Travel insurance is one of the most important things that you can purchase for any international trip. Whether you are going abroad for a week or embarking on a year-long trip around the world, it is something that you should seriously consider.
Some people will be happy with the general policies available, while the tailored packages provided by companies such as World Nomads Insurance can be tailored to suit your needs. The policies can cover personal loss, theft, damages, and medical expenses, so when I’ve needed to see doctors abroad, had luggage stolen, or missed my flight, I was covered.
Here are ten reasons to get travel insurance for your next trip!
Health Treatment and Evacuation Cover
Many Americans think that their existing health insurance policy will also cover them if they need treatment abroad, but in the majority of cases, this is simply not the case.
From car accidents to adventure sport injuries, having cover for medical treatment and emergency evacuation can be a vital part of your travel insurance, potentially saving you tens of thousands of dollars.
Cancellation of Connections
If your trip includes multiple flights or train connections, many travel insurance policies will cover you for missed connections.
They may cover alternative transport to your destination and often provide a helpline to assist with finding accommodation if you’re stranded due to a missed connection.
Losing Your Documents Abroad
Losing your travel documents is often considered one of the most stressful situations a traveler can face. It can make getting through airport security—or even returning home—extremely difficult.
Good travel insurance will cover the cost of replacing lost documents and provide assistance to help you get home if needed.
Theft and Pickpocketing
Losing money, electrical items or jewelry can be a horrible experience while you are abroad, and one of the key features of travel insurance is that it will help you to replace these should they be stolen while you are away.
Illness Before Your Trip
One common reason that can lead to trips being canceled is if you suffer from an illness before you travel, and are no longer fit sto travel. Including this as a part of your travel insurance cover can make a big difference, especially if you are planning an expensive or memorable trip that would make it very difficult to replace if you weren’t able to travel.
Your Travel Provider Goes Out of Business
Depending on the country in which the company providing your travel arrangements is based, there may be some cover through travel associations. However, by making sure you have good travel insurance, it can reassure you that should anything happen, you won’t be left out of pocket by this kind of incident.
While it seems unlikely, this happened to one of my best friends when we were traveling in Greece. She had a flight booked from Athens to London and, upon arriving at the airport, learned that the airline she was traveling with had declared bankruptcy the day prior, leaving hundreds of travelers without flights. She ended up losing her money on the canceled flight and had to book a last-minute flight that cost her over $400.
If she had travel insurance, she would have been covered for all of those expenses.
Adventure and Sports Coverage
If you are planning on doing any adventurous activities or sports while you are away (including scuba diving, sailing, skiing, etc.), this coverage can be vital. Whether you lose your golf clubs while you’re traveling or are injured skiing, knowing you’re covered for these kinds of mishaps can offer real peace of mind.
Terrorism or Civil War
While relatively uncommon, travelling to countries with political unrest or a risk of terrorism may require you to cancel your plans. If your policy includes this type of cover, you can be reimbursed for missed bookings, helping you avoid a significant financial loss.
Lost Luggage
Unfortunately, lost luggage is more common than many travellers realise, especially when it’s in the care of an airline or coach company. If this happens, you will need to buy replacement clothes and essentials while you’re away.
Travel insurance can help cover those immediate costs and may also reimburse you if your luggage is never recovered.
I’ve had my luggage delayed twice while travelling, and World Nomads reimbursed me for each day it was missing. At the time, I didn’t know if it was lost or just delayed, so having insurance gave me peace of mind that I’d be covered either way.
Assistance with Emergency Prescriptions
While losing medicine may not leave you needing immediate medical help, filling an emergency prescription is something that many insurance companies will help with if your medicine is lost or stolen abroad.
This can definitely help to reduce any stress over getting important medicine replaced.
Learn more about World Nomads Insurance and get covered for your next trip!
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. World Nomads Insurance is my go-to because I have used their insurance first-hand for over five years and have received amazing support and coverage. I would never recommend anything I don’t personally love. If you would like to get travel insurance and would like to support this website in some way, using these links will help do exactly that.
Great points. I ended up going with IMG Global for health insurance which covers me globally (provided I’m out of the U.S. for at least 6 months). Currently, in Goa, India where health issues are plenty, but no claims needed yet.
Kiersten have you used World Nomads? Have you had to file a claim with them? The top benefit that makes me want to travel is to photograph amazing places, but the top thing that has always prevented me from doing so is the fear of getting my camera stolen. I have taken all the safety precautions I can think of, but I am terrified of getting robbed. The reason I want travel insurance is so that it can replace my camera if it is stolen.
Yes they’re definitely my #1 recommendation! I can’t guarantee they cover stolen cameras, but you can contact support to clarify. I’ve made claims for health related stuff when I had to visit the hospital and they reimbursed me for my bills within 30 days. It was great.
@Jessie – YES World Nomads does reimburse for stolen cameras as long as you were “responsibly taking care of it.”
If you get pick pocked/robbed or you left it in a locked place you will get reimbursed.
However, from what I understand, if you left the camera at the beach all day and then came back and it was gone you wouldn’t get reimbursed because you “lost it do to negligence.”