would you like to be covered in a policy?
• Will you be participating in any high-risk, hazardous sports i.e. scuba diving, skiing, bungee jumping?

Typically, when people purchase travel insurance for overseas travel, it should cover things such as health, life, disability and baggage at a minimum. This will assist travellers with expenses related to hospitalisation, loss of baggage, flight cancellation, among other things.

Different Types of Travel Insurance Policies

There are generally two different types of travel insurance policies:

1. Trip Cancellation Protection

This policy generally provides a refund if you cannot travel due to being injured or sick, or if a flight has been cancelled or a connection has been missed. It also provides protection if luggage is lost, stolen, or damaged.

2. Comprehensive Travel Insurance (highly recommended and what we always travel with)

This type of policy generally covers all of the above, in addition to any expenses related to medical or dental emergencies, medical or disaster evacuations, and accidental death. Travel delay, personal liability, legal expenses, and tour operator default are also normally covered.

Our Top Tip: If you are going on a cruise, make sure your insurance policy covers you specifically for cruising.

8 Reasons Showing the Importance of Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is more than just an extra expense, it’s your safety net for unexpected events. Here are 8 compelling reasons that highlight why it’s essential for every trip!

1. Sickness or Injury Before a Trip

One common reason that can lead to a trip being cancelled is if you or your travelling companion become sick or injured and can’t travel. Or, what if a family member is hospitalized or passes away, leading you to sacrifice your trip and stay at home? In these situations, buying travel insurance with trip cancellation coverage will assist with reimbursement of your prepaid, non-refundable travel costs.  

2. Medical Treatment and Evacuation Cover

Medical emergencies overseas can be really expensive and contrary to popular belief, your home country health insurance will not cover these costs. From car accidents to adventure sport injuries, having cover for your treatment and evacuation from a country if required can be a vital part of travel insurance, which otherwise can costs tens of thousands of dollars in certain situations.

When you have travel insurance with emergency medical benefits, it can pay for losses due to covered medical and dental emergencies that occur during your trip. Emergency medical transportation benefits can pay for medically necessary transportation to the nearest appropriate medical facility, as well as the cost of getting you home following a covered injury or illness.

Also, if you can’t continue your trip as a result of a medical emergency, trip interruption cover could reimburse you for the portion of the trip that you missed.

3. Travel Delays / Interruptions and Missed / Cancelled Connections

Flight delays, flight cancellations, missed connections, a stolen passport, a traffic accident, natural disaster, and many other unexpected events could delay or completely interrupt your trip.

A travel insurance plan can cover you in many of those situations, so you can focus on taking care of your needs during an inconvenience like that and not worry so much about what it might cost. They can cover alternative transport arrangements on to your destination, and will also have a help line that can help you to find accommodation if you are stranded because of a missed connection.

4. Lost, Stolen or Delayed Luggage

Unfortunately, luggage that is lost, delayed or damaged by airlines is more common than many people imagine. Travel insurance will pay you back for the purchase of necessary items while your bags are delayed. In the event your luggage is lost and never recovered, travel insurance will reimburse the cost of purchasing new clothes and the other lost items.

5. Theft and Pickpocketing

Pickpocketing and theft from rooms and the beach are common stories amongst travellers. Whilst there are preventative measures you can take to keep your valuable safe, there is still the chance of theft by opportunistic thieves.

Once again, travel insurance will assist in replacing your lost items, or at least reimbursing you for the cost of stolen electrical items, sunglasses, jewellery etc.

6. Lost Travel Documentation

I would imagine the loss of your passport and other important travel documentation to be up there with one of the most stressful events a traveller could experience. Good travel insurance will not only assist you with replacing your documents, but get you back home.

7. Natural Disasters / Weather Conditions

Natural disasters and the weather is something you have no control over that could lead to travel delays or cause your trip to be cancelled altogether.

8. Travel Insurance is Affordable

Cost is probably the number one reason people don’t buy travel insurance. But on average, a couple of extra dollars each day will cover you for regular travel insurance.

When you get a quote for your travel insurance, you will be presented with multiple coverage options, so you just need to pick the one that best suits your needs and budget.

Have We Had to Use Travel Insurance?

Unfortunately, yes! We were just 3 weeks into the beginning of our full time travel journey when Jonas got hit by a motorbike in Vietnam. He had to be hospitalised, undergo shoulder surgery and stay in the hospital for over a week. Our travel insurance provider was amazing and organised all payments directly through the hospital for his care.

While travelling in Medellin, Colombia, I (Peta) severely sprained my ankle and had to go to hospital for X-rays, medical attention and physiotherapy. Unfortunately, after 3 months of limping around, we decided to cut our year short and return back to Australia to seek more intensive therapy. Travel insurance paid for a new flight back to Australia and reimbursed all other costs due to this.

So, as you can see for yourself, our travel insurance has paid for itself many times over.

Which Travel Insurance Should I Get?

There are lots of companies offering travel insurance out there but not all of them will suit your needs. We have been slow travelling for a long time and have researched a lot of travel insurance providers over the years. The two providers we like are 1Cover Travel Insurance and SafetyWing (please carefully read the PDS (Product Disclosure Statement) to check if it is right for you).

N.B.: Be sure to check the small print carefully before purchasing a policy to ensure you understand what you are, and aren’t covered for.

1Cover Travel Insurance (For Australians Only)

We have used 1Cover several times over the years and have been very happy with their services. In our experience, their customer service was exceptional and we found it to be great value for money.

SafetyWing

SafetyWing is the most popular and recommended travel insurer amongst digital nomads and full time travellers like ourselves, due to many reasons. Their policies are great value, they are committed to exceptional customer service, insurance can be bought and extended online while travelling (this is their point of difference as many companies only offer 12 months of insurance and require you to be back in your home country to renew), and their policies cover a range of adventure activities.

SafetyWing is also the travel insurance recommended by Lonely Planet and National Geographic.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PRICES ON TRAVEL INSURANCE THROUGH SAFETYWING

FAQs: The Importance of Trave Insurance

Now that you have explored some of the reasons we believe travel insurance is worth purchasing, you might still have a few questions. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here are some frequently asked questions about travel insurance which may help with any unanswered questions.

In Summary – Is Travel Insurance Worth It?

A vacation is really an investment in your happiness, but when that vacation starts off with a cancelled flight, a missed connection, a missing bag or another travel hiccup, that happy travel feeling fades quickly.

Travel insurance can help make these situations better so the importance of travel insurance can never be underestimated. Travel insurance really is one of the most important things that you can purchase for any international trip and, whether you are going abroad for a week or embarking on a year-long trip around the world, it is something that should be considered very seriously.

Do you travel with travel and health insurance and why? Have you ever needed to make a claim and were thankful you had paid the little extra? Feel free to contact us on Facebook or via email and let us know!

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