Learning about travel insurance makes me think if it is really necessary or important? I know it has it's own benefits and covers most hassles that we might encounter along the way while we're travelling and it has it's own perks I may add. However, is it as important as having a property or health insurance?
Yes it is especially while traveling abroad. It helps you meet out the expenses expenses incurred during your visit to an unknown country which is otherwise not possible (for me at least) with limited amount of foreign currency at my disposal. I spend about INR 15k ($230) for getting a cover of $100K for a six months' duration. I agree I have never used it so far in my various trips abroad so far but I always take it just in case.
Personally, I don't think travel insurance is important. This is because I don't travel frequently and when I do so, its mostly for short distances. Travel insurance is good for frequent travellers like sales reps and geologists and to an extent, businessmen. However, its a nice thing to have in this era of traffic madness and inconveniences.
Actually I am a frequent traveler officially and unofficially so my company pays for my health insurance besides certain countries demand that we must have health insurance which is one of the visa conditions especially if the tour is longer than three months.
I'd say insurance is of value anytime because it gives you peace of mind that you are covered so if something happens then your family gets something. But for travel insurance, it is not our habit to subscribe maybe because we already have life insurance which has a wide coverage. But for those with no insurance, I think it is a must when you travel.
Always get one even if you think that you don't need it because you know, sometimes sh**s happen and you cannot do anything about it. I've had a lot of customers like this because they think that they can really take care of their stuff and themselves but then if something come up, it's already too late for them.
Travel insurance is important because it will protect you if something happens while you're travelling. I would say the most important type of travel insurance is travel medical; this covers things like hospital, ambulance, and prescription bills. Another type of travel insurance to consider is trip cancellation or interruption. This will cover your vacation costs if you suddenly have to cancel.
From safety point of view it is definitely helpful, but then most of the people seldom care to take any. We never have bought any policy even for abroad travels. However, I'm not keen for theft related coverage, rather if I ever consider of taking any, I'll go for medical coverage. This is the only area I'm concerned about.
In some cases it is not only important but mandatory too. Like my wife has diabetes so she should have travel insurance for the entire duration of her visa. If she fails to renew her insurance policy her visa is liable to be canceled. No country wants to take responsibility of free treatment of travelers.
If you do a lot of traveling, you should certainly have travel insurance. If something bad happens, it will be covered by your insurance. However, if you don't travel much, I don't think you will need travel insurance, just your health insurance or life insurance will suffice.
