Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Travel
  3. Evergreens

Why You Should Get Travel Insurance and the Best Companies to Trust

By
travel plan map tablet camera
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Discussing insurance of any kind makes most us of cringe at the word. We are predisposed to believe it will be complicated, companies will hassle over the fine print, and the return won’t justify the cost. However, most of us don’t think twice about home owners insurance, medical insurance, car insurance, and life insurance. We want to protect ourselves from unforeseen circumstances. Travel insurance should be no different.

Anyone that has purchased an airline ticket has seen that window prior to completing the transaction asking about cancellation insurance. If you are like me, you just hit SKIP and move forward towards checkout.

But …

  • What happens if you have to cancel a dream trip that you have been planning for the last six months?
  • What if you are injured abroad and need assistance returning to your home country?
  • What happens if your luggage is lost and/or your items are damaged in transit?
Recommended Videos

In 2016, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office, almost 67 million Americans traveled abroad — approximately 20 percent of the nation’s population. Of that number, the travel insurance industry estimates that only 35 percent will purchase travel insurance. In contrast, the number of Australians that purchase a plan is upwards of 90 percent, and 85 percent of Europeans procure protection prior to departure.

So, why do I purchase travel insurance?

Just like medical or life insurance, we hope that we never need to utilize the policy, but it sure is convenient if that day arrives. While I have never had to rely on travel insurance to evacuate me from some remote destination, nor have I had to utilize the medical insurance in a foreign country, I did just cancel a much anticipated snowboarding trip in Japan at the last minute due to an illness I contracted before I even left American soil.

While there are many other perks to travel insurance, here are the top two reasons for selecting a policy that covers your adventure.

Medical Expenses and Emergency Evacuation

This is the big one. Medical expenses can rack up quickly, and evacuating you from a remote location can be astronomical. While many insurance plans in the United State cover treatment for a minor stomach bug or possibly major medical attention and hospitalization, the majority do not cover international incidents. Travel insurance can literally save you tens of thousands in out-of-pocket expenses for unexpected ambulance transport, airlift, or flights home once stabilized.

Trip Cancellation and Interruption

No one likes to cancel a highly anticipated trip. However, it can happen for any number of reasons. And, the more people involved in a trip, the greater the likelihood those circumstances arrive. Travel insurance can help get your money back on any non-refundable portion of your trip, including transportation, lodging, and activities. It even protects you should you have to abort your trip, and will reimburse you for any unused portion of your trip.

Some credit cards now offer trip delay protection and lost baggage reimbursement, so this might not be as enticing, but is still an added advantage to travel insurance. Nothing can derail a potential adventure more than flight delays, lost luggage, or theft.

Our Favorite Travel Insurance Companies

While nothing should replace your own research into the best plan that suits your specific needs, here are a few of the best travel insurance companies that might fit the bill for your next trip abroad.

World Nomads
Based in Australia, this company protects travelers from over 150 countries with medical and evacuation coverage, as well as 24-hour emergency assistance. World Nomads also covers a wide range of adventure activities. Additionally, it seeks to provide additional assets to travelers, including language apps, travel blogs, and scholarships. Not to sway your decision, but this is the company I use when traveling.

Allianz Global Assistance
This travel branch is owned by Allianz SE, the world’s largest diversified insurance company. The company protects millions of travelers every year, and the parent company has been serving it clients for more than a century, including insuring the Wright Brothers’ first flight.

RoamRight
RoamRight operates under the Arch Insurance Company umbrella and provides plans to protect leisure, business, student and group travelers with both domestic and international trips.

Clay Abney
Clay Abney
Former Former Digital Trends Contributor, The Manual
Clay Abney is a PR guru and freelance writer living in the wild and wonderful state of West Virginia, where he spends his… Read Full Bio
Travel
5 Tips If You’re Traveling With Cigars: I Learned No. 2 the Hard Way
Wood, Hardwood, Accessories

Traveling with cigars can be challenging if you’re not prepared. The lack of preparation can lead to your favorite cigars getting smashed from inadequate storage, or they can peel because they weren’t kept at the proper temperature, among other issues. Sometimes you do all the right things, and still come away shaking your head.

I’ve been smoking cigars for two decades now, and it’s not beneath me to admit that I’ve made plenty of cigar travel mistakes in that span, and as recently as two weeks ago. You live, you learn, and hope you don’t waste a stogie on the next trip. My most recent cigar travel mistake is what inspired me to share these tips. Sure, there are plenty of articles out there offering similar advice. But this list comes from a cigar smoker and writer who has visited six countries and about a dozen states in the last year alone. And in that time, mistakes were made, and lessons were learned.

Read more
Travel
The art of adventure packing: packing light but effective
Clothing, Coat, Jacket

If you are like me, you grew up with stories of adventure. Whether you were fans of fictional adventure like Indiana Jones and Alan Quartermain, or you loved the true-life accounts of Ernest Shackleton and David Livingstone, there is a deep pull to venture into the unknown. The desire to abandon the Mon-Fri 9-5 in search of something deeper. You could spend your time thinking about hopping a boat and sailing the seven seas like the pirates of old. You could look up at the elusive peak of a mountain and believe it begs to be summited. You could stare into the depths of a jungle and wonder what treasures it hides beneath its canopy. No matter what kind of adventurer you are, you need to be prepared for whatever the world throws at you. I have climbed Salkantay Peak and explored the jungles of Peru. I have scanned the plains of Africa in search of a giant cat (the prospect of which was much more comforting than the actual sighting and wondering if I was far enough away). And I have disappeared into the secluded areas of Svalbard. One thing that remained constant was the need for the right pack.

Here is what I learned when packing for my adventures.

Read more
Travel
Savannah Beyond the Postcard
Architecture, Building, Spire

Savannah is one of those cities that seems almost too easy to like. The live oaks are dramatic. The Spanish moss does exactly what it is supposed to do. The brick sidewalks buckle in all the right places. The houses look like they were designed by people who understood proportion, shade, and the value of a proper front step. Even the light seems to arrive with better manners than it does in most places.

I have a built-in advantage when it comes to Savannah. We have family there, so we have been back several times, not just once for the checklist version of the city. I have also done a photography workshop there, which is a terrific way to learn any city. You get up early, stay out late, and pay attention to alleys, doorways, ironwork, reflections, and the way a city changes when the tourists are still asleep.

Read more