Do You Really Need Travel Insurance? Ask Yourself These 5 Questions

A nice meal, an extra museum trip or even just a souvenir… just think of what you could do with the money you would’ve spent on travel insurance. After all, you probably wouldn’t have used it anyway—right? Maybe.

That’s true so far as it goes—most people who buy travel insurance don’t make a claim. But some people do. And others wish they could. Because getting into trouble while traveling without insurance coverage and travel assistance may result in a pretty sticky—and expensive—situation.

We'll get into some details about those situations later. But first, here are the three big questions to ask yourself.

Do you need travel insurance?

Key factors to consider:

1. How much can you afford to lose if you need to cancel your trip?

2. Does your trip include travel risks, like a lot of connections or travel to a remote or dangerous area?

3. Who and what is traveling with you? If kids or older travelers are on the trip, or you are bringing expensive belongings, that may affect your need for travel insurance.

4. Do you have a Pre-Existing condition?

5. Are you renting a car?

Of course, other factors should be considered -- but asking these three big questions should help you decide on your travel insurance needs.

Now, back to those sticky and expensive travel emergencies. To illustrate the point, let’s take a look at a few difficulties that thousands of travelers find themselves in each year to see whether you really need travel insurance on your trip.

Stranded in Texas

Houston, Texas. You landed a few hours ago after taking off from New York, and you’re in the middle of a long layover on the way to Rio. Life is good.

But then, a severe storm bears down on the airport, bringing the risk of tornadoes. Flights for the next few hours are canceled. Worse, since the cancellation was outside of the airline’s control, they’re not legally obligated to help you reach your destination. They won’t offer you an alternative flight for another two days, they won’t pay for a flight with another airline, and they won’t pay your expenses in the meantime.

With travel insurance, though, you’ve got options. Your travel insurance coverage will likely reimburse you, if you have to pay out of pocket to take an earlier or later flight and, if you get delayed for the requisite amount of time, they should cover the cost of your food and accommodation while you wait.

Either way, travel insurance makes your life a lot easier. And, when flightaware.com shows hundreds of cancellations on a typical day, it’s well worth having.

Also read:
• Do you need travel insurance for Europe?
• Do you need cruise travel insurance?

An expensive tumble

Getting around Phuket, Thailand isn’t quite as straightforward as it is in London, Paris or New York. You basically have three options: rent a car (pricey), use tuk-tuks (inconvenient) or hire a moped. And you can see why so many tourists to Thailand go for the last option—mopeds are as cheap as they are fun.

So, you opt for a cute little Honda Scoopy, making sure to pick up a helmet while you’re at it. If you take care, you’ll probably be fine. But there’s still a risk, and one wrong move could land you with a severe case of road rash, a broken leg or worse. And without insurance, you’ll also be landed with a hefty hospital bill—with a fractured hip plus a ride in an air ambulance setting you back around $99,000 in Thailand, taking a tumble would be anything but cheap.

Of course, road traffic accidents aren’t a Thailand exclusive — 20-50 million injuries occur on roads across the world each year and "motor vehicle crashes—not crime or terrorism—are the number 1 cause of nonnatural deaths among US citizens living, working, or traveling abroad," according to the CDC.

Traffic accidents are far from the only thing travel insurance can help with. Whether you’re injured falling down the stairs or hospitalized after falling sick, the right coverage can make it so you don’t get left with a big bill.

Also read: Why You Might Need to Buy Medical Coverage Before You Travel

Traveling lighter than planned

Suppose you decide to take a photography vacation to India. Just considering the cameras and lenses you’re bringing, that suitcase could easily be worth thousands.

Lost baggage rates might have hit an all-time low, but it’s still a travel risk—according to the most recent data available, airlines worldwide lost or mislaid 21.6 million bags in one year.

Landing at the airport in Delhi only to find that the airline has misplaced your luggage could be a lot more than an inconvenience. If it doesn’t turn up, the airline is only obliged to pay a certain amount for lost luggage.

So, if you like to travel with expensive gadgets, it could pay to have the right travel insurance in tow.

Also read: How to Keep Your Bags and Valuables Safe While Traveling

Hitting the slopes

Sometimes, you need to be extra prepared.

You’re heading to the Alps for your first ever ski vacation, safe in the knowledge that you’ve taken out travel insurance to help protect you, should your lack of experience prove to be a liability. As it happens, it does, and you end up in a hospital with a broken leg the day before you’re due to fly home. At least your travel insurance will pay for your hospital bills and a later flight… right?

Not so fast. Many standard travel insurance plans don’t cover you for certain high-risk activities, such as extreme sports. And discovering that while you’re lying in a hospital is less than ideal.

Luckily, travel insurance from Generali Global Assistance should cover you if you stick to standard skiing -- but extreme skiing, heli-skiing, and skiing outside marked trails are excluded from coverage. The lesson there: make sure you know what travel insurance you’re buying to really know if you might need it for your trip.

Also read: What Does Travel Insurance Cover? We Summarize the Fine Print

Pre-Existing Conditions

A pre-existing medical condition refers to any medical condition, illness, or injury that you or your traveling companion had before the start of your travel protection plan. This is typically defined based on a "look-back" period, which for Generali Global Assistance is 180 days (unless you are in IN, NY, or WA then the look back period is 60 days).

Our definition in most states of a Pre-Existing Condition means any Sickness or Injury during the 180-day period immediately prior to your effective date for which you or your Traveling Companion: (1) received, or received a recommendation for, a diagnostic test, examination, or medical treatment; or (2) took or received a prescription for drugs or medicine.

However, it’s important to note that Item 2 of this definition does not apply to a condition which is treated or controlled solely through the taking of prescription drugs or medicine and remains treated or controlled without any adjustment or change in the required prescription throughout the 180-day period before coverage is effective.

Let’s break that down in order to better understand whether you have a pre-existing medical condition and if that condition can be covered by our Premium Plan.

To find out if you have what we define as a Pre-Existing Condition please take this quick test to find out if our Premium plan is right for you.

Renting a car

Most travel protection plans that include rental car damage coverage may cover damage to the rental car because of collision, theft, vandalism, natural disasters, and more.

Generali Global Assistance’s plans specifically say their Rental Car Damage Coverage is good for “collision, theft, vandalism, windstorm, fire, hail, flood or any cause not in your control, or the car is stolen while in your possession and not recovered.”

And, not only are you insured, but so is your traveling companion, provided you are both a licensed drivers, and are listed on the rental agreement. Also, in this case, Generali’s Rental Car Damage coverage is primary to other forms of insurance, so it will pay before any other insurance coverage you have.

There are also vehicles that cannot be covered by our plans. These include rentals of trucks, campers, trailers, motor bikes, motorcycles, off-road, all-terrain, or recreational vehicles, vehicles that are older than 20 years, vehicles that have not been manufactured in the past 10 years, vehicles that are rented for commercial purposes, and vehicles that have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of more than $75,000.

Also read: Insurance for Rental Car Damage: Where to Get it and Things to Know

So, whenever you travel, be sure to check that you’re covered for everything you plan to do. In some cases, you might need a specific travel insurance plan. For a fraction of your trip cost and a few minutes of your time, investments don’t get much more worthwhile.

Also read: How to Choose the Right Travel Insurance Plan