The Importance of Travel Insurance that People Often Overlook

“Flight tickets – checked, accommodation – checked, Clothes and an extra pair of shoes, checked, sunscreen, check….travel insurance, hmm probably no need. Next!”

Does this sound familiar to you? Are you one of those who tends to ignore the purchase of travel insurance whenever you plan for a holiday?

To many people, travel insurance is considered optional when it should be an essential part of your travel arrangement. How will travel insurance make a difference for your trip? Let’s find out.

• Protect you against losses

None of us wish for any inconvenience to occur throughout our travel but no matter the big or small problems, we can’t control the unexpected. Travel insurance covers some losses such as missing baggage, trip cancellation, emergency evacuation and other mishaps.

For instance, when your flight is delayed or cancelled, you may need to make the necessary arrangements for a temporary shelter, food and transportation. Having travel insurance allows you to make claims on these unexpected expenses.

For baggage issues like loss or theft, travel insurance can reimburse your lost items or additional expenses you need to make while the airline tries to retrieve them. At least you don’t have to worry about losing more money when you are losing your mind over luggage and its content!

• Provide coverage during medical emergencies

Again, no one wants any unfortunate event to happen when they travel especially one that is related to medical matters. Imagine if you need an emergency vehicle to rush you to get medical assistance, or you are injured in an accident overseas and the medical bills cost an arm and a leg (hopefully not literally), wouldn’t you be grateful to have spent on travel insurance to help you get through this pain?

Having your medical expenses (or part thereof) covered is one of the best reasons to get travel insurance. Save your heart the extra ache when your hospital bills are taken care of.

To learn from experience, MyRehat’s Founder Zainal Zikri had a motorbike accident in Koh Samui, Thailand back in 2018. He suffered some injuries on his face and legs from the unfortunate episode. Thanks to the travel insurance he took at as low as RM49, his hospital bills which came up to over RM2000 were fully covered. When he came back to Malaysia, an operation had to be performed and that too was covered by his medical insurance.

While insurance is not a tangible asset and most of us won’t be cashing it (let’s hope we never have to), it is a vital part of our personal and financial protection that will cushion us from a hard fall we won’t see coming.

• Protect against modifications in your itinerary

Sometimes a change might happen even before your trip and you have to make the necessary adjustments to accommodate your holiday. For example, your travel companion might suddenly fall ill and you need to cancel his or her tickets and hotels. Having travel insurance allows you some cancellation benefits when your situation falls under covered reasons.

On the other hand, travel insurance can also protect you against unforeseen circumstances such as the closedown of the travel agency you signed up with or natural disasters that affect your trip. Imagine not having travel insurance and you have to keep delaying your trip or worse, bear all the losses on your own?

Having said that, of course, you need to do some research and make some comparisons between a few travel insurance options to ensure you get the coverage that suits your budget and purpose. Be sure to check the exclusions of every insurance plan and be clear about what is covered and what is NOT.

Here are some of the things/events that travel insurance might not cover:

In a nutshell, it might be a good idea to start browsing for various types of travel insurance before your next trip, now. If you haven’t already had one, be sure to compare the coverage that is offered and put aside some budget for this purpose. There are plenty of affordable options nowadays from the insurance companies and make sure you clarify with an agent if you have any confusion. Although the rule of thumb is – the more money you spend, the more protection you receive, don’t be pressured to take on what you can’t afford.

It will be a small investment for your happiness and safety during your vacation. After all, a holiday is a happy investment, don’t you agree? So, don’t trouble your mind and travel with ease knowing what is protected for you and your companions.

MyRehat can also assist you in getting the travel insurance that you require. Just visit www.myrehat.my/insurance to find out more.