Who doesn’t like to travel? We all do. And when the trip is to a destination that is exciting and much talked about, the charm increases hugely. There are so many things that make a trip worth it – the destination, the company, the stay, how economical you are able to make it and most importantly, but often neglected, a good travel insurance.

The truth is, I used to always uncheck the travel insurance checkbox when I made travel bookings. Why pay extra, right?  But international travels can be risky in many ways and it always helps to be prepared in advance.

I have heard from a lot of friends about their experiences of losing passports as well as their luggage being misplaced by airline carriers- all of which cost them. Unfortunately, all of them had visited countries where insurance was not mandatory. But if they had given a little more thought to travel insurance, such troubles could have been avoided.

But it’s not just luggage or monetary losses that you need to worry about. Many people do not pay heed to their own health and travel without realizing how a new climate or culture could affect their body. Falling sick in a foreign country is more common than you think – you may fall sick due to weather conditions, because of the food you eat or even because of exhaustion from traveling too much. Medical expenses are very high in most countries and the additional currency difference only adds to costs. And medical expenses are not just illness-related – you could be involved in an accident. I’m not trying to scare you guys here but these are all unforeseen situations that can and may happen to anyone.

These days there are several travel insurance plans to choose from catering to your needs. Reliance General Insurance has offerings specifically catering to travelers going to Schengen countries. And I have heard that the Schengen Travel Insurance is quite good, which is why I ended up buying it on my friend’s recommendation. But do you know what made me choose this particular product? Here are the reasons:

• It covers all the major problems that any traveler may face – from passport losses to monetary thefts and flight delays.
• It has a huge umbrella of medical coverage – from sudden illnesses to accidents and even emergency medical evacuations.

But I cannot force you to opt for one. That’s your decision. It’s imperative to make a comparison of how much you have invested in your travel and how much you could lose if things go wrong. You need to make a call on travel insurance based on that. I can perhaps share a few points advocating travel insurance and help you make that choice, if necessary.

Things you should look for while choosing a travel insurance:

• It can cover last-minute cancellations or miss of a connecting flight due to airline delays.
• It can cover lost and stolen baggage. When you are no choice but to buy new personal belongings, in a new country, it would be good to be reimbursed for the same, right?
• A varied and high level of medical coverage, including sudden illnesses, accidents, and hospitalizations.
• There are also travel insurances which cover unexpected deaths and even the cost of transporting the body back to your home country.
• There is also the cost incurred if you are forced to evacuate due to a political emergency at your destination. A good travel insurance can help you cover that cost.

When you invest so much into planning a trip, naturally you want it to go smoothly but when it doesn’t, that’s when you realize how important travel insurance really is.

Think about it.

I leave you with a few pictures from my trip to Amsterdam while also imploring you to consider travel insurance as an integral part of planning even in countries where it is not mandatory.

After all, it’s always better to be safe than sorry!

Disclaimer : ‘The views expressed in this post are mine. However, please make the choice at your own discretion as I take no responsibilities for any experience you might have.’