Getting ready for the trip in two months, I had to do the reality check on mortality and everything else that is taken for granted in your home country. That’s right, the whether to buy a vacation insurance package or not for your upcoming trip. What could really go wrong on a trip you have planned on for months. Just about everything.

Flight Insurance

Yep, your flight you have booked for months can get cancelled. Granted, airlines are responsible to a degree to get you on another flight, but if it ends up being on another airlines so you can make a connecting flight, you may have to haggle to not pay a difference in ticket costs. Demand that the airlines cover this of course, but there may be a different story at the other ticket counter and you will have to eat it until you can get the airlines to reimburse you. Or, make a claim on the flight insurance you hopefully bought. Since I got my tickets at a steal last fall, I am only covered for the $876.39. That’s the trip cancellation. Trip interruption, caused by airline having to rebook flight, is about $1,300.00. Considering that will probably be what it would take to book a flight suddenly, I may eventually not be at a loss.

Baggage Loss

I call it loss. It’s lost until you find it. And sometimes you can’t find it. Airlines call it misplaced or some other marketing name that doesn’t seem so disastrous. It’s still a disaster to you. Sad thing is the insurance companies will barely cover $1000.00 of loss. That doesn’t cover the laptop you will be forced to put in your luggage now, much less the clothing. You will need to shop around for travel insurance that covers your losses with luggage. And make sure it does not exclude electronics. Electronics like an iPad fall under the luggage category and many insurance carriers require you have the original receipts for your items. I have no clue where those are. I used to keep every single receipt, of course now that I need it… The baggage loss for overseas is not covered by federal regulations. So I am lucky I get $750.00. That will barely cover a iPad that I don’t have original receipts for. Wait, I bought that at Apple, I could bother their customer service to help me research back 3 years, right?

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Medical

Sadly in the US, we still don’t really have socialized medical care. And our company issued insurance will do anything to not cover any claim. It certainly won’t cover you when in another country, and it’s a battle if you are in another state to get coverage if you get in an accident. Research the medical coverage portion of the policy you are buying. The policy I have covers $50k, and EMC and Transport to hospital is $25K. This may cover a small portion of a hospital stay and won’t cover any operations that may ensue. If you are in a socialized country, you will receive treatment but they will still come after you for a bill. If you are in a EU country and from another EU country, some things will be covered, but not all. I would advise trying to bump the insurance coverage up to $100k if you can. You may need to get a supplemental plan when traveling.

Mortality

I just called the policyholder today and informed them of my beneficiaries name for the accidental death coverage. Good thing I thought of it. It’s easy to not think about death when you are on the vacation you’ve waited months for. What, “I am inflatable” you think. Think again.

No one likes to think of their demise happening when you finally get on that trip. But it does happen. From the minute I get off the plane in a country that is left hand drive, I start self talking the “Look to the right” for cars immediately. Unfortunately, tourists do die while away from home. Could be traffic, could be a mugging gone wrong. Or your health gives out with a heart attack. Then your loved ones are left with the impossible task of getting your remains back to home. I have read articles of family and friends having to run crowdfunding campaigns just to bring a body home. It’s not just a simple matter of getting a plane ticket for a body. Each country has their laws for the transport of a body on planes and trains. There are fees. I have read that it can cost upwards of $5000.00 just to bring a body back. Got life insurance back home. It may cover just the loss of your life, the income loss to family. It will not cover transport costs. Will the $50k really cover my life? I have other life insurance, but there is probably some fine print about being in another country.

Read the accidental death coverage for the insurance, and any fine print.

Who to Go With

I chose the the insurance company preferred by the airline. Probably a mistake, but looking at all the other choices was getting to be a chore. I am not taking equipment with me. That is when you really need to pay attention. If you are really into your camera or are a professional film crew, of course you have to go with industry standard insurance coverage if you can get it. Your average person used to be able to carry cameras and laptops in carry on and I would still recommend that you do. However TSA rules are changing due to terrorism threats, laptops and electronics being the place to conceal explosives now. And you should lock your carry on luggage for when you have to use the toilets, the can get riffled through on a flight in the overhead.

So, who do you go with for coverage? The one that is offered at ticket checkout may cover your very basic needs. However, if you have the time, do a little research on reviews and complaints against carriers. Make sure you get and print out your Policy Confirmation Letter. Make sure you make 2 copies, one you will have with your other travel plans folder and the one you leave with your beneficiary of the life insurance. Do a specific quirk search on each travel insurance company, and search for complaints against them.

Further Reading
http://www.travelinsurancereview.net/faqs/does-travel-insurance-cover-laptops-and-tablets/
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/06/do-you-need-travel-insurance/index.htm
http://lifehacker.com/do-i-really-need-to-buy-travel-insurance-1674681487
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-cards/credit-cards-offer-lost-baggage-insurance/