5 real reasons to buy travel insurance

Save your wallet from the cost of airport delays with travel insurance.

By Valerie Moloney and Nina Kokotas Hahn

Whether it’s fees for overweight baggage, long lines at the scanners or packed flights with too-little elbow room, as travelers, we’ve come to expect the minor hiccups that come with traveling. And for the most part, we can handle these hiccups because, at the end of the day, we usually end up somewhere beautiful like poolside at a worry-free resort or maybe soaking up sun on an unforgettable beach vacation.

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But what about when you’re traveling and real disaster strikes? Unforeseen circumstances (think illness, lost bags, emergency evacuations) won’t just throw a wrench in your vacation plan, they often result in major financial loss (think hefty medical and replacement expenses). And we’re not even talking about the utter inconvenience of it all.

Still, most of us don’t bother with travel insurance – at least not until we’ve been burned by disaster. The initial investment can make for an easy “no,” and we all find ourselves saying the same line over in our heads (“that won’t happen to me”). But there’s a compelling argument to be made for planning on the expected.

Is travel insurance worth the extra expense? Put yourself in these five real-life scenarios before you make the call.

1. You need medical care. No one likes to imagine the worst-case scenario – say, having a heart attack on a remote island – but, unfortunately, some travelers do require emergency medical care while on vacation. In a worst-case scenario like this, some travel insurance plans can offer you access to more than 400,000 pre-screened health service providers and a 24-hour emergency hotline to coordinate care.
2. You have to cancel your trip due to unforeseen circumstances. Maybe you lose your job or get into an accident on the way to the airport. Either way, certain travel insurance plans offer trip cancellation coverage to travelers, meaning your trip is covered and you won’t lose the money you paid up front.
3. Your trip is interrupted. Certain coverage also ensures you’ll be reimbursed for nonrefundable expenses should you have to interrupt your trip due to an unexpected illness, injury or the death of a traveling companion or family member.
4. You misplace your passport, your credit card is stolen or you forget to bring a prescription. With travel insurance, a 24-hour hotline can connect travelers with real live, multilingual customer service representatives who help gain access to local resources, often resolving problems before they have a chance to tank the trip.
5. You lose your baggage, or your baggage is delayed. The motherload of common misfortune, losing your bags is something that seems to happen to everyone at some point or another. But travelers insured with baggage coverage are reimbursed if baggage is lost, stolen or damaged during traveling. Baggage delay coverage also typically reimburses for essential items if luggage is delayedfor 24 hours or more.

Chance is a tricky bullet to dodge, and it can be particularly ruthless when you’re on vacation. Take some risk out of the equation and consider travel insurance for your next trip.

Learn more about travel insurance now.

Insider note: Travel insurance on Orbitz is provided by Allianz Global Assistance. Insurance can be added to your purchase before checkout, with fees usually calculated as a percent of the total trip or airline ticket fare.

Related resources

• Get a quote for travel insurance with Orbitz
• FAQs on travel insurance
• Do you need travel insurance?

Valerie Moloney is a writer for Orbitz who was born in the Philippines, lived in Morocco and married a native Irishman. She now covers hotels around theworld and contributes to the Orbitz blog.

Nina Kokotas Hahn is a contributing travel writer and editor. Globetrotting since infancy, she’s the daughter of a travel agent and knows a thing or two about finding great travel deals.

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Tagged: Feature