Why Do I Need Travel Insurance?

Copyright (c) 2011 Ross L Marchant

It's hard to imagine that anybody would travel without insurance these days, but it can't hurt to jot down this timely reminder of just why you should never go anywhere without an adequate policy that's going to cover you for any eventuality.

Accidents are a fact of life; they can happen any place and of course, at any time. It may or may not be your fault. The fact is that broken bones don't differentiate between right and wrong.

While medical standards throughout Europe are high, many places will require up front payment for any possible surgery you may need. I learned this for myself after managing a double wrist fracture in Tenerife the other year, when I was required to pay upfront for the bill. Luckily, my insurance policy was able to reimburse me with the costs once I got home. So, simply from a financial viewpoint, travel insurance is a real no- brainer.

What if you're in one of the more high risk travelling groups, such as winter ski-ers? Charging down those pristine pistes without insurance is about as a sensible as the charge of the Light Brigade. The chance of an unwelcome accident is just so much greater.

And if you happen to be visiting the United States, please remember that they don't yet have our version of the National Health Service.

That's right- take a fall or suffer a stroke in the States, and the doctors will be keener to see how you'll pay before surgery even enters into play. It's important to not just assume that different states may or may not have different laws on that front; this is a nation-wide state of affairs.

It goes almost without saying that the standard of medical care in some countries is not comparable to the United Kingdom. Especially in third world countries, adequate insurance is of prime importance to ensure that you receive the best possible care whilst you're so far from home.

If we're being honest, none of us enjoy spending our hard earned money on travel insurance - I certainly do not. But I still would never travel without it, because the potential consequences are simply too awful to think about. Think you can control that slight infection you've picked up till you get home? All you're doing is giving it time to incubate, and at the same time putting yourself in grave danger.

Some corners are not meant to be cut. Holiday insurance exists for many good reasons.

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