Travel planning is complicated.
Between packing, finding flight or train routes, arranging accommodations, locating someone to watch your pets and water your plants and all the other 10,000 details that go into business and pleasure trips, it’s a wonder anyone goes anywhere at all.
And considering the percentage of flight cancellations has increased every year since 2016, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, your trip might end before it ever begins.
But one question that pops up a lot during trip planning is whether or not to purchase travel insurance.
Is Travel Insurance Worth It?
On the one hand, it’s hard to put a price tag on the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’ll get some or all of your money back if your travel plans go awry.
On the other hand, travel insurance does come with an actual price tag — and an expensive one at that.
So is travel insurance worth it? Or is it worth the risk to pass up?
Here’s how to tell whether it’s worth it to buy travel insurance for your next trip.
Types of Travel Insurance
Before we dive into the pros and cons, let’s take a look at the most common options that travelers can buy individually or as part of a comprehensive package.
Emergency Medical Care
If you get sick or injured while traveling outside the U.S., your health insurance, including Medicare, may not cover any treatment or medication you receive (be sure to check with your insurer before you leave).
In the event of an emergency, you can contact the local embassy to locate appropriate medical services, but the State Department will not help pay your medical bills.
Emergency medical insurance provides a safety net to help you pay unexpected medical bills that could add up to hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
FROM THE INSURANCE FORUM
Delayed or Lost Luggage
Every traveler worries they’ll be parted from their luggage at some point during their trip and end up wearing convenience-store flip flops and their travel companion’s underpants.
Luggage insurance won’t get your bags back to you any faster, but it will reimburse you for the money you spend buying replacement clothing, toiletries and medication.
Accidental Death
It’s difficult to think about something tragic happening while traveling, but unexpected things can occur. Accidental death insurance is similar to a life insurance policy and pays out benefits to your designated beneficiary.
Trip Cancellation or Interruption
Trip cancellation or interruption insurance typically reimburses you the cost of your travel expenses if your trip is canceled or the cost of return tickets home if your trip is interrupted. Some policies also cover circumstances that cause you to have to cancel your trip.
3 Times It Makes Sense to Buy Travel Insurance
- If your itinerary involves a lot of flights and stopovers, each one is a potential fail point. A nonstop flight to an all-inclusive Caribbean resort in the springtime is less of an insurance risk than a month-long tour of Europe with 12 destinations during the height of blizzard season.
- If you’re headed someplace where there is civil or political unrest, travel insurance is a good idea. A lot can happen between the time you make your reservation and when you get where you’re going.The situation could become more volatile, your accommodation reservations might be canceled or travel to the area could be restricted before you leave. In a worst-case scenario, you may need a non-medical emergency evacuation to take you to safety.If you’re buying travel insurance under this scenario, be sure to read the fine print to make sure your policy specifically covers war and civil disorder.
- Sometimes the best reason to buy travel insurance is if you won’t be able to relax on your trip without it. If worrying about something going wrong will overshadow your entire trip and keep you from enjoying yourself, spring for the coverage to ease your mind.
3 Times It Makes Sense to Skip Travel Insurance
- You may be able to skip travel insurance entirely if you have a credit card that offers it as a standard benefit to customers. Call your credit card company to see if travel insurance is available to you. (While you’ve got them on the phone, have them add a travel alert to your account.)
- All travel insurance policies are not created equal and some may not include the type of coverage you want or need. For instance, a travel insurance policy that only covers lost luggage is probably not worth it if you only travel with carry-on bags.
- It’s usually not worth it to buy insurance for short, inexpensive domestic trips. One exception is if you’re traveling to a location that could be affected by a hurricane or other predictable event of nature (like an active volcano) in the timeframe you plan to visit. Just make sure your policy covers natural disasters.
Where To Buy Travel Insurance
Many tour and cruise companies, travel agents and travel booking websites offer travel insurance to their customers.
A few tips if you decide to buy travel insurance:
- Buying insurance from the sources of your travel means you’re asking the companies to reimburse you if things go wrong, which leaves it up to them to decide if things went wrong. It’s not in the financial interests of the airlines, cruise lines and tour operators o give you your money back, but it is in their interest to get you to hand over more money. Skip this one.
- Travel agents receive a commission for selling you insurance. If you prefer the convenience of one-stop shopping, know what type of coverage you want before you call to ensure you’re getting the coverage you need instead of the coverage they want to sell you.
- Rather than buying from the people selling you the trips, try comparison shopping on third-party insurance sites like SquareMouth or InsureMyTrip.
Shopping around for travel insurance could end up saving you hundreds of dollars, allowing you to sit back, relax and enjoy your trip.
Lisa McGreevy is a former staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.