Cancel That! 5 Reasons You Might Need Travel Insurance
- By Patrick Chong
- Published 01/21/2009
- Travel
- Unrated
Patrick Chong
Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of Journey’s Travel. Their commercial travel insurance website, Insuremore, offers cheap travel insurance and a quick and easy online claims feature.
View all articles by Patrick Chong
For most people, buying some cheap holiday insurance is just another last minute chore before you go travelling, but late bookers miss out on one of the most valuable parts of their travel insurance policy – cancellation cover. This part of the policy can refund the cost of your holiday if you have to cancel your trip at a later date.
Most people don’t think of this as a problem – after all, how often do you cancel a holiday that you’ve been looking forward to? But, more often than you’d think, cancellation comes from circumstances beyond your control. Here are five situations where buying your travel insurance early could really pay off…
Natural Disaster
The era of cheap international flights has opened up the world for travel, including a wide number of tropical and unusual destinations. People like to travel to unusual climates that take them a world away from their day to day lives, but hurricanes, avalanches, floods and volcanic eruptions all have a tendency to play havoc with your travel plans! If a natural disaster hits your destination of choice before you travel, cancellation is inevitable, but your travel insurance can cover the cost.
Pregnancy
With serious discounts available on advance booking for holidays, more and more people are booking their holidays months in advance. Perhaps even 9 months in advance…If you or your partner falls pregnant, you may well want to cancel your holiday in any case, and if
you are due to fly during the later periods of a pregnancy, you might have to!
Chicken Pox
Surely a strange addition to the list? Don’t be so certain. Chicken pox is regarded by many as just another minor childhood illness, but if one of your children contracts chicken pox before you depart for your holiday, you might have to deal with more than some itchy children. There are restrictions on infected children travelling on aeroplanes, as the disease can have potentially serious consequences for pregnant women and HIV sufferers. If you child becomes infected just before you are due to fly, you may have to delay or cancel your flights. Check with your airline to see what their policy is, and make sure that you have travel insurance!
Death in the Family
An unexpected death in the family is a terrible thing to deal with, and can come at any time. While the last thing on your mind may be dealing with the cost of your cancelled holiday, with costs typically running into the thousands of pounds, you’ll be glad you’ve got holiday insurance to keep you covered.
Jury Service
If you are called up to serve on a jury, it is no use telling the judge that you’re flying out to the Canary Islands the next week! Trials can last for several weeks, and if you don’t have holiday insurance, you’ll face the cost of cancellation yourself.
These may seem like unlikely events, but the effect of one of them on your holiday (and your finances!) can be catastrophic. Make sure you book some cheap travel insurance…and make sure you book it early!
Most people don’t think of this as a problem – after all, how often do you cancel a holiday that you’ve been looking forward to? But, more often than you’d think, cancellation comes from circumstances beyond your control. Here are five situations where buying your travel insurance early could really pay off…
Natural Disaster
The era of cheap international flights has opened up the world for travel, including a wide number of tropical and unusual destinations. People like to travel to unusual climates that take them a world away from their day to day lives, but hurricanes, avalanches, floods and volcanic eruptions all have a tendency to play havoc with your travel plans! If a natural disaster hits your destination of choice before you travel, cancellation is inevitable, but your travel insurance can cover the cost.
Pregnancy
With serious discounts available on advance booking for holidays, more and more people are booking their holidays months in advance. Perhaps even 9 months in advance…If you or your partner falls pregnant, you may well want to cancel your holiday in any case, and if
Chicken Pox
Surely a strange addition to the list? Don’t be so certain. Chicken pox is regarded by many as just another minor childhood illness, but if one of your children contracts chicken pox before you depart for your holiday, you might have to deal with more than some itchy children. There are restrictions on infected children travelling on aeroplanes, as the disease can have potentially serious consequences for pregnant women and HIV sufferers. If you child becomes infected just before you are due to fly, you may have to delay or cancel your flights. Check with your airline to see what their policy is, and make sure that you have travel insurance!
Death in the Family
An unexpected death in the family is a terrible thing to deal with, and can come at any time. While the last thing on your mind may be dealing with the cost of your cancelled holiday, with costs typically running into the thousands of pounds, you’ll be glad you’ve got holiday insurance to keep you covered.
Jury Service
If you are called up to serve on a jury, it is no use telling the judge that you’re flying out to the Canary Islands the next week! Trials can last for several weeks, and if you don’t have holiday insurance, you’ll face the cost of cancellation yourself.
These may seem like unlikely events, but the effect of one of them on your holiday (and your finances!) can be catastrophic. Make sure you book some cheap travel insurance…and make sure you book it early!