Is Travel Insurance Worth It?
“Is travel insurance necessary?” that is a common question most people might ask themselves. What is the worst thing that could happen if you do not buy any insurance before your trip, right?
While fear of a nebulous future should not overly control your decisions, foresight is armor against the unknown. Having travel insurance is a good shield against the agents of chaos.
There is a lot of time and money that goes into planning a vacation, especially if you are flying somewhere or if you are heading to another country. Unless you have a personal concierge on your corner, you have to book your own flights, hotel rooms, tours/experiences, and sometimes even train tickets and car service. Before you know it you have spent a few hours on the phone and racked up a considerable amount of money. Each time you book something, you probably get the same question at checkout: do you want to add travel insurance to that? The question is often linked with some persuasive statements (some booking sites will remind you that you are “risking” your trip if you do not purchase it) that can leave you second-guessing yourself. However, is travel insurance actually worth it?
In theory, it seems like travel insurance is a no-brainer. For an extra fee, you should be saving yourself from losing a lot of money in the end. However, the fee for travel insurance adds up. Sure, sometimes, it is just a few dollars to add onto your flight or hotel booking, but for larger trips, it can be a decent chunk of change. Considering the cost involved, it is worth looking into whether or not buying extra insurance for your vacay is actually necessary.
Travel insurance often is not as necessary as it seems, or as websites and companies make it seem. An analysis by Consumers’ Checkbook found that travel insurance usually is not worth it. The site looked into the various types of travel insurance and discovered that many of the policies being pushed by airlines, travel companies, hotels, and cruise lines are not actually worth the extra money because they do not cover what you assume they will cover.
When it comes to airlines and transportation companies that offer reimbursement for trip interruptions or cancellations (like someone getting sick or missing a flight), Consumers’ Checkbook reported: “They might seem like good, sensible buys, but these plans actually provide pretty thin coverage, and most travelers do not risk much skipping it.” The reason? Most of these plans and policies have so many limitations and exclusions that they end up being useless. For example, some will not reimburse you if you have to cancel due to an illness caused by a pre-existing condition, or if your trip is messed up because of a natural disaster. They do not cover the majority of the most common reasons you would need to use travel insurance, which is beyond frustrating.
The office of Senator Edward Markey released a study on travel insurance. It stated, “The only thing skimpier than airplane legroom are these travel insurance plans.” The report looked at plans offered by 16 airlines and travel-booking websites, and found that they failed to provide the coverage promised, and that they exploited travelers as “an easy revenue generator.”
If you are intent on getting travel insurance, you should really look into the policy being offered to you. Read the fine print, pay attention to the exclusions, and really think about if it is something, you will need or not. If you find that any reason you may need to cancel is not covered, then what is the point?
Another option is to get a travel credit card that offers insurance, which is often more reliable and more helpful. For example, Chase offers trip insurance on purchases made with the credit card.
The lesson in all of this? Be mindful of the policies being offered, do your research before paying for anything or do as I do and make sure to get assistance from a professional like me.