You just booked an amazing two-week vacation this coming summer. You’re excited and are looking forward to all the sights, tastes, and activities you’ll be partaking in when you get there. But then a little worry starts to creep in – what if there’s a big storm that disrupts my flights to get there? What if something happens that prevents me from going on the trip altogether? Or what if something happens while I’m on the trip? That’s where travel insurance comes in.
We, at Taste Vacations, highly recommend getting travel insurance for any of our tours or any other large or significant trip. The reason being, it can protect you from unexpected changes in your travel plans. Like a lot of other tour operators, our costs are mostly fixed and have a limited number of guests, which could mean that you might have displaced someone who could have otherwise gone on the trip. Because of this, if someone needs to cancel a trip fewer than 60 days to the tour date, we cannot refund the trip cost. (Though, if you are cancelling 60 days or more from the tour date, you can apply all payments made to another Taste Vacation in the same calendar year or the year following.)
We encourage you to do your research, though. Most travel insurance is sold in packages, but there may be certain areas that you don’t need because it isn’t applicable to the type of trip you are taking or because you are already covered under a different form of insurance such as your medical or life insurance. We recommend a company like MH Ross that offers a few different levels of coverage.
Types of Travel Insurance Coverage
For a better idea of what each type of coverage includes, we’ve broken down a typical menu of services:
•Cancellation. This type of travel insurance covers the type of situation we referenced above – a broken leg a week before your vacation, a death in the family, or any other unexpected event. It also covers cancellations due to other problems, including if a flight delay causes you to miss your trip.
•Baggage. Woohoo! You made it to your destination … but unfortunately, your luggage didn’t. Nothing puts a damper on a trip faster than damaged, lost, or stolen luggage. This type of travel insurance will provide some reimbursement for the new clothes and shoes you’ll be forced to purchase on arrival.
•Evacuation. Even the best-laid plans can have disruptions due to natural disasters, political unrest, or global health emergencies. This type of insurance can help the cost of getting to a safe location.
•Medical. Getting sick never pleasant. But getting sick and needing a doctor on vacation in another country? That’s even worse. This type of insurance can help provide coverage to limit out-of-pocket costs if you become ill or injured while on your vacation.
•Death and dismemberment. This type of insurance is always the most unpleasant to think about but can provide some assurance that your loved ones will be taken care of. Death and dismemberment insurance provides your heirs with a payout should you die during your trip.
We know, we would rather focus on the fun and exciting parts of travel too. But think of how much heartache having travel insurance can save you if something unexpected does happen? Once your policy is in place, you can fully turn your attention to enjoying your next vacation.
