My husband and I have traveled to several continents, and never used travel insurance. However, we haven’t traveled internationally in approximately 20 years, and much has changed. This summer, we’re planning a trip to Japan, so for the first time, we’re considering travel insurance.
Why We’re Considering Travel Insurance
There are several reasons why we think travel insurance is a smart idea.
Traveling with More People
Unlike when we were young and childless, we now traveling with our three children. Plane tickets for five people are much more expensive than for two. The cheapest tickets we can find to Japan are around $1400, and with tax and other fees, each ticket will likely be about $2000. For the five of us, flying to Japan will cost $10,000. We can’t lose that money if something comes up and we cannot travel.
Travel Delays and Cancellations Are Common
In the last few years, travel delays and cancellations have become commonplace. So naturally, we’d like coverage to protect us in these instances.
In addition, we may have a personal reason for canceling travel. For example, perhaps one of us breaks our leg, or someone needs emergency surgery. You never know what will happen day-to-day, so we want to protect our investment in these expensive plane tickets and the other arrangements we’ve made and paid for, like accommodations.
We May Get Injured Overseas
If we’re injured overseas and need medical care or hospitalization, our health insurance may not cover us. However, travel insurance can cover the medical costs accrued overseas, saving some people from losing their entire savings or filing for bankruptcy to pay for medical care out of pocket.
A Caveat to Travel Insurance
As we’ve researched companies, we’ve discovered that not all travel insurance companies cover COVID-19 sickness or quarantine. That knowledge affects what companies we will consider. For instance, Allianz comes highly recommended, but they do not cover anything related to COVID-19.
What Coverage We Want
Since this is the first time we’ve considered travel insurance, we have a lot of research to do. Thus far, our dream list of travel insurance coverage is a policy that
- Covers COVID-19,
- Has Travel Health Insurance (We’re looking for $100,000 for medical coverage per person and $500,000 for emergency medical evacuation)
- Generous Refund Policy (Based on recommendations by AARDY.com we’re looking for “100% refund prior to travel for accident, illness or death or myself or a family member, jury duty, legal appearance, traffic accident en route to airport, death or hospitalization of your host at your travel destination, weather, job loss, or bankruptcy of travel provider.”)
Final Thoughts
Luckily, we have a few months before we book our trip, which gives us time to compare different travel insurance companies. In addition, we recently added an umbrella insurance policy to our insurance portfolio, so we will first check to see if that covers anything related to international travel. If not, we’ll check our credit cards to see if they offer travel insurance, and then we’ll go to a broker to compare costs.
Read More
9 Things to Know Before You Sell Your Home for a Camper Van
How to Save Money While Traveling
Do You Know How to Calculate the Cost of Travel Insurance?
Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York where she loves the natural beauty of the area.