Travel insurance is part of the experienced traveler’s standard equipment. Business people and professionals quite literally bookmark their travel insurance sites and simply have it on standby for when they need it. It’s simply part of their normal lifestyle. People taking regular overseas holidays shop around for a good travel insurance policy and use it all the time.

Travel insurance, the realities

A lot of well-intentioned but sometimes overly scary reasons for taking out travel insurance are regular features in the travel insurance industry advertising. A lot of emphasis is placed on theft, getting stranded without money, et cetera. These are all possibilities, but they paint an unnecessarily grim picture of travel risks. More the point, they also miss a lot of very basic potential travel problems that deserve far more attention.

For example:

• You’re more at risk of indigestion than you are of theft. “Travelers tummy” can be a pretty gruesome experience, and you need to know what to do and how to pay for things in this situation.

• Accidents do happen. If you’re overseas, particularly on an active adventure holiday or something like that, injuries are obvious risks. You really do need to be insured for this, and it is possible that your health insurance policy may not cover treatment in another country, in which case you do need to cover this situation with your travel insurance. (Some do, some don’t. Check with your health insurer.)

• Lost valuables. Travelers who are always active, in a hurry and moving from place to place can create real problems for themselves very easily. If something goes missing, it’s always good to know that you’ve got some hope of getting the value of your property back.

• Baggage issues. The huge tonnage of baggage which disappears in the world’s airports every year represents huge problems for travelers. It’s bad enough losing your baggage, without having the added insult and injury of not having travel insurance coverage as well.

• Personal insurance issues. Travelers may want to ensure insurance coverage of specific things. A broad spectrum, One Size Fits All travel insurance policy may not do the job of ensuring specific assets. For business people, insuring certain types of property and personal assets is an absolute must.

Travel insurance is a must-have, not a luxury. Travel insurance should be seen as being as common sense. It’s as basic and important as protecting your identity online.

The good news is that it’s quite possible to get cheap travel insurance which will do everything you need. A quick hunt around online will show you a lot of options. This will give you a pretty good indication of prices, terms and coverage.

The next stage is to speak directly to the insurer, ask questions and explain what you need for your travel insurance. Most insurers do have standard policies with multiple options, so you needn’t worry that they won’t be able to cover your requirements.

The bottom line:

• Make sure your insurance covers everything you need.
• Always ask about additional cover.
• Don’t set foot on the plane until you have your cover ready.

You can have your insurance set up and peace of mind before you walk out the door.

Image: renjith krishnan