The short answer is you absolutely do! The longer answer is, well, a bit longer and that is what we’re covering today.
You should always make sure to have travel insurance, even if you already have health insurance. There are A LOT of reasons for this, including:
Let’s look at these points in-depth to understand why travel insurance coverage is so much more than just a smart idea.
Travel Insurance is More Than Health Insurance
While a large part of travel insurance is emergency medical expenditure and evacuation coverage, it offers numerous other benefits. These are things like trip cancellation and interruption, missed connection, bag loss/delay, and more.
The idea behind travel insurance is to offer you a comprehensive solution to unexpected travel and medical emergencies that might occur on your trip. Let’s say you miss your cruise departure: missed connection coverage would cover the cost of meeting up with your cruise at the next port as well as the additional hotel nights and meals. Family coverage allows you to add family members to your policy so that you’re all covered in case anything happens.
This brings us to one of the unspoken benefits of travel insurance: peace of mind. Think about it, do you know what you would do if you’re suddenly in an emergency situation in a foreign country? With travel insurance, you always have access to a 24/7 travel and medical emergency assistance provider to ensure you receive the help you need as soon as possible.
Travel Insurance Covers Trip-Specific Situations
We touched on this a bit above, but the help you get from making sure you have trip-specific coverage rather than general health coverage are nothing short of immense. From missing flights to lost baggage and beyond, travel insurance is tailored towards providing assistance and reimbursement when these travel headaches occur.
This type of travel insurance can be seen in two of the more popular forms of our travel styles: journalism and cruise travel
- Journalism: These policies are curated for the modern-day story-breaker, protecting you in the event of all sorts of misfortunes. This coverage includes the mundane, like lost luggage or personal effects and delays in your trip. It also includes the more serious, like medical evacuation and non-medical evacuation in the event of political upheaval, terrorist attack, and more when you travel.
- Cruising: Even the savvy seafarer needs a lesson or two about the type of travel insurance they should be looking for. We recommend policies that include missed connection, trip cancellation or interruption, and emergency medical expense or evacuation, which is nothing short of necessary if you need to be airlifted from the ship or a port.
Health Insurance Doesn’t Work Outside of the U.S.
This one is a bit complicated because some medical insurance will carry on outside of the country if you travel. Most policies won’t cover you once you leave the States, though, and the few that do often have much higher premiums.
So, in most cases, your stateside insurance is useless for international travel. This makes travel insurance vital for your wellness and safety if you’re exploring Europe or really taking any international vacation.
Sold on the almost uncountable perks of travel insurance? Then pick the type of trip you’re taking to get a uniquely customized quote in minutes and compare plans. Peace of mind here you come!
Kate's authoritative voice in travel writing is backed by years of extensive travel experience, allowing her to infuse her writing with the tips and tricks she has gathered over time. This wealth of experience enhances her ability to write authoritatively on travel-related topics.
