You’ve saved and budgeted for your trip. You’ve picked your favorite location and now have found your dream condo on the beach. You are ready for your getaway. Maybe it was a little expensive, but you know it will be worth it. You’re in the process of checking out when a question pops up that you maybe weren’t expecting…. “Would you like to purchase travel insurance?”
You have a feeling that maybe you should, especially after looking over the cost of what you are paying for your trip, but your finger hesitates over selection button. “Is travel insurance really worth it?” you wonder. “I could spend that money on a nice dinner in Oceanside instead… Why should I buy travel insurance? What does it even do for me?”
5 reasons you should be purchasing travel insurance for your stay
1. Can you afford to lose the money?
You never know what is going to happen and there is ALWAYS a possibility where you could book a trip not be able to complete it and be completely out the total cost, regardless of the circumstances.
We understand that unforeseen things do come up and where we would like to help our guests as much as possible, we have to hold up the end for our owners as well. By asking for special exception to our cancellation policy you are in turn making it so the owner of the condo is now your insurance agent and putting the complete loss on them when they have bills to pay the same as anyone else. If trip insurance had been purchased then everyone wins, well except maybe the insurance company but that’s exactly what they are there for.
Now, our cancellation policy does allow for you to have a chance to be refunded a portion of your paid amount and that is usually the case with most cancellation policies. They do what they need to protect the company from major losses and be fair to the consumer as well. However, you could potentially get a 100% refund with travel insurance.
Just like auto insurance that protects you and your vehicle if you get into a car accident, or health insurance that covers your medical bills if you get sick, travel insurance is a way to minimize your financial risk when traveling.
There are some people who say, “If you can’t afford travel insurance, then you can’t afford travel.” There is a lot of truth in this statement. If the total cost of your trip is going to be more than you feel like you can safely lose, then you may want to consider purchasing trip insurance.
2. What if you need to cancel your trip?
If the year 2020 has taught us anything, it is that Life is unpredictable. You never know what may happen from the day you plan your trip to the day you travel. What if something comes up that means you have to cancel your trip?
Travel insurance covers non-refundable trip costs if you are prevented from taking your trip due to a covered reason. Things like extension of the school year or school breaks being moved, losing your job, death of your traveling companion or a family member, etc. These covered reasons are usually those considered “unforeseen.”
Know that not everything will be covered under trip cancellation. Things like being afraid to travel or having your pet die unexpectedly, and other reasons you may not wish to travel would not reasons to submit a claim. However, most things that come up to cause you to not travel are covered. The full list of covered reasons will be listed in the Policy. Again, feel free to use your 10 day look and see if the coverage is right for you.
3. Delayed Travel
Weather is something you have absolutely no control over. Adverse weather can lead you to experience major travel delays or cause you to cancel your trip altogether. Did you know that in 2019 airline carriers in the United States canceled 1.9% of their scheduled domestic flights? That’s tens of thousands of flights and millions of patrons left without being able to travel. In June 2019 alone, over 15,000 flights were cancelled which was 19% more than June 2018
Flight delays, flight cancellations, traffic accidents, natural disasters, and many other unexpected events could delay your trip. Now take it a step further. If your flight gets cancelled and you are unable to get to your destination, you wouldn’t want to spend the money on a condo or hotel room you’re not even staying in, even if it is delayed only by a day or two. But how can you recoup those losses?
A travel insurance plan can cover you in many of these situations so you can focus on some of the other details during these types of inconveniences and not worry additionally about the cost or losses.
4. Sickness or Injury
We all know that sickness or injuries can happen at any time and usually when we least expect it. Nobody wants to get sick and we do what we can to keep our bodies healthy but things happen. But also, what if it isn’t you that gets sick or injured? What if your travel companion gets sick and can’t travel? What is a family member that’s not traveling with you is hospitalized or passes away and you are unable to make the trip because of it? In those situations, many travel insurance coverages could help you out. Travel insurance also covers you if you are injured or become sick DURING your trip. It can cover medical costs as well as Trip Interruption coverage could reimburse you for the portion of the trip that you missed
5. Travel Insurance is Very Affordable
Cost is probably the number one reason people don’t buy travel insurance. We understand! If you’re already paying thousands of dollars for your long awaited beach vacation, it’s tough to spend even a little more on insurance.
However, when looking at the cost of insurance versus what you would lose if you needed to cancel last minute, got delayed, sick or injured, the cost is very affordable. For the CSA trip insurance available through our website the cost is 6.95% of your total stay, making it a literal fraction of what you could potentially lose.
If that pricing still feels too much, feel free to shop around and compare other insurance agents. If you’re traveling for work sometimes your work will have a partnership with a travel insurance company as an additional employee benefit. Just like other insurances out there, you can find the cost and coverage that is just right for you. Still not 100% sold or maybe want to review the policy completely? Remember, CSA and most other travel insurances come with a 10 day free look clause so if you’re unsure, purchase the policy and if you don’t feel like the coverage will be worth the cost you can get a 100% refund of the insurance cost
Have Peace of Mind
Millions of people decide to travel each year and we love them for it! However, a very small percentage of those travelers purchase trip insurance. Usually, because they don’t understand the benefits or importance of trip insurance.
Overall it comes down to the fact that it can offer you peace of mind so you can relax and enjoy the time before and during your trip instead of worrying about everything that could go wrong. And that peace of mind is pretty priceless. My grandma always said that insurance is the one thing you pay for that you hope you never have to use. But just in case, you’ll be glad you have it.
