WHY IS TRAVEL INSURANCE SO IMPORTANT?

This may seem quite obvious, but still, there are a lot of people who choose to travel without insurance. Most of these explain their choice with “oh, nothing will happen” or “I’m never sick”. And although it may be true for the most part, you never know when an accident occurs. For example, I am rarely ill and when I travel to “insecure” areas, I always read and look into safety tips for that specific location, but still, you never know.

During my 7 years of traveling, I’ve only encountered cleaners who stole money in the hotel room and a lost ATM card, but despite that, I would never travel without insurance. The reason for it is very simple; it’s simply not worth traveling without. I have been food poisoned, for example, many times, and if those had gotten more serious I would’ve been in need of some proper medical treatment. Without travel insurance that will often be VERY pricey, to say the least.

If you get seriously ill and need surgery, the costs can hit the roof and you might not afford it. With travel insurance, you only have to pay the deductible (usually about 150 Euro). instead of perhaps thousands of Euros. Similarly, valuables such as camera, computer and mobile phone are subject to theft or breakage.

Theft happens everywhere in the world and it is not only in poor countries that you may encounter jerks or robbery. A good travel insurance can be found for around 1-3 Euros a day. It’s stupid to be cheap when it comes to your own safety and health!

There are far too many examples of travelers who have encountered accidents abroad without travel insurance, who either had to pay ridiculously high fees or been denied treatment. Such a thing will be avoided if you have a good travel insurance covering the unforeseen.

WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN A GOOD TRAVEL INSURANCE?

• The travel insurance should give you coverage in the majority of countries
• Coverage for stolen items or things that break should be included
• Medical emergencies or regular illness
• 24/7 hour customer service (you don’t want to talk to a robot while you’re bleeding out, at least not until robots are better than humans)
• A good trip cancellation protection
• Coverage for interruptions due to illness or other circumstances
• Legal fees and costs
• Coverage if the company that you booked with goes bankrupt
• Personal accidents
• Damage compensation for traumatic experiences such as robbery or assault
• That you should not have to pay huge expenses upfront (very important)

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