by Words of Art

Created on: September 16, 2008   Last Updated: November 04, 2008

You've booked your dream vacation, a once in a lifetime event. The plan? A 14-day Caribbean Cruise. Since you won't be doing this again any time soon, you decide to splurge for the luxury suite. You're spending thousands of dollars here but you're worth it, right? As your trip gets closer and closer, you get even more excited. Then, two days before you're scheduled to leave, you fall terribly ill and are admitted to the hospital for testing. You're disappointed when you realize you won't be able to make the trip, but confident the cruise line will understand under the circumstances. WRONG! You didn't purchase travel insurance. That $300 seemed like so much extra at the time, didn't it? Now you can turn in as many doctors' notes as you want but you're not getting your money back. So long dream vacation and so long savings.

It's also possible you made it onto the cruise ship. Two days into your trip, you get an e-mail that your father is gravely ill and probably won't make it through the next few days. Being the devoted offspring you are, you make immediate arrangements to leave the ship at the next port and fly back home. Unfortunately, without travel insurance, you not only lose the rest of your trip and what you paid for it, but also foot the bill for the alternate travel expenses.
What if your trip is going off without a hitch and suddenly, last night's dinner isn't setting well. At first you think it's just a minor stomach upset but soon realize you've got food poisoning. You're in a foreign country where your medical insurance is useless. What to do? If you'd purchased travel insurance, you'd be covered and all your medical expenses would be paid. You suddenly wish you'd had the foresight to think that through.
These are just a few scenarios where travel insurance would have been an excellent investment. While a few hundred dollars may seem like overkill when you're booking travel, it can be a life saver when the unexpected occurs on the trip. Not only does travel insurance protect you in the event of illness while you're traveling and pay your medical expenses, it also refunds your money in the event that you can't complete your travels as scheduled. Travel insurance should be viewed as a necessity, not an option.
When booking any trip, be it vacation or business travel, talk to your travel agent or booking agent about insurance options. It may not be necessary if your airline ticket is the only expense and the airline allows you to pay a rescheduling fee to move the dates. However, if your package includes hotel, ground transportation or just about anything else, it's very important that you protect yourself financially by purchasing travel insurance. Most of us think the unexpected or unthinkable will never happen but that is why it's unexpected; we didn't see it coming. Purchasing travel insurance buys you financial security for your trip but it also buys you something intangible and invaluable: peace of mind.

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