Winter Vacation Travel Insurance
Accidents happen—even on vacation! Canadians sometimes take for granted our universal health care system, but what if you’re injured outside of Canada? What if you get into an accident and need medical care while on vacation? Who will pay for this?
When considering travel insurance most people may ask themselves, is it a luxury or a necessity? Like other types of insurance policies, most people don’t place enough importance on travel insurance, and that is the reason why those injured on vacation can sometimes incur a large amount of unexpected debt.
It’s that time of year again when people are looking to get out of the cold Maritime winter weather and are beginning to plan their sunny retreats. Research shows that most winter travellers are not even aware of the importance of getting a travel insurance policy; while there are some who don’t want to enter into a travel insurance agreement with their insurer, others are not even aware of the details of a acquiring a travel insurance policy.
The term travel insurance is commonly used to describe a few different types of insurance. It can be confusing for travelers to figure it all out. You should know what type of coverage a policy includes, because it may not include everything you would assume. Specifically, it may not be very helpful if you are injured while on vacation.
There are specific types of travel insurance coverage that you should be sure to have to safeguard against incurring debt. Most insurance companies will provide you with the following coverage options:
- Travel Health Insurance: This generally provides coverage for accidents, injuries, and hospital visits while you are away from home. Nova Scotians sometimes take for granted Canada’s universal health care system, however, if you’re injured in a foreign country, this can be extremely costly out-of-pocket expense. Travel health insurance can offset some of those costs.
- Medical transportation: If you need any kind of emergency medical transportation while on vacation, the cost incurred will become your burden without the proper insurance.
- Trip cancellation coverage: When any unexpected events cause a cancellation of your trip, trip cancellation insurance can help you get back money spent for all those non-refundable deposits.
- Trip delay coverage: If you have this coverage, you will be able to be reimbursed if your trip is unexpectedly delayed.
- Accident coverage: If you have an unfortunate accident while you’re traveling, you may require money to pay for your medical expenses. If this happens and you have accident coverage, you can have the insurance companies pay for your health care costs.
- Baggage loss coverage: If you lose your baggage or it gets stolen on the trip, you can get back money if you have this particular coverage.
Bottom line – if you’re considering the pros and cons of getting a travel insurance policy, you should simply consider just the benefits, even (and hopefully) if not ultimately needed. As the expression goes, it is always better to be safe than sorry.
Ultimately, vacation insurance will help give you and your family peace of mind. Because the last thing you want to worry about is coming home to incurring debt that could have been mitigated by purchasing the proper insurance plan.
