Why Travel Insurance Needs to Be Included in Your Budget

 

DISCLAIMER:  This is a sponsored post from Allianz Global Assistance (AGA Service Co.) and I have received compensation for it, but all opinions are my own.

When I was planning our Fathom Cruise to the Dominican Republic, there were a lot of factors and costs that I needed to budget.

Passports

Airline tickets

Hotel prior/after the cruise

Airport/Port Transfers

Cruise Cost

Port Fees

Gratuities

Meals during travel

Clothing for the trip

Activities

AND

Travel Insurance

I know that purchasing travel insurance isn’t always a fun purchase but we couldn’t afford not to purchase it for our trip. When you are spending your hard earned money on a vacation, you typically don’t account and budget extra for bumps in the road….. but almost every trip has unplanned expenses that come up.

One of my close friend’s mom has been a travel agent for over 30 years and she told me that she never travels without travel insurance anymore because the travel industry has changed so much in recent years. Traveling has become even more unpredictable.

Our trip had multiple components that we needed to go flawless and if they didn’t, it could have cost us thousands of dollars.

This is why travel insurance was essential.

If we missed our flight, it would have affected our cruise. Purchasing new airline tickets the day of for a family of four, would have been outrageous.

My husband had to work the following day after our flight was scheduled to return. He could not be delayed another day if there was an issue with the flight.

Our medical insurance wasn’t covered outside of the United States. As a family that loves adventures, we didn’t want to miss out on fun because of what “might happen.”

Peace of mind. When you invest a lot on a trip, you want the peace of mind that you have a safety net if anything does go wrong without additional out of pocket expenses.

I purchased travel insurance from Allianz Global Assistance after multiple recommendations from other travelers that I know.

Here is a very important tip for all of you procrastinators/deadline people like myself.

*You need to purchase your travel insurance a few days before you leave for your trip not before you go out of the country.

I had assumed that as long as I purchased insurance the day before I left out of the country that I would be fine. I learned that I actually needed the insurance before my trip began. So even though I would be in Miami for a day before the cruise, my trip technically began once I began the journey. Thankfully the call center was in a timezone 3 hours behind me and I had 10 minutes before they closed, along with a gracious customer service rep who helped make everything work out in time.

The customer service rep was also great with all of the questions I had…. because I had a lot of questions.

The $116 was worth every penny to know that we would be covered for what we needed during our vacation.

I received all of the information in an email but I’m super excited to find out that there is now a TravelSmart app that you can use too!

The app not only makes it easier to find your policy information, it also has real time flight status information, a medication dictionary, a translator for first aid terms, country information, an international hospital search, and a TravelSmart Hotline that will connect you directly to Medical Assistance or Customer Service inside or outside of the United States.

I love that they created a simpler way to access the policy while also providing tools that can be useful for your trip.

If you are planning a domestic trip, you might also want to consider travel insurance.

My husband and I discovered this the hard way. We purchased a holiday ski weekend away that was non refundable. We knew at the time that it was a risk because my mom was sick from breast cancer and we were unsure of how her health would be during that time. We didn’t feel comfortable leaving her when the dates got closer to our trip and we didn’t end up going which resulted in losing the full amount that we paid.

 

Travel insurance can cover baggage and all of the non refundable travel expenses, like if someone in your party is sick or if you have a family emergency like a death in the family prior or during your trip.

Do you have an upcoming trip?

Check out the Allianz Global Assistance  website for more information and quotes for your upcoming vacation.