Is Travel Insurance Worth It? Squaremouth Explains
The financial cost of traveling can be significant, as airfare, hotel accommodations, and other activities during the trip can compound quickly. Adding to that total by buying trip insurance may not sound great at first thought, but it can help travelers save a lot of money. Travel insurance comparison site, Squaremouth, explains why travel insurance is worth it.
Why is travel insurance worth the cost?
Travelers today face more hurdles and uncertainty than ever before. Travel insurance can cover you for a variety of events that may impact your trip, and potentially cause a financial loss.
Most of the travel insurance policies available through Squaremouth are comprehensive, and were designed to provide coverage for the most common traveler concerns. This includes coverage for trip cancellations, medical emergencies and evacuations, travel delays, and lost or delayed luggage, in addition to other less commonly sought after benefits.
Travel Insurance can save you money if your trip is cancelled
Trip Cancellation coverage is the primary reason most travelers buy travel insurance. This benefit can reimburse 100% of your prepaid and non-refundable trip expenses if you need to cancel your trip for a reason covered by your policy. Most policies have an extensive list of covered reasons, with the most commonly asked about reasons including:
- An illness, injury, or death of you, a traveling companion, or a non-traveling family member
- Inclement weather that prevents you from traveling
- A significant delay caused by a common carrier, such as your airline
- Being quarantined
- A terrorist incident at your destination
This benefit of travel insurance is worth it for travelers who have non-refundable trip costs and are concerned they may not be able to travel. In general, a comprehensive policy with cancellation Trip Cancellation coverage will cost between 5% and 10% of your total trip cost, and can cover the entire amount you insured.
During these uncertain times, many travelers are turning to Cancel For Any Reason. This upgrade can partially reimburse you to cancel for a reason that is not otherwise covered by your policy, such as fear of traveling due to Covid-19. Cancel For Any Reason can increase the cost of a policy by up to 40-50%, however many travelers find this cost worth it because of the added flexibility.
Travel medical benefits can save you thousands in case of an emergency
In addition to Trip Cancellation, the medical benefits of travel insurance are perhaps the most worth it due to the high financial ramifications that can come with a medical claim while traveling. There are two main travel medical benefits that are included within most policies: Emergency Medical and Medical Evacuation.
The Emergency Medical benefit can make sure you aren’t responsible for the cost of high medical bills in the event of an emergency during your trip. This benefit can cover the expenses you incur if you become sick or injured while you’re traveling, including the costs of seeing a physician, hospital fees, ambulance services, and others. Squaremouth recommends at least $50,000 in Emergency Medical coverage.
The Medical Evacuation benefit is designed to arrange and cover your transportation to the nearest adequate hospital in the event of a medical emergency. Due to the expensive nature of a medical evacuation, Squaremouth recommends at least $100,000 in coverage.
Travel Delay can cover necessary costs if your trip is delayed
Travel Delay has become an increasingly important concern for travelers in 2021. This benefit can cover the cost of meals and accommodations if your trip is delayed by at least 3-12 hours. Travel Delay can cover you for a variety of common travel disruptions, including a delay caused by inclement weather or your airline, or if you are quarantined during the pandemic.
Travel insurance can cover your lost or delayed luggage
Travel insurance policies also have built-in benefits in case something happens to your luggage during your trip. This includes coverage to purchase new clothes, toiletries and other essential items if your luggage is delayed. If your luggage is damaged or lost outright, you can be reimbursed for those items as well, up to a specific amount.