To Be or Not To Be Insured? No Brainer Really!

To Be or Not To Be Insured? No Brainer Really!

Travel insurance is one of the most important things to buy for your trip — no matter how long you are going away for it is a NO BRAINER!

As I was recently going over the pluses and minuses in my own mind of my years of travel, I would and should have had travel insurance from day one. As I’ve paid 3 times more, just in medical bills alone rather than the actual yearly costs from breaking my leg in Malaga, kidney stones problems in Phuket to viruses and ending up on drips etc..for never getting it. Plus all the stress it caused along the way! I also realized as I talked to myself, there is a lot of misconceptions about what travel insurance really was. And, judging by the questions that make their way to my inbox and I get asked, I’m not the only one.

So today’s topic is about travel insurance and I want to address many of the concerns, questions, and misconceptions that have piled up over the years that, honestly, I should have written about ages ago.

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I NOW always get travel insurance when I travel. For as little as 2.50 USD a day, it’s the most important thing you hope you’ll never need. After all, we get home insurance, life insurance, health insurance, and car insurance. Getting travel insurance is the same thing. You want to protect yourself against the unforeseen and things do happen, trust me! The number of smartphones or tablets I’ve lost over the years, I could have opened an electrical shop.

A friend’s friend recently got dengue fever and had to cancel a lot of her travel plans — but her travel insurance covered the hospital costs and reimbursed her expenses. Insurance was there when I lost my luggage. It was there when another friend had to go home after her father died. It was there for these people too:

Travel insurance is a must / NO Brainer, but since it is a confusing topic , Ive tried to explain a few things below…

Note: There are few universal rules in travel insurance so be sure to read the fine print of your policy to find out the specifics of what is and isn’t covered. The below answers are no substitute for checking your actual policy! Policy wordings and conditions vary greatly from country to country, state to state, and company to company. So read them and be sure to go with the company that gives you what you need – there are many good insurance companies out there!

What is travel insurance?
It’s emergency care when things unexpectedly go wrong. Depending on the policy you buy, it can be there for when your luggage is lost by the airline or you genuinely misplace it, when you fall hiking, have an accident and need hospitalisation. get a parasite overseas, or need to cancel or cut your trip short because of tragic circumstances at home. It’s designed to be there for accidents (both health and non-health related) and unexpected events you never thought could happen to you. It’s not a substitute for health insurance back home, an open chequebook to supplement your trip expenses, or a license to be foolish.

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Is travel insurance just health insurance?
No, it’s so much more than that. While there is a medical component for sudden illnesses and accidental injuries, it can also cover you for trip cancellation, trip interruptions, loss or theft of your gear, and emergency transportation should you need to get to the nearest hospital fast. Which is a must as repatriation to an overseas hospital can be very costly if the nearest one to you doesn’t have the facilities.

Okay, but it’s like health insurance too, right? I can go see a doctor when I want?
Travel insurance is not a replacement for health insurance and should not be treated as such. It’s there for unexpected emergencies. Break a leg? Pop an eardrum? Get food poisoning or dengue? Travel insurance has you covered. Want to go see a doctor for a physical or get a new crown on your tooth? You’re on your own!

Can I get treated for an illness I already have?
Most travel insurance plans don’t cover pre-existing conditions. If you get sick on the road, yes, travel insurance is there for you. But if you need medication for an ongoing chronic disease or a medical condition you knew of before you bought the policy, you could be out of luck. Moreover, if you get sick under one policy and then you extend it or start a new policy, most insurers will consider your illness a pre-existing condition and won’t cover it under your new policy.

My credit card offers some protection. Isn’t that good enough?
Credit cards, even the best, offer very limited protection. Some offer coverage for lost or stolen items, medical expenses, and trip cancellation if you booked your trip with the card, but they may not cover you being airlifted home or anything else (always check. You may also not be covered unless you activate the policy before your trip.) And, if they do cover something, the coverage limit may be so low that you might be shocked when you have to pay the difference. Bottom line: don’t rely on credit card coverage for any more than lost or stolen items, and maybe not even that.

How does the insurance actually work? Do they mail me a card I can show the doctor?
If it’s a major medical emergency needing overnight hospitalization or emergency repatriation, then you (or someone else) would contact the emergency assistance team and they can help make arrangements and approve costs. For all other situations, including day admission to the hospital, you need to claim reimbursement from your insurer. You pay out of pocket and then submit documentation to the insurance company after the fact (so no need for a card to show the doctor). Be sure to keep all documentation, file any necessary police reports, and save all receipts. Companies don’t reimburse you based on your word.

I read reviews online. All these companies always seem to have a get-out clause?
Most people don’t read the fine print of their policy. (Who has ever read their Windows operating agreement? Exactly.) People buy it, don’t read the exact wording, and make assumptions about coverage. So, when something goes wrong, they scream bloody murder when something isn’t covered or when lacking supporting documents to support their claim and write a nasty review online. (Most people don’t write good reviews when they are helped. On the Internet, we love to scream our displeasure but rarely our pleasure.)

Take online user reviews of insurance companies with a grain of salt. I’ve read them and most of the time, I think, “You didn’t read your policy!” I’m by no means an insurance company defender, but if you’re going in with no documentation, no proof you owned what you lost, or you want to make a claim for something that is specifically excluded on the policy, you should expect to get denied. Is the reimbursement process fun? No. It’s a lot of paperwork, but when you have all your ducks in a row, you get reimbursed. Reviews by users who didn’t read their policy doesn’t mean insurance is a bad idea. It just means people don’t follow instructions.

I got drunk and hurt myself. Will I be covered?
Possibly not. If you are doing something foolish (whether you’re drinking or not), insurance companies will want to know if putting yourself at unnecessary risk led to the injury. If, after investigating, they find you did, they can deny your claim. That’s not to say that they expect you to be sober your entire trip, but let’s just say you’re unlikely to get reimbursed if you’re engines full and decide that it would be a good idea to stand in the middle of the road and play chicken.

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So don’t be foolish, this I say to myself time and time again:)! When I think I can save a few quid of this year travels. No I can’t
Some travel insurance can cover you at home. For example, Worlds Nomad Travel Insurance covers you either 100 miles from your permanent address (for U.S. residents), outside your home province (if you’re Canadian), or outside your home country (for everyone else). It depends on your policy, and there are always conditions on when the coverage starts and ends and where you can travel to, so check this carefully first.

I’m a senior. What should I do?
Insurance companies don’t like covering seniors as they view them as high risk, thus it’s a lot harder for older travellers to find comprehensive coverage!

I’ve used travel insurance since I started having a few more mishaps travelling, and it’s helped me, my friends, and readers of this website. I can’t stress its importance enough.

I hope you never have to use your plan but, if you need to, you’ll be happy you bought it. Don’t avoid it because you read a bad review or think you’ll be OK. Travel insurance is a safeguard against the unexpected. Nobody ever expects the Spanish Inquisition — and no expects to get hit by a drunk backpacker driving a scooter in Thailand!

Preparation is key in life. It’s worth it.

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