When traveling abroad on either business or pleasure you may well face more risks than in everyday life, as there is more opportunity for things to go wrong. An airline may lose your luggage or you could be subject to delays which eat into your vacation time. Thus having insurance coverage to cover these eventualities and others is always to be recommended. However, purchasing a travel insurance policy may not be necessary as you could already have ample insurance cover.
The chances are that you have several types of insurance and it is always worth checking what cover you already have, either on existing policies or through your credit card insurance. There is no point in paying twice for the same cover.
If you are traveling on company business check what the company insurance covers you for, as you may well not need extra insurance at all. The higher regard the company has for its employees the better the cover it will provide.
Before traveling you should also check what type of health cover your current health insurance offers when you travel. It could be that your health insurance is valid in the country you are traveling to. Do check this as some countries do expect full payment for providing medical services.
It is never a wise move to buy travel insurance directly from your tour operator as there is always the possibility of them going bust. The delay aspect of their insurance may only cover half of your vacation time, when the small print is studied. If you are tempted by a policy to cover delays it is advisable to know what the insurance policy actually considers a delay, as it may well not be the same as you presume.
Flight insurance is often bought at the last minute by panicky travelers at the airport, and is an expensive waste of money, as your other insurance policies most likely already cover you for life insurance. If you have a life insurance policy already check what provision it gives when you travel.
If an airline loses your baggage during a trip then they are legally obliged to reimburse you for the loss. The amount may be less than you would receive with a travel policy but consider the value of what you are traveling with, an old back pack is not worth the same as a set of designer luggage. If you have something expensive in your bags the travel policy is most likely to charge you an excess for insuring it anyway.
Credit cards insure you for many things, as long as you pay for your trip, flights, hotel and car hire with them. Do check the insurance your credit card already gives you whilst traveling. It could well include cancellation insurance, theft coverage, lost or damaged luggage cover, accidental death or dismemberment cover. On the same note your house owners or renter’s insurance will probably cover you against theft as well.
It could well be that you already carry enough insurance to render additional travel insurance redundant, and a waste of your money. Take a look through your existing cover. The policies you probably have such as health insurance, life insurance, home insurance, employment insurance and credit card insurance may well provide the insurance you need to travel without purchasing any extra.