Is Travel Insurance Necessary?
Travel Insurance is something our parents would get prior to a trip, but something I find younger generations aren’t too keen on looking into getting themselves. I’m here to change that narrative!
Travel Insurance is a must when traveling. Even before traveling in the midst of COVID-19, you never know what could go wrong. I just recently started getting travel insurance after I had an incident with my tooth and started obsessively looking into travel insurance.
There are plenty of companies to go through, but I personally use Allianz. The rates aren’t expensive, it is very straightforward, and their customer service has been great every time I’ve used them! I also love their app and how easy it is to use.
What does travel insurance cover?
Travel insurance covers a variety of possible mishaps while traveling. Lost luggage, delayed or canceled flights, emergency evacuation, medical needs, etc. You can also tailor it to what you specifically feel like you may need.
For example, if you’re going way off grid, I’d suggest getting a more robust medical-focused travel insurance plan (with possibly a more extensive emergency evacuation bonus). If you’re going to Paris and have expensive clothing or shoes and you’re worried about lost luggage, take out a plan focusing on that more.
When Neal and I went to Mexico in December 2020, a plan for both of us was $170. It included the following:
Trip Cancellation Coverage (up to $2000)
Trip Interruption Coverage (up to $3000)
Change Fee Coverage ($500)
Loyalty Program Redeposit Fee Coverage ($500)
Travel Delay Coverage ($800)
Baggage Loss Coverage ($1000)
Baggage Delay Coverage ($300)
Emergency Transportation Coverage ($500,000)
Emergency Medical/Dental Coverage ($25,000)
Another thing to note is that travel insurance is provided at no extra cost to children who are under the age of 18 years old on the date of purchase of insurance and who are traveling with a parent of grandparent.
What I love about Allianz is that they have different tiers of coverage depending on your budget and how much coverage you want.
Is it worth it?
Yes. You should always get travel insurance. I didn’t have it when my luggage was lost in 2018 and I wish I did. You never want to be in a position where you get hurt or lost and don’t have insurance to help out. Always better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
The price also makes it worth it in my opinion. The most I’ve paid for just me is around $100 and that was for my Egypt trip (that ended up not happening unfortunately). It was an expensive trip, to an area I was very unfamiliar with and nervous to visit, so I took out a pretty extensive coverage plan.
Companies to look at
Forbes shared an article on the best pandemic travel insurance companies to book through in August 2021. I’ve personally never used any of these companies so I cannot speak to them.
As I stated above, I use Allianz and have had great experiences with them. Their plans are inexpensive but extensive in coverage.
Another company some travelers love is World Nomads. Again, I’ve only used Allianz, but have heard great things about World Nomads.
The Points Guy is a very reliable group, mainly focused on how to hack credit card points for travel, but they have some great insight on other travel-related content. Here is a post they shared in August 2021 about travel insurance companies and breaks it down for you.
At the end of the day, I hate insurance companies, but you need them. Especially when traveling. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a DM on Instagram (@blondevoyage_901) or leave a comment below!