Should You Buy Travel Insurance or Not

Years ago travel insurance was voodoo. Know one spoke of it especially travel agents. If they just mentioned the word insurance, people would find another travel agent to take their business to.

Well, times have changed. Since 9/11, travel insurance has skyrocketed. Travel insurance comes in all forms and price, whether it's your trip, your luggage, your possession, or your health. Travel insurance is almost as important for some people as the plane ticket itself. It has become an essential item to pack for the frequent flier.

The main reason is the peace of mind it gives an individual for protection against the unexpected and the worry over losing the financial investment of the trip.

Many people that don't purchase travel insurance are familiar with the flight and trip cancellation insurance, but many people don't know about travel health insurance, baggage coverage, and medical evacuation insurance. There is another type of insurance that airlines really don't want people to know about. It's called excess valuation.

If you are wondering if you really need travel insurance, here are some suggestions that might answer your question.

1. Your flight has been cancelled.
2. Your luggage is lost, never to be seen again.
3. Your medication is in your luggage, luggage is lost and you have to have an emergency prescription filled.
4. Your wallet and passport is stolen and you need cash, now, and you need a replacement for your passport.
5. You are in an accident and you need medical treatment now.
6. You have to cancel your trip due to your illness or family illness.
7. What if your airline goes belly-up and you need your non-refundable expenses covered so you can get to where you are going.
8. People up until 9/11 never had to think of this but what if there was a terrorist incident in the city you are traveling to and you want to cancel your trip.
9. This has happened to many people: A hurricane evacuation is in effect where your resort or hotel is and you have to evacuate.
10. Weather is a big concern, you have to change your flight and the price just went up.
11. You're stuck in a city cause of weather and you have to get to your destination, all planes are grounded so you have to rent a car and drive.

In the past airlines took care of their passengers when there was a cancellation and you had to stay over night in a different city; they did put people up in hotels and offered meals. That is long gone. No airline offers anything any more. This is where your travel insurance comes into play. They have to offer all and more.

All types of problems can plague a flyer but what about those problems that can affect the rest of your vacation. There is a simple solution, insurance! Now I'm not saying you won't have any stress just because you have insurance but if a problem does arise you can breath a sigh of relief knowing you have insurance.

If you travel to a foreign country or this is your first time, you might really want to consider travel health insurance. With travel health insurance you will be required to pay a premium stipulated amount that is specified by the travel insurance company to start your benefits. Almost always the coverage provides compensation for any medical costs that incurs during travel. There are some special cases that it covers medical evacuation.

One thing to consider is that travel health insurance policies depend a lot on your age, the distance of your trip and any preexisting health conditions, cost of the trip and the country to where you are going. There are some travel health insurance plans that do cover accidental deaths and flight accidental death.

Travel health insurance plans cover the medical costs of your trip and include treatment cost, medical expenses, medicine cost and dental expenses. There are many conditions that you will have to research with each different plan.

You also would be wise to check with your own medical insurance, you never know, they just might cover you outside of the United States. You also might check to see if you insurance would cover the cost of medical evacuation back to the United States, most will only cover evacuation to the nearest medical health facility.

There is another coverage that is provided by travel health insurance it is in the event of death, the cost of transporting the mortal remains of the insured. I know people don't want to think of this but if death did occur in a foreign country the cost would lie on the shoulders of your relation.

There are all kinds of travel insurance out there so do your research; it really is worth the time and effort for a safe and enjoyable trip.