You’ve just
booked a big trip, and you’re debating whether you need to shell out that
additional cash for travel insurance. The trip itself is costing upwards of a
thousand bucks (read on to see our case study on foreign exchange rates!), and
at this point, signing up for another travel insurance fee seems like a nail in
the coffin that is your bank account. Travel insurance is just a waste of money
anyway, I mean it’s not like anything will happen to you while on vacation, and
even if it did, insurance companies make it practically impossible to collect,
so why bother, right? WRONG!
Myth #1:
Nothing will happen to me!
Fact: If you’re a logical person,
you’ll recognize the flaw in this way of thinking. You may have travelled
abroad 100 times already and never had to deal with a difficult problem
Myth #2:
I’m covered at home, so I don’t need to spend more on an additional policy.
Fact: Unless you specifically
purchased an insurance policy that includes full coverage abroad, your domestic
health insurance, homeowner’s insurance and credit card policies do not always
cover the costs of trip cancellation, medical expenses, or, in the worst case,
medical evacuation abroad.
Myth #3:
I don’t need Cheap
Travel Insurance , because it’s impossible to collect unless something
catastrophic happens anyway.
Fact: The right policy will not only
cover catastrophic illness, injury, disasters and repatriation costs, but it’ll
also serve as a way out of a sticky situation in case something less dramatic
takes place. Let’s say you’ve booked a trip to Spain for a friend’s wedding,
and you’re in full excitement mode when you get an email saying that the bride
has called it off.
Myth #4:
Travel insurance is just for people that do adventure sports.
Fact: While it’s especially important
for the sky-divers, ice-climbers and cave explorers out there to have travel
insurance, they’re not the only ones that can benefit from the security that
comes from buying a travel insurance policy.
Myth #5:
Medical costs abroad are cheaper anyway. If I need any treatment, I’ll be able
to pay for it out-of-pocket.
Fact: For
Americans, this one is partially true. It may seem like you may very well be
able to get a heart transplant or a hip replacement abroad for the cost of an
x-ray at home.
Myth #6:
I can buy the flights and book the hotels now, then I’ll buy the travel
insurance right before I leave.
Fact: If you wait to purchase travel
insurance until after booking the rest of the details, all of the x-factors
that come into play while travelling could come back to bite you.
[Source: http://www.tourradar.com/blog/6-myths-travel-insurance/]
